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Focus questions

We work with five focus issues to create a competitive life science sector in Sweden. Thanks to our working groups with experts from member companies, we reach deep and wide in our advocacy work.

Photo: Xbrane Biopharma

R&D/Clinical studies

Sweden’s ability to be a leading research nation in life science is closely linked to the conditions for life science companies to conduct research and development (R&D). Swedish life science is at the forefront of research and generates innovations that are disseminated worldwide. This leads to improved quality of life and survival of patients, but also builds the basis for future export revenues that benefit our society.

There is much to be done to remove barriers to life sciences in Sweden. SwedenBIO operates i.a. for better opportunities to conduct company-initiated clinical trials in Sweden, for increased availability of research infrastructure, for better use of health data and for a good climate of cooperation between academia, industry and healthcare. We are also pushing for investment in strategically important areas such as cell and gene therapy, a Swedish area of strength.

Skills supply

Good access to quality skills is one of the factors that determine the location of investments and facilities. The availability of the right skills is a recurring concern. In SwedenBIO’s 2020 pipeline survey, every third company stated that it is difficult to find the right skills in Sweden. This includes both the availability of specialists in specific areas and senior management or process skills.

SwedenBIO is working to find smarter ways to use our collective competence resource, so that it can benefit a larger part of the industry. International recruitment must also be facilitated. Many companies look for skills outside their borders, but this is fraught with significant bureaucratic obstacles that complicate and delay recruitment processes. Sweden’s attractiveness for skills needs to be clarified and processes for international recruitment facilitated.

Intelligent capital

SwedenBIO has the entrepreneur at its heart. And for our industry’s entrepreneurs, access to capital is always key. This is why we are working hard to improve access to finance for life science companies in all ways. We do this by attracting various forms of international capital to Sweden (read about our international work here) and by working with national capital market actors to bring about the changes needed for a stronger investment climate in Sweden. We also work intensively on issues related to soft funding, such as from Vinnova and EU research and innovation programs, to ensure they meet the needs of the industry.

For a life science company, it is very important that the financiers they bring along on the journey, whether it is venture capital, family offices, soft funding or something else, contribute not only money but also expertise. They often work with their funders for many years. This is why we have coined the termintelligent capital and drive a policy agenda to make Sweden an attractive country for serious, long-term investors who contribute to strong business development in our industry. In this work, we have great pleasure in the fact that our membership brings together the heavy financiers in life science and at the same time incubators and science parks where many of the industry’s youngest companies are located.

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Country of production Sweden

Sweden is a strong life science production country with many comparative advantages. The high skill level of the workforce combined with stable infrastructure, proximity to R&D and a maturity in digitalization gives us a head start and several production facilities have been added in recent years. We are working to increase their number, both by making Sweden a first choice for international establishments and by enabling Swedish life science companies that reach the production phase to develop and expand their operations here.

SwedenBIO gathers a unique network of the production capacity that fits within the country’s borders and thus has an active role in Sweden’s societal preparedness, including the COVID-19 pandemic as well as how well we are equipped to meet future health challenges.

International brightness and attractiveness

In global competition, Sweden needs to offer attractive conditions for life science companies to grow and develop here, as well as for international companies to decide to locate operations in our country. These conditions include a tax climate that encourages investment in research, including the following. via R&D tax credits and expert tax. They also include an innovation support system capable of supporting projects with commercial viability to go all the way to a global market. Attractive conditions will not take us all the way. An important task is also to promote Sweden’s strengths as a life science nation internationally. Then we need to be visible on international platforms like the BIO Convention and through our sister organizations at strong life science nodes around the world. SwedenBIO collaborates with life science actors primarily in the USA, Japan, South Korea and Europe in order to strengthen Swedish life science and to create effective contact channels for our member companies.

Read the full contribution here: Sweden’s international attractiveness and brightness