With a host of some of the world's top research scientists calling Sweden home and working in such prestigious spots as the Karolinska Institute, the Nordic country has an established reputation in cutting-edge drug work. But the country's biotech industry could use a hand up, and government officials have responded with a $320 million package of financial support that is designed to spur fresh translational efforts and clinical research support in a four-year campaign to assist developers.
SciLifeLab is getting $100 million of that cash to advance its work on tools and therapeutic development, with an eye to advancing new products to commercialization. The rest will be earmarked for "drug discovery, clinical research, antibiotic resistance research, health in aging and the use of patient registers," according to a release from Stockholm-Uppsala Life Science, a group that represents the country's main biotech hub.
The biotech cash is part of a $1.7 billion investment the government is making in research and innovation.
"In our recently published report, we pointed out the ambitious, future plans for further strengthening the life science sector in Stockholm-Uppsala, thereby ensuring that the region remains a truly global life science cluster," boasts Stockholm-Uppsala Life Sciences CEO Ola Bjorkman. "In particular, the investment in SciLifeLab with its cutting edge research infrastructure combined with parallel investments in drug discovery, clinical research and the use of patient registers open new avenues for developing more personalized and outcome orientated healthcare."
- here's the press release