THIRD LIFE SCIENCE SUMMIT IN STOCKHOLM IS A LANDMARK EVENT
Commentary by Udayan Gupta, WSJ Journalist and AuthorWhen Barbro Ehnbom brought the idea of a Swedish-American Life Science Summit to Stockholm in 2005, no one expected that its impact would be so profound in such a short time. This year, SALSS was a landmark event, featuring Jacob Wallenberg as the keynote speaker, senior executives from some of the largest pharmaceutical companies, key life sciences bankers and analysts and a slew of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial companies – Swedish and American. And with the support and sponsorship of, amongst others, Ernst & Young and Kaupthing Bank, SALSS raised itself to a new level this year.
This year’s SALSS featured some of the same discussions that are taking place across the globe – concerns over big pharma and its dwindling pipeline, the paucity of capital for early stage life sciences research and the societal implications of innovative healthcare solutions – but the setting was more intimate and the exchanges more frank and lively.
And it was the presence of a wide range of financial interests – from traditional bankers to alternative asset managers – that brought a new perspective to the strategic importance of life science and life science businesses.
It was important for the participants to recognize the importance of life sciences investing – not simply for venture capitalists and angel investors but also for hedge fund managers and private equity investors. Thomas von Koch of EQT, one of Sweden’s largest private equity funds, talked of the role that funds such as his are playing, in helping “rationalize” the life sciences business – in Sweden and the rest of Europe. Hedge fund manager Navroze Alphonse discussed the increased attention being paid by hedge funds such as Pequot Capital to life sciences companies, not simply as financial transactions but as longer-term investments. Indeed, the financial importance of the life sciences – the fastest growing business segment on all parts of the globe – was underscored by all participants – scientists as well as investors, policymakers as well as the service providers.
Sweden and the United States play crucial roles in the life sciences. The US is the largest healthcare spender and the biggest investor in R&D. But the US, also, tends to focus on the life sciences as big business, often ignoring the question of unmet needs and unserved markets. By contrast, Sweden is a relatively small player. But it is the world’s largest per capita spender on life sciences R&D and has a tradition of building large pharmaceutical companies such as Astra Zeneca and Pharmacia. Moreover, Sweden’s philosophy and social policies towards life sciences has attracted attention across the globe.
Through SALSS, Barbro Ehnbom and her associates have brought together two of life sciences’ key countries. And as always, the discussions and deliberations have been nothing but strategic and invaluable.
What does the future hold for SALSS? Its success in bringing key people together from the two countries – and others – bodes well for such forums. It is ready to transport the discussion from Sweden and into the US. Hopefully, those who have supported the event and those who have benefited from it will now step up to make SALSS a real institution.
Udayan Gupta,
WSJ Journalist and Author, SALSS moderator
New York,
July 2, 2007