New member: Vesteraalens

Our non-profit membership organisation is growing and in this article series, you will be introduced to each new member that joins our cluster.

Find out why a company specialising in seafood and marine ingredients has become a member of an oncology cluster.

Vesteraalens is one of the newest members of Oslo Cancer Cluster. The company was founded in Norway in 1912 and has been producing high-quality seafood for over a century. Among other things, the company produced the food supplies for the famous explorer Roald Amundsen’s expedition through the Northeast Passage.

The fish oil Omega-3 was not only an essential component of a famous explorer’s diet, it could also become an important supplement to cancer treatments. Vesteraalens are exploring the health benefits of Omega-3 oil to improve clinical nutrition for patients undergoing cancer treatments. We talked to Viktor B. Johnsen, CEO at Vesteraalens, to find out more about what they do in the cancer field.

Could you briefly describe Vesteraalens and the role you are taking in cancer and health?

“Vesteraalens AS is an innovative seafood- and marine ingredients company, which produces a wide variety of products, like fresh cod and haddock loin filets, fishballs, soup and ingredients like marine Omega-3 oil, proteins and minerals. Vesteraalens has a vision to become an important contributor to research and development in the marine ingredients sector with focus on nutrition, sustainability and ethical production. Much focus and research these days are on the use of Omega-3 oil in clinical nutrition. There are findings indicating that Omega-3 supplements during cancer treatments have significant positive health benefits for the patients,” said Johnsen.

Why did Vesteraalens join Oslo Cancer Cluster?

“Oslo Cancer Cluster provides a unique opportunity to get in touch with other professionals interested in clinical nutrition as a supplement to cancer treatment. Our motivation for membership in Oslo Cancer Cluster is closely related to further research concerning the effects of Omega-3 for the immune-system and especially related to cancer treatment. The data collected so far show significantly positive results and we are eager to do more research with potential collaborating Oslo Cancer Cluster’s partners to hopefully be able to document the effects scientifically. We find the network in Oslo Cancer Cluster very valuable,” said Johnsen.