In the global health and life sciences landscape, Denmark has emerged as a small country with an outsized voice – not only through its scientific and industrial achievements, but also through its collaborative, values-based approach to health innovation and policymaking.
As Denmark holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the remainder of 2025, it does so with both momentum and ambition. At home, the Life Science Strategy Toward 2030 continues to guide public-private efforts to grow exports, attract investment, and reinforce Denmark’s role as a trusted partner in everything from clinical trials to sustainable manufacturing. At the same time, the ‘Health Closer to You’ reform seeks to transform care delivery by moving services beyond hospital walls and into homes and communities, supported by digital infrastructure and new models of prevention.
Yet even in this high-performing ecosystem, important tensions are at play. A country renowned for its clinical research excellence and early-phase innovation continues to face challenges in achieving widespread uptake, scale, and access. Biotech entrepreneurs face challenges raising capital and securing space to grow. Start-ups often flourish at inception but struggle to remain anchored as they globalise. Meanwhile, the public system – admired for its trust and efficiency – must adapt to demographic pressures, workforce shortages, and evolving patient needs.
This edition of the Denmark Healthcare & Life Sciences Review aims to capture a dual reality: a system that is globally admired but not without its growing pains, and a country with a unique opportunity to lead at the European level, yet with work still to be done at home. Across biopharma, medtech, digital health, and policy, the report brings together the perspectives of public officials, multinational executives, local innovators, and association leaders to paint a textured picture of Danish health and life sciences in 2025.
What emerges is a hopeful sense of clarity and coherence: a national model built on alignment, long-termism, and mutual trust – a model that may hold lessons far beyond Denmark’s borders.