Conference Sessions
Josh Dance, SVP, LSX
Adam Kostyal, SVP, Nasdaq
Jonathan Gertler, CEO, Back Bay Life Science Advisors
Anne Hougaard Jensen, Director Invest in Denmark, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Denmark
The Nordics' long-established scientific strengths and dedicated institutional investors, governments and foundations, coupled with an increasing talent pool of experienced industry executives, an increase in local growth capital have seen the region continues to grow and cement its place as a leading life sciences and healthcare hub globally.
While M&A activity remains low, funding and investment, both private and public, in the region has continued to grow throughout the last few years until 2022 when the public markets across the industry became a lot more difficult, and Nordic companies. An increasing influx of international capital and syndication, from both East and West, as well as international partners looking to do deals and build bases in the region, is also fuelling a golden period for Nordic healthcare success.
A panel of industry leaders discuss what is next for the region and what needs to be done to continue building the growth and success of a robust pan-Nordic ecosystem?
Moderator: Anette Steenberg, CEO, Medicon Valley Alliance
Carl Kilander, Partner, HealthCap
Adam Kostyal, SVP, Nasdaq
Jonathan Gertler, CEO, Back Bay Life Science Advisors
Nanna Lüneborg, General Partner, Forbion
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Auditorium 11
An openness and willingness to collaborate and innovate is a major factor in what makes launching, building and growing biotechs in the Nordics a success.
But, as with anywhere, raising capital, finding partners, and growing and building a successful business comes with challenges.
Are there local dynamics and issues which can hamper establishing dynamic and global companies?
What is the arc and journey of growing Nordic biotech?
A panel of growing private biotechs discuss their growth trajectories, war stories and the KSFs.
Moderator:
Mintoi Chessa-Florea, Healthcare Editor, Mergermarket
Speakers:
Rita Balice Gordon, CEO, Muna Therapeutics
Thomas Holm Pedersen, CEO, NMD Pharma
Jan Alan Alfheim, CEO, Oncoinvent
Christer Ahlberg, CEO, Cinclus Pharma
Sören Moller, Managing Partner, Novo Seeds
Whether preparing for investment, licensing or acquisition, valuations are critical. While any financial model will be inherently imprecise, a valuation must be based on logical and data-driven assumptions. It is important for biotechs to create a financial model to guide business planning, portfolio management and negotiation.
A multi-stakeholder panel of investors, pharma and companies discuss how to get the calculations right in investment and deal-making.
Presenter and moderator:
Julia Fransson, CEO, MSC Nordics
Speakers:
Ingrid Teigland Akay, Managing Partner, Hadean Ventures
Max Klement, Principal, Novo Ventures
Diana Torgersen, Executive Director, External Innovation and Emerging Science, Organon
While private growth funding into biotech continues to grow globally, financing of Nordic biotech innovation has seen a particularly big increase driven by strong local investment expertise, increasing syndication in larger rounds and ever-more international interest.
A panel of international investors and syndication discuss the growth of the Nordic innovation landscape.
Moderator:
Nina Haldipur, Senior Investment Manager, Vækstfonden
Speakers:
Giovanni Rizzo, Partner Biotech Fund, Indaco Venture Partners
Anta Gkelou, Principal, Capital Strategy, Sofinnova Partners
Bonnie van Wilgenburg, Principal, Monograph Capital
Andreas Wallnoefer, Partner, Jeito Capital
Sally Wang Liang, Venture Partner, Viva Bioinnovator
Sooner rather than later, any biotech will be looking Nordic companies are increasingly delivering success in passing financial, clinical and company development milestones as well as market approvals and, in 2022, now navigating a public markets storm.
A panel of companies at different points of the journey discuss their stories, the challenges, benefits and decisions on timing of their growth in the US and outline how they think more local success stories can be created.
Moderator:
Thomas Lönngren, Strategic Advisor, NDA Group
Speakers:
Hans Schambye, President & CEO, Galecto
Fredrik Johansson, CFO, Calliditas Therapeutics
Niels Iversen Møller, Board Member and Co-Founder, Evaxion
The world faces a daunting number of health and societal related challenges. Many of these have significant investments poured in by VCs and institutional investors, but others have become ‘ugly ducklings’ as investment opportunities.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), malaria and other huge global health issues are often underfunded suffering from difficulties in identifying viable business models, effective reimbursement pathways, leading companies in the space not performing well and investors withdrawing. As a result, limited innovation and drug development occur in these areas? How can this be addressed? Where can this funding come from?
