SmiLe upgrades its laboratories with equipment for development of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs)

SmiLe Incubator has received a grant of SEK 500,000 from Sparbanken Skåne’s owner foundation to provide additional equipment for its laboratories. SmiLe will use these funds to purchase ultramodern instruments that are suitable for development of advanced therapy medicinal products, known as ATMPs, which will help startup companies to develop their innovations and businesses.

ATMPs are a high-priority focus area for Sweden, which is reflected in the Life Science Strategy that the Swedish government adopted in 2019, as well as in Region Skåne’s commitment in this field. To meet the demand from startup companies that develop these modern treatment methods, such as gene therapy and cell therapy, SmiLe is now installing more cell culture equipment, such as incubators and laminar flow hoods that provide an aseptic work area in their laboratories.

The laboratories located in SmiLe’s facilities at Medicon Village in Lund will be continually upgraded with new equipment in order to offer modern laboratory infrastructure to SmiLe’s incubator companies, as well as to other small and medium-sized enterprises in the region.

“Establishing and equipping its own laboratory infrastructure would be a tremendous financial burden for the individual company. Our eleven laboratories, which are jointly used by these companies, include equipment for work with cells and biological tissue, as well as for chemical and biological analysis. We are thrilled that we will now have the opportunity to supplement our facilities with even more equipment,” says business coach Per Brunmark, who is also responsible for the laboratories.

The companies in SmiLe’s community include several companies that work in the field of ATMPs, such as the incubator companies Asgard Therapeutics and Raaven Therapeutics.

Sparbanken Skåne’s owner foundations have also previously been involved with SmiLe Incubator and have provided grants to the operation for many years. The support is made possible by the savings bank concept, an important component which stipulates that profit from the banking business which is not needed to secure the future of the bank can be returned to the community and reinvested in local development.

“We are extremely pleased that the grant from Sparbanken Skåne’s owner foundation enables us to provide even better support for initiatives in the region in one of the most important therapeutic areas of the future, ATMP. We hope that these additions will enable us to attract more researchers and help them to develop their innovations, which in turn will benefit research, the business community and patients,” says Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator.

For more information, please contact: Ebba Fåhraeus, CEO of SmiLe Incubator, +46 73 400 04 33, ebba@smileincubator.life