New life science strategies in Denmark and Sweden share the aim of boosting the sector, increasing European competitiveness and benefiting patients, but they also differ in approach.
The Danish and Swedish governments have recently presented new or updated life science strategies. Denmark launched its strategy first, aiming to become a leading life science nation in Europe for the benefit of patients. The Swedes followed with an updated life science strategy for the sector.
According to Jeanette Edblad, head of the Swedish government’s Office for Life Sciences, the Swedish strategy is intended to be broad. Its content will be complemented by the government’s other strategies and a Research and Innovation Bill.
“There are many excellent objectives in the strategy to build on, and this work starts now. We want the whole chain to come together: excellence, increased competitiveness and then increased patient benefit. These are our keywords in this strategy, and our message is that you have to look at the whole picture,” she told Euractiv.
Denmark’s aims for growth
A vital goal of the Danish strategy is to expand the sector’s economic growth and double Danish life science exports from €23 billion in 2023 to €46 billion in 2030 (DKK 174 billion in 2023 to DKK 350 billion.)
Even so, Morten Bødskov, Denmark’s Social Democratic Minister for Economic and Business Affairs, also describes international competition to be “fierce”.
“That’s why it’s crucial that we give the life science industry the best conditions to realise its huge billion-dollar potential,” he stated at the launch of the strategy.
The Danish government wants to set aside €53 million (DKK 400 million) for 2024-2027 “to future-proof” the Danish life science sector.
Its strategy has five priority areas and still needs to be approved by the country’s parliament, the Folketinget.
The five areas range from supporting “viable” life science companies and increasing the use of health data, AI, and innovation to conduct “ground-breaking” research into better treatments to also promoting the use of innovative and effective healthcare solutions and medicines, attracting foreign investment and thereby being a strong player in the EU.
Sweden targets eight areas
The Swedish government has decided upon an updated life science strategy for the sector, which export of goods amounted to approximately €16 billion in 2022.
The goal is to achieve a “concerted effort for excellence, long-term competitiveness and increased patient benefit.” At the launch, Ebba Busch, Minister for Energy and Enterprise, said the government is now gearing up in a number of areas that are crucial to securing Sweden as “a leading life science nation”.
“The investment in clinical trials initiated by the government is crucial for Swedish competitiveness and one of the most critical components of the investment in life science,” she continued.
The strategy sets out 30 new work targets in eight areas. It includes expanding collaboration and partnerships locally, in the North, but also in the EU, and globally, increasing the number of clinical trials, improving the use of health data, and establishing a national digital health data infrastructure.
It also looks into supporting research and better integrating R&D with the healthcare system, working to prevent public health challenges such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, mental illness, and antimicrobial resistance.
No economic targets, but budget increase
Meanwhile, unlike Denmark, the Swedish approach does not include specific economic targets. The bulk of the governmental investments in the sector will be announced in a Research and Innovation bill later this year.
However, earlier this autumn, the government proposed increasing the budget for the country’s entire research sector by €565 million (SEK 6.5 billion) from 2025 to 2028.
What is known is that it plans to invest nearly €4,5 million (SEK 50 million) in precision medicine and €2,6 billion (SEK 30 million) to set up a national partnership to promote clinical trials next year.
Kathrine Bengaard Poulsen, the Danish CEO of Novo Nordisk in Sweden, told Euractiv that she views the recent updates to the national life science strategies in both Denmark and Sweden very positively.
“The Danish strategy is very action-oriented with clear objectives on how the sector can further develop and grow, including doubling exports by 2030. At Novo Nordisk, we continue to make significant investments in both research and production in Denmark, and we naturally view the strong political commitment to the pharmaceutical sector positively,” she said.
“Similarly, the Swedish strategy shows a strong interest in measures that strengthen the pharmaceutical industry’s opportunities for growth, such as enhanced R&D tax credits and more attractive tax regulations. One thing I miss in the Swedish strategy is a commitment to ensuring that new medicines are put into use more quickly within healthcare. Early use provides an opportunity for new research investments, for example, in clinical drug trials,” Bengaard Poulsen added.
However, Jessica Martinsson, CEO of SwedenBIO, a national trade organisation for the life science industry in Sweden, who has participated in the government’s advisory group on the new strategy, said to Euractiv that Sweden needs a more ambitious strategy for exporting life science products.
She also called for stronger measures to facilitate production and support investments in Sweden.
“My view is that the Swedish government representatives have listened to us in the room, but the resulting strategy should have a sharper focus on industrial needs.”
[Edited by Vasiliki Angouridi, Brian Maguire]
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Publish date : 2024-11-20 20:15:00
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