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With its economic and political significance growing, life science is now considered a key sector in Swedish society. New organisation, Flemingsberg Science aims to boost the amount of new companies and innovations within the medical technology field.

Flemingsberg, a southern suburb of Stockholm, is home to a number of leading universities and research institutes, like the Royal Institute of Technology’s medical techniques unit, the Karolinska University Hospital and Södertörn University. Together, they create one of Sweden’s most prominent life science research environments.

Flemingsberg Science’s CEO Björn Varnestig said that the partnership could help create new commercial possibilities.

“The region's vast potential has mainly taken the form of public activity and academic research. What is lacking is commercial innovations and entrepreneurship,” he told The Swedish Wire.

The goal of the new foundation is to add more business competence to the traditionally research-focused sector, and to increase the collaboration among the industry leaders.

“We will bring business developers right out on the shop floor," Björn Varnestig said. "They will be involved in the research process, to capture potential innovations, industrial partnerships and new businesses”.

“Our task is to find synergies between research institutes, public health organisations and the industry,” he added.

The number of life science companies in Stockholm is on the rise, but the industry is currently dominated by a large number of small firms with fewer than ten employees.

“Sometimes small businesses lack the business skills needed to expand," Varnestig said. "We want to make a difference by adding expertise from business developers, who can help entrepreneurs and small businesses to grow, commercialise innovations and explore new business areas.”

Björn Varnestig holds a PhD in Physics from Uppsala University and has been a board member at a number of high-tech companies, including Lightlab AB. He’s also the former CEO of Innovationsbron, an organisation that focuses on turning research and innovation into business.

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Commissioned advertorial. This article was published in collaboration between Stockholm Business Region and The Swedish Wire.

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