LIFE SCIENCE ACROSS THE ØRESUND – a survey of transregional commuters, actors, research and investments 900 border commuters in Medicon Valley At least 20 Danish CEOs at companies in Skåne 13 Danish companies listed in Sweden since 2014 PREFACE The Danish-Swedish life science cluster that spans over the Øresund, Medicon Valley, is linked together by all of the engaged individuals who work at the universities, hospitals, research centres and all of the LIFE SCIENCE ACROSS THE ØRESUND companies in the region. As part of the Interreg-project Greater Copenhagen Life Science Analysis Initiative, – a survey of transregional commuters, actors, Øresundsinstituttet has surveyed networks, collaborations, investments, ownership and personal contacts research and investments in Medicon Valley. More than 900 people employed at companies in the life science cluster commute across the Øresund Strait, This analysis has been prepared by Øresundsinstituttet as part of the Interreg- most of them from Skåne to Danish companies such as Novo Nordisk, Ferring, LEO Pharma, Lundbeck and project Greater Copenhagen Life Science Analysis Initiative and was written by Genmab. The growing group of companies from Skåne – frequently small and listed in Sweden – is also hel- Jenny Andersson, Kristoffer Dahl Sørensen, Sofi Eriksson and Johan Wessman. ping itself to the generous offering of skilled business leaders schooled in the large life science companies across the strait in Denmark. Today, more than 20 life science companies in Skåne are headed by a Danish Project manager for analytics: Jenny Andersson CEO. Ultimately, in and around Copenhagen is where Medicon Valley’s largest life science companies are. Overall project manager: Johan Wessman The Danish system of large, foundation-owned companies means that power over the company remains in Denmark, even if it is publicly traded, and it also means that part of the company’s profits return to research Translation: Justina Bartoli and new startups via the foundations that own them. In Sweden, the focus is more on going public; since 2014, thirteen Danish life science companies have acted on the attraction to listing in Stockholm, and twelve Cover photo: News Øresund of them are still listed today. More than 25 companies are active on both sides of the Øresund – and this is no novel phenomenon. Already back in 1914, the then-Danish Løvens Kemiske Fabrik set up a Swedish sub- June 2021 sidiary in Helsingborg: Leo Läkemedel. The company has changed hands many times since then, and today it’s known as McNeil, and its manufacturing and development units are still in Helsingborg. GREATER COPENHAGEN LIFE SCIENCE ANALYSIS INITIATIVE is an EU-project aimed at increasing knowledge about the region’s life science cluster. The focus is on the There is nothing new about national rules and regulations making work across the strait more difficult despite demand for labourers, future expertise needs, and more. The project has received the proximity over the Øresund with the bridge connecting Copenhagen and Malmö and ferries shuttling funding through the EU-programme Interreg Öresund-Kattegatt-Skagerrak and will between Helsingborg and Helsingør. University grants are generally not allowed to cross borders, for example, continue until 30 June 2022. The project’s lead partner is Medicon Valley Alliance, and although a good collaboration means bilateral flow. Over the past six years, crossing the Øresund has become the partner is Øresundsinstituttet. Region Skåne and Region Zealand are co-funding even more difficult for us humans. The migration crisis, crime and now the coronavirus pandemic have led to the project. national decrees on border control and at times even partially closed the borders. At the same time, the border region is receiving support from Brussels via the EU-programme Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak. Since 2015, Interreg has granted nearly €47mn for joint border regional development projects in the life sciences. This analysis is part of one such project. After more than 50 interviews with players from Medicon Valley, we can draw several conclusions: MEDICON VALLEY is the bi-national life science • Personal contacts are of great consequence for the border regional development between Sweden cluster spanning eastern Denmark and the and Denmark. Skåne region of southern Sweden. Today, the Danish-Swedish region is marketed interna- • The national systems still have difficulty managing a border region. tionally with the name ‘Greater Copenhagen’, • The trans-Øresund exchange is extensive. Medicon Valley’s Danish and Swedish parts are tightly and its increasing population has reached interwoven by their people, capital, projects, research and affairs. more than four million residents. In Sweden, • There remains great potential to increase contacts across the Øresund. The Øresund is where the same geographical area is often called the Denmark’s and Sweden’s national life science strategies meet. Two neighbouring countries, both ‘Øresund Region’. successful in the life sciences, each an important trade partner for the other. The interviews in this report show that the actors who see great opportunities in expanding collaborations are very many. Copenhagen and Malmö, 22 June 2021 Johan Wessman CEO Øresundsinstituttet PHOTO: NEWS ØRESUND PHOTO: TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Summary .................................................................. 