GU Ventures visited Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator

New connections were made between the incubators in Gothenburg and Oslo.

GU ventures, an incubator that supports projects and companies spawned by the University of Gothenburg, visited Oslo Cancer Cluster on 25-26 January 2023. Anders Waas, Business Development Advisor for GU Ventures, was accompanied by several cancer companies from the Gothenburg milieu, including Sortina Pharma (Sara Rhost and Göran Landberg, Iscaff Pharma (Per Setterberg), Simsen diagnostics (Gustav Johansson) and Oncorena (Börje Haraldsson and Pål Falck).

The OCC Incubator team, consisting of Ketil Widerberg, CEO, Janne Nestvold, COO, and Thomas Andersson, Business Development Advisor, facilitated meetings with several companies from Oslo Cancer Cluster.

GU Ventures also participated at Cancer Crosslinks, an annual educational meeting which gathers prominent experts in oncology, providing a forum for networking and interaction.

Anders Waas commented: “We were very impressed by the research, the start-up companies and the activities at Oslo Cancer Cluster and strive to build a closer collaboration, which can benefit the development of cancer research and growth of cancer companies in the Oslo – Gothenburg region.”

Thomas Andersson commented: “This was a great experience for Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator. We were very impressed by the quality of the companies from GU Ventures and look forward to collaborating more closely.”

Cancer incubator secures further financing

SIVA continues backing our Incubator so we can help cancer start-ups succeed

Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator has been awarded NOK 3,5 million to continue supporting cancer innovators during 2023. The funds come from SIVA, a governmental enterprise facilitating a national infrastructure for innovation.

Why are these funds important? Well, the road is long from a promising innovation is born until it becomes a solution that improves patients’ lives. An innovator often needs support to make their idea into a commercial product.

Precision therapy against cancer

This was the case with Kongsberg Beam Technology, founded by Per Håvard Kleven who had invented a digital solution to improve proton therapy, based on expertise from the Kongsberg defence industry.

The company was admitted into the Accelerator programme at Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator in 2019. The incubator team worked closely with the company and helped with everything from setting up a business plan, developing a company strategy and recruiting management, to attracting the company’s first investors.

Kerstin Johansson, CEO of Kongsberg Beam Technology, one of the companies in the Incubator that has received help from SIVA.

“If it wasn’t for Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, Kongsberg Beam Technology wouldn’t be where we are today.”

“If it wasn’t for Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, Kongsberg Beam Technology wouldn’t be where we are today. From being a one-man company, we have grown to a semi-virtual company with a mix of employees and CRO/service companies with key competences for the road to commercialise our product MaMa-K. To date we have attracted NOK 50,4 million in private investments and public funding. We strongly believe that with our solution, MaMa-K software intended for radiation therapy the clinical benefits will be significantly better and cancer patients will have a much better life with less side effects after the treatment,” said Kerstin Jakobsson, CEO of Kongsberg Beam Technology.

A melting pot for innovation

Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator is the only cancer incubator among the total 35 companies accepted into the SIVA’s new ten-year Incubator programme starting 2023. The Incubator offers business development services, state-of-the-art laboratories, and access to a global cancer community.

Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator have state-of-the-art labs that are shared between academics and private companies. Photo: Christopher Olssøn

A multitude of languages can be heard between the international researchers as you walk down the hallways. When peering into the labs, you see academics working side-by-side with private companies. This is a true melting pot for health innovation.

“Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator is uniquely situated next to Oslo University Hospital and can provide the network in oncology that early-stage companies in cancer need.”

“Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator is uniquely situated next to Oslo University Hospital and can provide the network in oncology that early-stage companies in cancer need. We are now expanding the Innovation Park to make room for more companies, who are in dire need of our facilities and expertise. This is good for the companies, it benefits the patients and adds value to Norwegian society,” said Ketil Widerberg, CEO and Chairman of Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator.

The Incubator is situated in Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park, right next to the Cancer Research Institute and a stone’s throw away from the Oslo University Hospital (a Comprehensive Cancer Centre). Photo: Christian Tandberg

Presenterte på svensk investorkonferanse

Please note. This article is only in Norwegian. A longer article in English will be published shortly.

Tre av Oslo Cancer Cluster Inkubator sine selskaper, Kongsberg Beam Technology, AdjuTec Pharma og Thelper, presenterte i går og i dag seg på den svenske investorkonferansen «Biostock Life Science Fall Summit 2022».

