Life Sciences
• One of Europe's strongest pharmaceutical pipelines
• Globally recognized research institutes
• Preferred clinical trials location
• Great for epidemiological and genetic research
Highly evolved infrastructure
Companies such as Astra, Elekta, Gambro and Pharmacia bear witness to Sweden’s century-long tradition of industrial success in life sciences. Today, the industry employs 42,000 people in more than 800 companies, with coverage throughout the value chain and with particular strengths in drug discovery and development as well as medical technology and medical engineering. Sweden is home to two of Europe’s most distinguished biotech clusters: the Stockholm Uppsala Bioregion and Medicon Valley in the Öresund region.
Strength in broad fields of medicine
The pharmaceutical development pipeline is one of Europe’s strongest, with drug candidates in cancer-related conditions, metabolic and cardiovascular disorders and neurological disorders, among others. Medical technology and medical engineering firms have built internationally leading positions in areas such as biotech tools, diagnostics, medical devices, biomaterials and regenerative medicine.
Globally recognized research institutes
Sweden has six medical universities, each with its distinctive profile and specialist expertise. Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm is one of the world’s leading biomedical universities. A survey comparing biomedical research productivity in the US and the European Union placed Sweden first in four out of five categories measuring citations and publications in relation to population size and R&D expenditure. Major disorders in which Swedish scientists possess outstanding expertise include diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Preferred clinical trials location
All of the world’s best-selling drugs, both traditional chemical substances and biopharmaceutical drugs, have been tested on Swedish patients. Sweden is distinguished by high scientific quality, rapid access to well defined patient cohorts and an outstanding capacity to track patients. The ability to deliver highly accurate data on efficacy and safety over long periods of time makes Sweden an ideal location for post-marketing safety surveillance studies (phase IV).
Great for epidemiological and genetic research
Studies of how genetic and environment factors influence health can likely be conducted with better accuracy in Sweden than anywhere else, thanks to use of personal identity numbers and the existence of official registers for population, health, specific diseases, drugs and national quality. Several large biobanks have also been established.