6 2. Commuters and the labour market .......................... 12 3. Management ........................................................... 26 4. Research and education .......................................... 47 Focus: Diabetes ........................................................ 56 Focus: Oncology ....................................................... 68 Focus: Reproduction ................................................. 82 BioInnovation Institute 5. Transregional sector actors and activities ............... 90 6. Investments and listings ....................................... 110 7. Appendix ............................................................... 135 PHOTO: LEO PHARMA PHOTO: ABOUT ZEALAND AND SKÅNE When we refer to Zealand and Skåne in this report, we are generally referring to the following geographic classification: the Danish island Zealand, and the southern Swedish province Skåne. There are also public and administrative geographies. On the Danish side, the Capital Region of Denmark includes the capital city Copenhagen and the surrounding municipalities, up to northeast Zealand and including the island Bornholm. Region Zealand comprises the remaining parts of Zealand and islands such as Møn, Lolland and Falster. On the Swedish side of the Øresund, the province of Skåne is geographically equivalent to Region Skåne. Together, the three Danish and Swedish regions comprise the Øresund Region, whose population was 4.1 million at the end of 2020, with two-thirds living on the Danish side. The Medicon Valley cluster shares the geography of the Øresund Region. The term Greater Copenhagen is used as an inter- national place brand for the Danish-Swedish region, and it also designates a political collaboration that encompasses the three abovementioned regions as well as Region Halland. The Greater Copenhagen region has a population of 4.4 million. LEO Pharma Open Innovation. SUMMARY SUMMARY 10 HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE REPORT +20 At least 20 Danish CEOs/managing di- rectors work in large, medium-sized and small life science companies in Skåne. NEWS ØRESUND & CELLAVISION PHOTO: The number of Danish directors has MORE THAN 900 BORDER COMMUTERS risen since 2017. Read more on page 27. Søren Bregenholt, new CEO of Simon Østergaard, new Alligator Bioscience in Lund. CEO of CellaVision in Lund. The life science sector’s labour force moves back and forth across the Øresund Region. A total of over 900 border commuters were identified in the region. At least 800 people commute from Skåne EXCELLENT RESEARCH IN THE REGION to work at life science companies in Zealand. At NEWS ØRESUND PHOTO: least 100 commuters from Zealand were identified Cancer, diabetes and reproduction are three research areas of excellence in Medicon Valley. as working in the life science sector in Skåne. World-class research is conducted in all three, and there are multiple links across the strait. These figures are the result of extensive contact There are around 600 researchers in CANCER RESEARCH at the hospitals in Region Skåne, between Øresundsinstituttet and the companies Region Hovedstaden and Region Sjælland, and there is also extensive research at the universities, between 2020-2021. One often hears about highly in the industry and at the Danish Cancer Society’s research institute in Copenhagen. Within cancer educated workers who are active across the Øre- research, it is relatively common for researchers and research groups to collaborate across the Examples of life science com- Number of border sund. Novo Nordisk is the Medicon Valley company panies in Zealand with border commuters from strait, but researchers call for more structural collaboration. with the largest number of border commuters. commuters from Sweden Sweden DIABETES RESEARCH has strong historical links to the 200 people travel from Sweden across the Øre- Novo Nordisk A/S 206 Øresund Region, as the predecessor to today’s Novo Nordisk sund to work at the company in Denmark. was founded in Copenhagen in 1923. Today, research centres Ferring Pharmaceuticals A/S 110 on both sides of the Øresund bring together diabetes research, LEO