SmiLe Incubator and GU Ventures debate life science in Almedalen

The Swedish business magazine Veckans Affärer is arranging a lunch seminar at Almedalen together with SmiLe Incubator and GU Ventures on Tuesday, July 4. The seminar will address issues such as how to achieve a stronger innovation climate for life science. Decision-makers representing the Government Offices, capital, academia, health care and industry will also be on the stage.

The innovation climate in life science is the focus of a lunch seminar arranged by the business magazine Veckans Affärer and the SmiLe and GU Ventures incubators to highlight what they and a number of decision-makers would like to do to strengthen the innovation climate.

Three issues will be addressed: Innovation, Funding and Changes in health care. The seminar will focus on current topics such as support for research and ideas, corporate incubation, financing, change and growth issues, as well as market needs and opportunities for transformation.

“The many important issues to address, as we gather these eminent decision-makers on the same stage, include how to achieve faster pathways into healthcare to test innovations, and how to simplify the process for companies to sell these new services and products to healthcare,” says Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator in Lund.

“Initiatives to promote innovation will not only save resources and improve care, but will also result in better treatment options through the development of new medications. Research generates innovations that are of interest from a commercial standpoint, but more access to venture capital for early-stage companies is also needed,” says Klementina Österberg, CEO of GU Ventures in Göteborg.

Suggestions that the incubator leaders promote in their roles as spokespeople for the entrepreneurs include:

1. Initiatives to promote eHealth, which are expected to save resources while providing faster and better care

2. More funding for early-stage companies and an efficient capital market

3. Faster pathways into the healthcare system to test new services/products and to make it easier for companies to sell new services/products to healthcare

The lunch seminar will be moderated by Veckans Affärer’s editor-in-chief, Åsa Uhlin. In addition to the incubator leaders, panel participants include Marie Wall, startup coordinator at the Government Offices within the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, Patrik Sundström, program coordinator for eHealth for the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), and Ann-Marie Wennberg, hospital director at Sahlgrenska University Hospital within Region Västra Götaland.

Link to the programme: http://www.almedalsveckan.info/event/user-view/48818?redir

List of participants:

• Sarah Fredriksson, CEO, PULS Invest and former entrepreneur
• Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO, SmiLe Incubator
• Lars Hultman, CEO, Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research
• Adam Kostyál,  Senior Vice President of Listing Services, Europe, Nasdaq
• Lotta Ljungqvist, President and CEO, Nordics, GE Healthcare
• Karin Meyer, CEO, Swedish Pharmaceutical Society
• Patrik Sundström, Program Coordinator, eHealth, SALAR
• Marie Wall, Deputy Director of Startups, Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, Government Offices
• Ann-Marie Wennberg, Hospital Director, Sahlgrenska University Hospital
• Eva Wiberg, new Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Lund University
• Robert Winroth, County Council Commissioner, Västerbotten County Council
• Åsa Uhlin, Veckans Affärer
• Klementina Österberg, CEO, GU Ventures

For more information, please contact:

Ebba Fåhraeus, SMS to +46 (0)734-000433, ebba@smileincubator.life

Klementina Österberg, +46 (0)70-4401190, klementina@ventures.gu.se

 

GU VENTURES in brief
GU Ventures operates a Swedish incubator and investment business that has been top-rated by the UBI Global Index. New ideas and companies receive support in areas such as business development, service and product development, human resources, funding, accounting, IP and business law. The company is wholly owned by the Swedish government and managed by the University of Gothenburg. In addition to revenue from rent and services, it is financed by Region Västra Götaland, VINNOVA, the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, the EU, and the Government Offices.

Facts about GU Venture’s companies:
- 140+ start-ups have received support to date, of which 100 are currently in business.
- These companies have combined sales of about SEK 300 million, employ 350 people and have raised over SEK 1 billion.
- 30 are in the incubator and employ 100 people.
- 11 are listed on AktieTorget and Nasdaq First North.

Contact us at: information@ventures.gu.se or +46 (0)31-786 5153.
Read more at: www.guventures.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

 

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