Medicon Valley is a leading international
life-sciences cluster in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, spanning the
Øresund Region
Øresund or Öresund (, ; ; ), commonly known in English as the Sound, is a strait which forms the Denmark–Sweden border, Danish–Swedish border, separating Zealand (Denmark) from Scania (Sweden). The strait has a length of ; its width var ...
of eastern
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and southern
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. It is one of Europe's strongest life science clusters, with many life science companies and research institutions located within a relatively small geographical area. The name has officially been in use since 1997.
Major life science sectors of the Medicon Valley cluster includes
pharmacology
Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...
,
biotechnology
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...
,
health tech and medical technology. It is specifically known for its research strengths in the areas of
neurological disorders
Neurological disorders represent a complex array of medical conditions that fundamentally disrupt the functioning of the nervous system. These Disorder of consciousness, disorders affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerve networks, presenting unique ...
,
inflammatory diseases,
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
and
diabetes
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...
.
Background and activities
The population of Medicon Valley reaches close to 4 million inhabitants. In 2008, 60% of Scandinavian pharmaceutical companies were located in the region. The area includes 17 universities, 32 hospitals, and more than 400 life science companies. 20 are large pharmaceutical or medical technology firms and 170 are dedicated biotechnology firms. Between 1998 and 2008, 100 new biotechnology and medical technology companies were created here. The biotechnology industry alone employs around 41,000 people in the region, 7,000 of whom are academic researchers.
International companies with major research centres in the region include
Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, with production facilities in nine countries and affiliates or offices in five. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder Novo Holdings A/S ...
,
Novozymes-Novonesis,
Baxter,
Lundbeck
H. Lundbeck A/S, commonly referred to as Lundbeck, is a Denmark, Danish international pharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals across the world. The company’s products ar ...
,
Leo Pharma
LEO Pharma A/S is a multinational Danish pharmaceutical company, founded in 1908, with a presence in about 100 countries. Its headquarters are in Ballerup, near Copenhagen The company is 100% integrated into a private foundation owned by the LEO ...
,
Genmab,
Bavarian Nordic,
Zealand PharmaHemoCueand
Ferring Pharmaceuticals. There are more than 7
science park
A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park", "technopark", "technopolis", "technopole", or a "science and technology park" TP is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters ...
s in the region, all with a significant focus on life science, including the
Medicon Village in Lund, established in 2010. Companies within Medicon Valley account for more than 20% of the total GDP of Denmark and Sweden combined.
Medicon Valley is promoted by
Invest in Skåne and
Copenhagen Capacity.
Many of the region's universities have a strong heritage in biological and medical research and have produced several Nobel Prize winners. The almost century-long presence of a number of research-intensive and fully integrated pharmaceutical companies, such as Novo Nordisk, H. Lundbeck and LEO Pharma, has also contributed significantly to the medical research and business development of the region by strengthening abilities within applied research, attracting suppliers and producing spin-offs.
[MVA's History](_blank)
Medicon Valley Alliance
In 2011, the organisations of MVA and
Invest in Skåne, launched the concept of Beacons. Beacons are projects for creating world-leading cross-disciplinary research environments with a focus on areas where there are considerable potential for
synergies in Medicon Valley specifically. After a long thorough selection process, the four Beacons of
systems biology
Systems biology is the computational modeling, computational and mathematical analysis and modeling of complex biological systems. It is a biology-based interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological system ...
,
structural biology
Structural biology deals with structural analysis of living material (formed, composed of, and/or maintained and refined by living cells) at every level of organization.
Early structural biologists throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries we ...
,
immune regulation and
drug delivery
Drug delivery involves various methods and technologies designed to transport pharmaceutical compounds to their target sites helping therapeutic effect. It involves principles related to drug preparation, route of administration, site-specif ...
were approved.
The Medicon Valley issues the quaternal life science magazine "Medicon Valley".
Medicon Valley Magazine
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Science parks
Science parks in Medicon Valley includes:
Copenhagen Bio Science Park
(COBIS)
Ideon Science Park
(largest of its kind in Scandinavia)
Symbion
Krinova Science Park
* Medicon Village
Medeon Science Park
* Scion DTU
References
See also
* Zealand Pharma
Sources and further reading
*
*
* A case study.
*
External links
Medicon Valley
Swedish-Danish life-sciences cluster
Medicon Valley Alliance
Invest in Skåne
Swedish business organisation
Copenhagen Capacity
Danish business organisation
{{Copenhagen
Biotechnology
High-technology business districts
Science and technology in Denmark
Science and technology in Sweden
Venture capital firms of Denmark
Øresund Region