Moderator:
Jacob Falck Hansen, Partner, Lundbeckfonden BioCapital
Speakers:
Bita Sehat, Investment Director, Trill Impact Ventures
Jyothi Devakumar, Group CSO and Partner, Longevity Tech Fund
Viktor Drvota, CEO, Karolinska Development
Claudio Costa, Operational Investor, Jeito Capital
Jyothi Devakumar, Group CSO and Partner, Longevity Tech Fund
One thing the last two years made many realise is that it’s, at least in theory, now easier than ever to get the right talent in without physical barriers. However, while attracting, recruiting and retaining talent is a challenge across the industry, this is particularly true in the Nordic countries - theory does not always work in practice. Discussing unique local
Moderator:
Nanna Soni, Director, Coulter Partners
Speakers:
Pernille Aasholm, Head of People, Galecto
Søren Bregenholt, CEO, Alligator Bioscience Sofie Lorentzen, Senior P&O Lead, Novo Nordisk Fonden
.
Auditorium 12
While healthcare systems work to overcome backlogs and improve efficiencies, big medtech are looking to supplement and source external innovation to supplement and further develop alongside their own products. A panel of leaders from big medtech discuss the partnering and deal-making landscape across medtech and healthtech innovation.
Speakers:
Lars Nilaus, VP Group Development & Strategy, Coloplast
Alex Ignatius Costa, Director, GN BrainWorks, GN Group
Data science is not only transforming drug development, but also changing the way we can understand, diagnose, track and treat diseases with therapeutics, diagnostics and devices.
Large and small companies alike in the Nordics and globally are now implementing revolutionary data science solutions to help drive efficiencies and improve patient treatment and care.
A panel of experts discuss how companies of all sizes can look to take advantage of the huge benefits that AI, ML and data analytics can provide.
Moderator:
Troels Bierman Mortensen, CEO, DataFair
Speakers:
Tuomo Pentikainen, CEO, Veil AI
Robert Lauritzen, CEO, Cerebriu
Casper Wilstrup, CEO, Abzu
Mads Jarner Brevadt, CEO, Radiobiotics
Kenneth Forsstrøm Jensen, Health Data Lead, Roche
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Innovative new digital therapeutics have been building momentum for years, but the wider boom in all things digital during the pandemic, coupled with an ever-increasing from Big Pharma in exploring digital solutions has seen them now at the forefront of future health and care. Nordic companies are among those leading the way at the intersection of traditional biopharma and digital health to help improve outcomes for patients alongside pharma products. However, the DTx space still faces challenges that could slow its widespread adoption.
A panel of leading DTx innovators discuss their growth stories and challenges this growing sector faces and how they are overcoming them.
Moderator:
Malin Johansson, Director Digital Health Partnerships, Novo Nordisk
Speakers:
John Drakenberg Renander, CEO, Alex Therapeutics
Jonas Hjortshøj, CCO, Liva
Daniel Gewecke Daugaard, CEO, Dawn Health
Sam Oddsson, Co-founder & Chief Clinical Officer, Sidekick Health
While certainly boasting some big success stories, both medtech, and to a lesser extent healthtech, investment has lagged a little behind biotech in the region. Fewer local dedicated funds in device, diagnostic and digital exist, international syndication has not been as high as seen in therapeutic biotech and the might of foundations has not traditionally been put to work in the space. However, with huge amounts of new innovative companies now growing, is now the time to start levelling up?
A panel of local and international investors discuss the funding environment, syndication and greater international participation in funding the growing numbers of SMEs in the space.
Moderator:
Benjamin Hoffmann, Partner, Potter Clarkson
Jonathan Gertler, Managing Director, BioVentures MedTech Funds
Mads Lacoppidan, Investment Director, Vækstfonden
Claudia Colciago, Investment Director, Takeda Digital Ventures
Jessica McCreadie, Principal, Octopus Ventures
Digital disruption in the healthcare space spans the value chain. But perhaps where it is most important is where it matters most – within with healthcare providers and for patient care. Health systems need to innovate internally, and bring innovation from externally, to continue to improve efficiencies, meet the expectations of an increasingly digital patient population and all while managing budgets.
A group of experts discuss their vision for the future of digital hospitals, the road to get there the role of innovators in this transformation.
