Projects
Greater Copenhagen Life Science AnalysisContact person
Project
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 demand for labourers, future expertise needs, and more. The project has received funding through the EU-programme Interreg Öresund-Kattegatt-Skagerrak and was carried out in the period of 2019-2022. The project’s lead partner is Medicon Valley Alliance, and the partner is Øresundsinstituttet. Region Skåne and Region Zealand are cofunding the project.
LIFE SCIENCE IN MEDICON VALLEY
– a survey of companies in the sector
This analysis summarizes the main results of the reports prepared by the Danish-Swedish knowledge center Øresundsinstituttet within the framework of the Interreg project “Greater Copenhagen Life Science Analysis Initiative”. A free download of the final report is available here. The region specific reports for each region can be viewed individually at the bottom of this page.
Highlights
+45 MIA. DKK in construction investments
The life science sector in Medicon Valley has seen significant investment capacity and belief in the future in recent years. This is apparent in various ways, including that life science companies are investing more than DKK 45bn in expanding their production plants, research facilities, and/or offices and domiciles regionally. More than 4 000 new jobs in the region are expected to be generated through the investments on both sides of the Øresund.
16 life science municipalities
More than 1 000 employees work in private life science companies in 16 municipalities in the Danish-Swedish Medicon Valley. These municipalities are particularly important for the life science sector in the region, as around 86% of the ca 65 500 people employed regionally work in a company located in one of these 16 municipalities. Company structure varies from one municipality to the next, with especially strong startup activity in Copenhagen, Lyngby, Hørsholm and Lund because of their proximity to incubators, science parks, the healthcare sector, and universities. Large production facilities and headquarters are located both close to and far from the Copenhagen area. Gladsaxe Municipality, Copenhagen Municipality, and Ballerup Municipality are the three largest life science municipalities in Medicon Valley.
Research areas of excellence
Cancer, diabetes and reproduction are three research areas of excellence in Medicon Valley. World-class research is conducted in all three, and there are multiple links across the strait.
There are around 600 researchers in CANCER RESEARCH at the hospitals in Region Skåne, Region Hovedstaden and Region Sjælland, and there is also extensive research at the universities, in the industry and at the Danish Cancer Society’s research institute in Copenhagen. Within cancer research, it is relatively common for researchers and research groups to collaborate across the strait, but researchers call for more structural collaboration.
DIABETES RESEARCH has strong historical links to the Øresund Region, as the predecessor to today’s Novo Nordisk was founded in Copenhagen in 1923. Today, research centres on both sides of the Øresund bring together diabetes research, and many of the largest players have joined forces in the Interreg-collaboration DiaUnion.
REPRODUCTION RESEARCH has also traditionally been strong in the Øresund Region, and there has long been extensive exchange across the strait within the Interreg-project ReproUnion 2.0 and its earlier iterations. Today, a unique biobank is being constructed, the aim with which is to include 5 000 couples from Denmark and Sweden and get to the bottom of involuntary childlessness.
Region specific reports