I tillegg presenterte Oslo Cancer Cluster-medlem Ultimovacs seg.

Konferansen gikk av stabelen i Lund og var fullbooket. Gjennom to dager har selskaper og investorer satt hverandre i stevne, der en majoritet av svenske selskaper har vist seg fram for investorer fra både Sverige og Danmark.

Inkubator-selskapene har fått tilgang til å delta her gjennom et nylig etablert samarbeid mellom inkubatoren og BioStock, som er et svensk, digitalt nyhets- og analyseselskap fokusert på selskaper innen livsvitenskapssektoren.

Fra Oslo Cancer Cluster Inkubator har COO Janne Nestvold og Senior Advisor Business Development Thomas Andersson deltatt.

•Kongsberg Beam Technology ble presentert av CEO Kerstin Jakobsson. Selskapet utvikler neste-generasjons protonterapi ved å persontilpasse behandlingen til hver enkelt pasient.

Kongsberg Beam Technology ble presentert av CEO Kerstin Jakobsson. Selskapet utvikler neste-generasjons protonterapi ved å persontilpasse behandlingen til hver enkelt pasient. Foto: Thomas Andersson

Besøk nettsidene til Kongsberg Beam Technology

AdjuTec Pharma ble presentert av CEO Bjørn Klem. Selskapet utvikler antibiotika-produkter mot multiresistente infeksjoner.

AdjuTec Pharma ble presentert av CEO Bjørn Klem. Selskapet utvikler antibiotika-produkter mot multiresistente infeksjoner. Foto: Elisabeth Kirkeng Andersen

Besøk nettsidene til AdjuTec Pharma

Thelper ble presentert av CEO Katja Vetvik. Selskapet utvikler anti-viral immunterapibehandling av solide svulster.

Thelper ble presentert av CEO Katja Vetvik. Selskapet utvikler anti-viral immunterapibehandling av solide svulster. Foto: Elisabeth Kirkeng Andersen

Besøk nettsidene til Thelper

Ultimovacs ble presentert av CEO Carlos De Sousa. Selskapet utvikler en universell kreftvaksine, UV1.

New collaboration with Rebel

Rebel and Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator start a collaboration to tighten the ties between cancer research and information technology.

The world of cancer treatments and the world of information technology sometimes seem far apart. A new collaboration between Rebel and Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator sets out to be beneficial to companies that inhabit both worlds – and to our society in general.

“Technology is about more than lines of code and gadgets. It is also about solving big societal challenges. This is an opportunity for us to contribute in one of the most important cases there is – cancer. Imagine how rewarding it is for tech heads to use their knowledge to improve diagnostics and cancer treatments,” said Peter Jetzel, Chief Rebel.

Rebel connects information technology- and software developers in the centre of Oslo. Since the hub opened last autumn, they have experienced that the need for technological competencies in Oslo is massive, also in the health sector and in companies that are traditionally considered biotech.

 

Man on hood of car - DeLorian

Peter Jetzel, Chief Rebel, on the hood of the DeLorian in one of the common areas in Rebel.

 

Technology is an important driver in the future of cancer treatments, as digitalisation changes how we understand and develop medicine,” said Ketil Widerberg, CEO at Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator.

 

Wonderful spaces

The emerging health industry in Norway is booming, and more space is needed as the main Oslo Cancer Cluster hub at Campus Radiumhospitalet develops. While the construction of a second part of Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park is under way, companies in Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator can find space and new partners at Rebel.

Rebel has offices, conference rooms, project rooms, studios, makers spaces and a software lab in the area of Tullin, in the middle of Oslo. These will be made available to companies in Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator.

 

A meeting room.

Some of the meeting rooms in the Rebel building come with a view.

 

A dynamic collaboration

The collaboration is dynamic and full of opportunities. There is room for projects, exchange of expert competencies, new establishments, and common arenas. The ambition is that the initiatives will grow from the grass, so to speak, on arenas that are made for knowledge sharing.

“To give the right treatment to the right patient at the right time, artificial intelligence will be central. To accelerate development of new cancer treatments, health data will be collected and analyzed in entirely new ways. In short, we need to think differently,» said Ketil Widerberg.

«Collaboration in clusters and collaborations between clusters are two sides of the same coin. Our two knowledge environments have different professional anchorages, but we are heading towards the same goal. We are starting this collaboration to find synergies and energy for mutual benefits,” said Peter Jetzel.