Cutting Edge Capabilities

Skype, Spotify, IKEA, Ericsson, Sobi, Elekta, Recipharm, the Nobel Prize along with a highly skilled and flexible workforce makes Sweden one of the coolest and most innovative places on the planet.
Academia, healthcare providers, research infrastructure including biobanks, incubators, investors and industry are all set to accelerate innovation and international collaborations within drug development and medtech.

At first glance, a number of factors are easily recognizable. Swedes are used to collaborating to get the job done. English is like a second language and up to date education in ICT and telecoms, clean tech, materials science, automation, law, finance, marketing/PR and transport/ logistics continues to provide a highly skilled workforce.

Similarly, the Swedish government is investing heavily in infrastructure. Any visitor can see that Sweden is among the most modern countries in the world, one example being that Sweden has the highest internet usage per capita in the world.

Despite the common perception of a high tax economy, Sweden is also in fact one of Europe’s most business friendly environments with a competitive corporate tax rate. Since Viking times, Sweden has also been a trading nation. Swedish companies embraced globalisation long before the term was even coined, with the result of Sweden being the world´s 6th most globalized country.

Sweden has the talent and assets

In life science in particular, the talent and asset base is in several aspects superior to any other country. One in five researchers work in the sector, in internationally renowned powerhouses including Karolinska Institutet, Uppsala University, Lund University and University of Gothenburg. The latest newcomer, SciLifeLab is also fast making a name for itself. Yet this breadth of talent and assets would mean nothing without the fundamental attitudes of the Swedes themselves. You may find Swedes to be a bit shy and modest but underneath, fuelled by open-mindedness and a willingness to collaborate, there is a will and determination to succeed.

Quality health care for all is a cornerstone of the Swedish welfare state. A number of initiatives are currently in progress to further improve care for patients; two examples being more patient-centric systems and digital health solutions. Sweden has a long tradition of involvement from the well-educated population in such programs and patients are generally willing to take part in clinical trials. The public healthcare system with access for all citizens is also a pre-requisite for the comprehensive patient registries and functional biobanks. 

More information on the Swedish healthcare system can be found at Symbiocare – Health by Sweden. This is a Swedish government and industry initiative with the purpose to promote Swedish healthcare and life science internationally and to spur collaboration.

Read more at Symbiocare.org