Spotlight on Stockholm Uppsala

The Stockholm-Uppsala Biomedical Region Asking questions and finding answers

In the world of biomedical science, in part due to the development of new technologies, the potential to make new discoveries is greater than ever before. As a result, the time needed to complete the journey from original research idea through to commercial innovation is being accelerated. This point is reinforced by the upsurge of academic and entrepreneurial activity within the Stockholm/Uppsala biomedical cluster; the region is not merely continuing its established role of discovering and answering life-improving questions, but is also constantly providing novel ways of converting those answers into new business opportunities.

The current explosion of research projects, business initiatives and new biotech companies could lead some commentators to assume that the Stockholm/Uppsala biomedical sector is an overnight success. And from an international perspective there are plenty of statistics to validate this assumption.

Yet today's regional achievements are actually the culmination of years of cooperation between academia and industry, between human capital and financial capital. As Craig Venter, president and chief scientific officer of US firm Celera Genomics points out, “Sweden is the most advanced country in terms of science per capita anywhere in the world. The scientific culture is well embedded and they've developed a strong entrepreneurial attitude which is good for science.”

Embedded is very true and the Stockholm/Uppsala biomedical cluster contributes more than any other Swedish region to the nation's international reputation. And not just right here and right now. The region has been coming up with scientific answers that have altered the face of biomedicine for much longer.

Table 1

Quality is the key

This tradition for research breakthroughs and business acumen serves as a reminder that size is not always everything. With a regional population of 2.1 million, comparable to San Diego, it is only natural that export becomes an economic necessity. To meet that necessity the few must out-perform the many and quality becomes paramount. The Stockholm/Uppsala biomedical cluster has continuously answered the quality challenge and competed favourably with much larger global regions: AstraZeneca and Pharmacia serve as excellent examples. Both of these multinational pharmaceutical companies were founded and nurtured within the region and both still retain a large-scale presence.

In the case of AstraZeneca, that presence is strengthening all of the time. According to Professor Jan Lundberg, global head of pre-clinical research at AstraZeneca, there are certain factors why the Anglo-Swedish giant has increased its stakes in the region. “We believe that the Stockholm/Uppsala region is a region of future growth,” he says. “Also, it is an ambitious region with a very strong tradition for excellent research in the neuroscience field. The high quality of basic and clinical science is very important for our company.”

The importance of Pharmacia is also critical to regional ambitions, albeit in a slightly different and almost ironic context. By spinning-off some of its local operations Pharmacia has acted as a catalyst to the current biomedical boom. Former Pharmacia scientists and managers have been freed-up to channel their expertise and talents into start-up companies and projects. The invaluable experience of this human capital has already sparked renewed vigour into the biomedical environment to such an extent that the brain drain which has previously taken some of the region's leading scientists overseas is now not merely abating, but is showing distinct signs of reversal. Mats Pettersson, CEO of Biovitrum (the largest Pharmacia spin-out company to date with 900 employees) has spent all but 2 of the last 11 years abroad. Having worked as an industry leader in both the US and Europe he believes that Sweden is “one of the most serious research countries anywhere” and stresses that the Stockholm / Uppsala region in particular has combined its academic strengths and business know-how to create “a biotech culture fueled by a thriving entrepreneurial spirit”.

Who Are The New Breed?

Some of the companies redefining the global biomedical environment

Table 2

A new breed of scientific superstars

As well as encouraging entrepreneurs away from the big pharmaceutical companies there is an additional group of aspiring business winners emanating from the academic institutions. Instead of leaving the region, the brightest brains are eager to stay put. This show of faith is stimulating the international medical community and enticing foreign experts to move in. Jonas Frisén, a young professor of stem cell biology and founder of NeuroNova, represents one of a new breed of entrepreneurial scientific superstars whom would previously have headed west. Headhunted by the top US institutions, he elected to remain in a “wonderful micro environment devoid of professional intrigues”. Other reasons? Professor Frisén cites the unique Swedish legal system, which permits scientists to retain the patent rights on their own research work, as a major incentive. “The legal system is very favourable for academic spin-off companies,” he explains. “The regulatory aspects conform to the highest international standards and are still very pragmatic and non-bureaucratic.”

These views are supported by Sten Linnarsson, another member of the new breed. As a 2001 PhD graduate in molecular biology, Linnarsson has also capitalised on the entrepreneurial environment with his company Global Genomics. “The whole bio climate here is especially fertile,” he says. “The fact that I could start my company right after my PhD shows that I've been given better resources to explore my own ideas than most post-doctorates elsewhere. This is a relatively new trend and one where Sweden appears to be ahead of other European regions. The synergies between research and venture capital have improved substantially. It's no longer considered bad taste for scientists to patent their own inventions - it's actually the opposite. Nowadays the system totally encourages it.”

Table 3

The powerhouse - A production line of academic excellence

With the combined number of biomedical and medtech companies in the region now passing the 400 mark, the signs for future prosperity are extremely healthy. Whereas the conversion rate for putting research projects onto a sound business footing has increased significantly, Ron Long, former CEO of Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, thinks it is important to remember that academia still remains the cornerstone of any biomedical boom. As he explains, “the vast majority of medical breakthroughs originate in universities and institutions and not in the big pharmaceutical companies.” Even more emphatic is his belief that, “the Swedish medical institutions are international powerhouses. There is nowhere else in the world right now with so much biotech activity going on. I envisage the current research platform will put the region in a leading international position for years to come”.

Why is the region so strong?

Comments of scientific and industry leaders say...

“The base line is that we have qualitative and quantitative research dating all the way back to the twenties”

Mathias Uhlén

Scientist, entrepreneur co-founder of Pyrosequencing

“Sweden is particularly strong in neurosciences, structural biology, regenerative medicine, and a couple of other medical fields at the cutting edge of the ongoing revolution in life sciences”

Richard Johnson

US life science expert and Partner at Arnold & Porter

“The Karolinska is currently creating one new company every two months and this is moving in an exponential fashion”

Hans Wigzell

President of Karolinska Institutet

“A well educated workforce and a place where people like to live is a good combination”

Staffan Ternby

Information Chief at AstraZeneca

“he region contains qualitative people at a competitive cost position and is highly IT-oriented”

Siegfried Russwurm

Managing Director at Siemens-Elema

“Smaller, swifter companies like KaroBio can be more attractive for top academic researchers to work with than the big pharma. I envisage a pearl-band of similar companies will emerge in the region”

Jan-Åke Gustafsson

Professor & Head of Department of Biosciences, Novum

“Stockholm BioScience will dramatically strengthen the region's international position and competitiveness and will benefit from the critical mass already generated by the entrepreneurial bioscience activities in Uppsala and Novum”

Ola Björkman

Project Director for Stockholm BioScience