As anyone who has tried to drive a life science company forward knows, you can get a lot of mileage out of it. About one in ten projects reaches the market. And that’s where we’re going, of course. The point of the work being done in Swedish life science is to put new tools, medicines and other types of treatments in the hands of patients and healthcare, or create opportunities for other life science companies to do their thing. I am not going to talk about the value of the nine out of ten attempts that end up in the sand, because you and I already know that even failures can move us forward in the long run. There may be small things that need to be adjusted, or a complete rethink. If you know what doesn’t work, you’re more likely to get it right on the next try.
In many ways, the point of being part of a community is to share your own lessons and benefit from those of others. This fall there are many opportunities to do just that. On demand from members, SwedenBIO has developed the course “Strategy and business development for life science leaders – taking control of the company’s journey to success”. Here, experienced experts share how to find out which market is most valuable and easiest to enter, how to take the right regulatory route, how to protect product rights most effectively, how to find a suitable ownership structure and how to obtain long-term financing. To name a few of the blocks. By leveraging the assets of our own membership, we can provide a course that costs less than comparable courses.
At this year’s SwedenBIO Summit on December 8, we will delve into how to accelerate growth in your company and already on September 14, we will FINALLY welcome all member companies to the Executive Dinner, which takes place in the form of a gala dinner at Winterviken in Stockholm. I can vouch for the fact that it will be spectacular. If you want to join us, it’s time to sign up!
Much of our work revolves around creating platforms for you to build business networks. But we are also in a unique position to give the industry a strong voice through our 300 members. Shouting at the waves and winds is futile, but it can be heard by decision-makers. If we manage to explain your needs and put them in context, things will move. We are working for research-friendly corporate taxes (check R&D deductions and expert tax relief), for decision-makers to grasp the importance of business research (check establishment of collaborative programs and increased availability of research infrastructure), a well-lubricated financing landscape (check increased institutional capital for life science companies and more generous conditions for how much the state, institutional capital can contribute) and about 40 other issues. How do we do that? Yes, you do. With over 100 active member representatives, we go both deep and wide. We at the Secretariat act as an air traffic control tower.
It takes perseverance, tenacity and precision to get the attention of decision-makers, combined with a close dialogue with members. One of our stars who has contributed to this, Nicole Hanzon, is leaving for new adventures after six years with us and we are now looking for her successor as Communications Manager. The ad is out now and the job seems so fun that I want to apply for it myself. Feel free to spread the word! Charged with many hours of sun, wind and (salt) water, I am happy to be back at Sweden’s most important job, contributing to the growth of the life science industry. Later this fall, I will hopefully head over to San Diego to see how they are doing so well. Both on the waves and on the market.
I hope to see you at the Executive Dinner before then!
/Helena
