| Medicon
Valley is emerging as one of the top European bioregions from the
large and densely clustered group of universities, public healthcare
organisations and the medico, biotech and pharmaceutical industry
centred in the Danish/Swedish Øresund region. In the geographic region corresponding to Medicon Valley there are: • 2.9 million inhabitants • 11 universities • 135,000 students • 5 science parks • 26 hospitals including 11 university hospitals • 100 biotech companies • 125 medicotech companies • 71 pharma companies • more than 150 of all companies are R & D based •34,000 employees in the medico/ human life science industry • 25 venture capitalists The region is 3rd in Europe by biomedical publications output, with 60% of the Danish/Swedish drug & device exports. |
 Medicon Valley Academy Founded: 1997 Publicly listed: No Number of Employees: 12 Key business are(s): Regional bi-national network organization. Members are universities, hospitals & companies in Medicon Valley. Telephones: MVA Sweden: +46 46 222 0131, MVA Denmark: +45 33 29 10 30 Website Contact |
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| Medicon
Valley - at the heart of human life sciences research
2000 was a year of great activity for Medicon Valley’s biotech industry with 13 new biotech companies. This follows on from the previous year’s positive expansion (see fig. 1). Thirty-four new biotech com-panies were set up in Medicon Valley between 1998 and 2000 – by comparison 15 were set up in 1995-1997. Comparing the number of biotech companies per inhabitant in Medicon Valley with the number of companies present in other European biotech regions (see fig. 2) we can see that Medicon Valley also performs well in the growth-orientated European biotech environment. Medicon Valley has 32 biotech companies per million inhabitants, in comparison to an important region like Munich/Bavaria with nine companies. Medicon Valley attracts capital The setting up at the beginning of 2000 of Medicon Valley Capital – a joint  Danish/Swedish biotech fund – is testimony to the fact that expectations for Medicon Valley run high. Three Danish and two Swedish investors are backing the fund, which initially has pumped SEK 400 million into the company. Apart  from the criteria that a company must be located in the Øresund region, Medicon Valley Capital focuses on innovative and scientifically based companies within the human medicine, biotech and diagnostic categories. Investment focus on postgenomic research SEK 300 million earmarked for the period 2000-2004. This is what the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation have allocated to SWEGENE – The Postgenomic Research and Technology Programme in South-western Sweden. Additionally, the three universities involved – Lund University, Göteborg University and Chalmers University of Technology – have contributed a total of SEK 170 million. The three universities will establish SWEGENE jointly, and the project is also being supported by the Swedish Research Council to the tune of SEK 700 million. The SWEGENE project’s efforts will be concentrated on functional genome research, and will be organised according to a completely new model. Cooperation between universities and faculties will contribute to providing the very best framework for the project. New Centres for Biomedical Research In order to support the development within biotechnology in Medicon Valley two other large projects have been initiated: Biomedical Center (BMC) in Lund, Sweden – a SEK 1 billion investment – and Biotech Research and Innovation Center (BRIC) in Copenhagen, Denmark – a DKK 500 million investment. Both projects result from a fruitful cooperation be-tween Medicon Valley-based universities and hospitals. Amongst other elements, relations with the industries are intended to be secured through science parks connected to the centres. Medicon Valley Academy 2000 was also a key year for the network organisation Medicon Valley Academy’s development. In April it was converted to a member subscription association having started life as a project, funded by the universities in the Øresund region and the EU. MVA’s membership includes all the relevant university faculties, healthcare organisations, and the majority of biotech and medico-related companies and other organisations in the region. On 1 August 2001 MVA had 200 members. MVA has a strong network and an extensive database of contacts in Medicon Valley within academia, public health, and the medico and bio-related industries. The organisation works to promote the necessary interaction between these players and the political environment as well as publicising the region. MVA’s different activities all jointly aim to bring together researchers and/or company managers in Medicon Valley – with the objective of creating increased knowledge transfer and the formation of networks between companies, universities and health sectors in the region. Mia Riise Hansen, Medicon Valley Academy |
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