Moderator:
Jesper Juel-Helwig, CEO, Nordic Health Lab
Speakers:
Linn Christensson, General Manager Nordics and Benelux, Zimmer Biomet
Jeanette Tuval, Head of Innovation, Karolinska University Hospital
Britt-Marie Zaman, Director Development Digital Health, Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Moderator:
Jesper Grønbæk, Founder & CEO, Health Tech Hub Copenhagen
Speaker:
Valentin Lubbe, COO, Hedia
For many healthtech businesses, while global ambition may certainly be the end goal, an initial focus on the home market and healthcare system is common as is building networks and a local ecosystem.
The next step of scaling across borders and internationalising into new markets then comes with its own set of challenges which can be difficult waters to navigate.
A panel of some of the most successful Nordic healthtech companies discuss how they
Moderator:
Valentin Bejan, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Health Tech Hub Copenhagen
Speakers:
Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy, CEO, Doctrin
Andreas Cleve, CEO, Corti
Matt Fujisawa, Global Head of Corporate Development, KRY
Josh Dance, SVP, LSX
Carsten Borring, Head of Listings & Capital Markets Denmark, Nasdaq
After a record period for listings and generally strong performance, 2022 has seen a reset in the global public markets. And while the public markets for life sciences and healthcare in Sweden have long been strong, other countries across the Nordics have lagged behind with less of a strong retail investor base. Denmark has long produced world-class innovation and has been strong in private growth capital but this has not translated through to the public markets. A panel of experts discuss managing through the current situation what needs to be done to invigorate the public markets.
Moderator:
Don Debethizy, Director, Argenx
Speakers:
Carsten Borring, Head of Listings & Capital Markets Denmark, Nasdaq
Dawid Myslinski, Equity Capital Markets, Vator Securities
Thomas Black-Petersen, Director, FBV
Kim Baden-Kristensen, CEO, Brain+
Mette Kirstine Agger, Strategic Advisor, Life Science Companies
While scientific breakthroughs and innovation continues apace, this innovation then needs translating to industry – and these companies need leaders. With both local and global talent pool challenges and increased competition as the industry matures, what are the most successful routes and support models for bringing through, training and nurturing the next generation of biotech industry leaders?
Moderator:
Bobby Soni, CBO, BII
Speakers:
Don Debethizy, Director, Argenx
Cristiana Pires, CEO, Asgard Therapeutics
Christina Takke, Managing Partner, V-Bio Ventures
With the level of innovation, the heightened degree of interaction within the cyber space, and in considering the ‘data heavy’ and highly regulated nature of the industry, all against a backdrop of growing and emerging cyber threats, it is crucial that life sciences and healthcare organisations of all types view cyber risk as being amongst the biggest risks to their businesses.
Laure Zicry, Head of FINEX Cyber, Western Europe, WTW
With the public markets struggling and with the huge boom in private investment over the last couple few years now showing signs of slowing, what does this mean for pharma deal-makers and biotechs looking at their next stage of growth? While the pace of innovation seems ever-increasing, and there is arguably more competition than ever before from established and emerging players, understanding how big companies operate and how to best approach deals is ever-important. S&E and BD leaders discuss how they are finding new models and ways of sourcing and supporting startups and working to build win-win deals.
Moderator:
Christine Lind, VP Commercial, NDA Group
Speakers:
Duncan Young, Sr. Director Business Development & Licencing, AstraZeneca
Hiroyuki Usuda, Senior Manager S&E Business Development, Astellas Europe
Jennifer Laird, VP Search & Evaluation, Eli Lilly & Company
While the story in years passed was of a dearth of specialise private growth capital for Nordic life sciences, over the last few years more and more funds are now growing from Nordic routes and looking to invest in, build and grow the next wave of innovation leaders. A panel of investors from new or recharged Nordic funds discuss building roots up investment across the Nordics.
Moderator:
Megan Gates, Chair - Corporate Practice, Mintz
Speakers:
Christian Elling, Managing Partner Lundbeckfonden BioCapital
Farzad Abdi-Dezfuli, Partner, Life Science Investments, Sarsia Seed
Pekka Simula, Partner, Innovestor
Thomas Tan, Principal, Sound Bioventures
Stephan Christgau, Managing Partner, Eir Ventures
• What is the potential and promise we can realise from democratising data and how can this be realised?
• What is being done in Scandinavia and how does this plug in with initiatives across Europe?
• Highlighting the benefits and opportunities across healthcare and for biotech, medtech and healthtech companies
• The growth of Data Fair and the goals and aims of the OSCAR project Troels Bierman Mortensen, CEO, DataFair
Troels Bierman Mortensen, CEO, DataFair
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