Geir Hetland joins the board of Oslo Cancer Cluster

Geir Hetland, Chief Financial Officer of Thermo Fisher Scientific, is the latest addition to the board of Oslo Cancer Cluster.

“I wish to contribute to the strategic direction and success of Oslo Cancer Cluster. The organisation has a great foundation to further develop to become one of the leading cancer clusters worldwide,” commented Hetland after he was elected at Oslo Cancer Cluster’s general assembly last week.

Hetland brings 30 years of experience from the life science industry ranging from global companies to start-ups. He has worked 15 years for AstraZeneca, both as Chief Financial Officer in Norway and as European Business Director supporting the 7 largest European countries with base in Brussel.

Expanding the innovation park

After spending close to 14 years in Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hetland is now the company’s Chief Financial Officer. Thermo Fisher Scientific is a key player in the current expansion of Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park. The company has signed a lease for nearly four floors (two lab floors and two office floors) compromising almost 75 per cent of the entire fourth tower being constructed on the western side of the premises.

“Thermo Fisher Scientific has always been located close to Radiumhospitalet (Oslo University Hospital) with close collaboration with the hospital. This has been a win-win situation for both sides, and we would like to even strengthen this further moving forward. Radiumhospitalet is the birthplace of some of the greatest innovations in multiple cancer fields bringing better cancer treatments to patients,” said Hetland.

Supporting cancer start-ups

Going forward, Hetland wishes to increase Oslo Cancer Cluster’s capacity to help start-ups so that new cancer innovations faster reach patients.

“Oslo Cancer Cluster mission is dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients by accelerating the development of new cancer diagnostics and treatments. This will always be the number 1 priority! To achieve this, we need to ensure that start-up companies are positioned to succeed in everything from capital funding, sufficient expansion space with research labs and all the way to readout of patient data in their clinical trials.”

 

 

Lytix and Curida: Growth and innovation

Two companies from the Oslo Cancer Cluster have recently made remarkable achievements in both research and economic growth in the dynamic landscape of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

Lytix Biopharma and Curida, both Norwegian-owned, have gained attention and acclaim for their innovative approaches and substantial contributions to the healthcare sector.

Lytix Biopharma: Pioneering Immunotherapy

Lytix Biopharma, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company based in Oslo, Norway, has been making waves with its research and development efforts in cancer immunotherapy. Spearheaded by CEO Øystein Rekdal, the company has recently secured between NOK 50 and 55 million in new capital, showcasing strong support from existing shareholders and new investors alike.

One of Lytix Biopharma’s flagship projects is the development of LTX-315, a novel cancer immunotherapy drug candidate currently undergoing Phase II studies. Partnering with Verrica Pharmaceuticals, Lytix Biopharma aims to revolutionize the treatment of skin cancer with LTX-315, offering patients a non-surgical option with potentially reduced risks and improved outcomes.

Rekdal highlights the significance of the partnership with Verrica, stating, “The collaboration with Verrica shows that the company’s drug candidate has a commercial potential in one of the largest cancer indications globally.” Moreover, Lytix Biopharma’s innovative approach, addresses key challenges in cancer therapy, promising enhanced efficacy and reduced side effects compared to current treatments.

Read more about Lytix drug candidate LTX-315

(In Norwegian)Les mer om Lytix Biopharma i Healthtalk

Curida: Empowering Pharma and Biotech

In parallel, Curida, another Oslo Cancer Cluster member company based in Oslo, Norway, has secured a significant growth investment from Signet Healthcare Partners and existing shareholders. This substantial investment, totalling between 230M NOK and 260M NOK, underscores Curida’s commitment to expansion and innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Ole J. Dahlberg, former CEO and Chairman of the Board at Curida, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with Signet, stating, “We are excited by the opportunity to further accelerate growth and improve products for our pharma and biotech customers in their work to deliver medicines and therapeutics to benefit patients.”

The appointment of Anders Larsson as the new CEO further strengthens Curida’s leadership team, bringing extensive experience in management and strategic development from the pharmaceutical industry. With a focus on aseptic and non-aseptic liquid manufacturing, as well as biologics processing, Curida aims to cater to the evolving needs of pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide.

Read more in their press release

Plans for the Future

Both Lytix Biopharma and Curida have ambitious plans for the future, aiming to advance their respective projects and expand their impact on the healthcare industry. For Lytix Biopharma, upcoming studies at the Norwegian Radium Hospital hold promise for testing LTX-315 in earlier-stage melanoma patients, potentially broadening the reach of their innovative immunotherapy.

Rekdal shared their overarching goal, stating, “Our overall goal is to bring multiple projects forward and partner for late-stage development and commercialisation.” Similarly, Curida looks to leverage Signet’s industry expertise and investment to enhance its manufacturing capabilities and continue delivering high-quality solutions to pharmaceutical and biotech partners globally.

 

 

6 people in front of a green wall looking into the camera smiling

DIGI-B-CUBE consortium meets in Oslo

DIGI-B-CUBE aims to unlock the cross-sectoral collaborative potential of small and medium-sized companies.

As a project funded under the European Union´s Horizon 2020 Programme, it aims to unlock this potential by combining novel digital technologies with bioimaging, biosensing, and biobanking.

DIGI-B-CUBE was established with Oslo Cancer Cluster as the project coordinator in 2019. The project supports the development and delivery of new market-sensitive disruptive technologies and key digital innovations to reconfigure patient-centered diagnostics towards a Health Economy 4.0.

Read more on the DIGI-B-CUBE webpage.

Meeting in Oslo

Last week, a consortium consisting of eight partners met at the Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park, both in person and virtually. Milena Stoyanova and Gerry Renders were present from the Executive Agency (EISMEA) established by the European Commission. They highlighted the importance of supporting and empowering small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in their innovation activities.

DIGI-B-CUBE has funded a total of 55 projects, resulting in 2,5 MEUR provided directly to companies to boost the development of disruptive tech solutions and health tech innovations across Europe. One of these projects is CEREBRI.

Treating migraines

“We develop easy-to-use and scientifically proven technology to help people predict and prevent brain disorders,” said Cathrine Heuch, CEO of Nordic Brain Tech.

She explained that 14.7% of the population is affected by migraine, the most common neurological disorder costing the European economy €50 billion annually. Migraine results in reduced quality of life and limited daily performance in work and social life.

According to Heuch, there is a pressing need for treatments without side effects, that are affordable and more accessible than today’s alternatives, which mainly consist of medications associated with limited efficacy and negative side effects.

CEREBRI digital treatment

Nordic Brain Tech has in joint cooperation with i3tex and Thorgate developed a project called CEREBRI to optimize treatment software and a finger biosensor. CEREBRI is a digital treatment for preventing migraine, solving the demand for treatment without negative side effects.

With two wireless sensors and a smartphone app, patients can perform regular biofeedback training that has the potential to reduce migraine frequency by 50%. This enables treatment from the comfort of your own home, and virtual care from a physician, with potential cost savings of ~60% compared to biofeedback given in clinics.

CEREBRI can significantly increase a migraine patient’s quality of life and reduce costs to sick leave for businesses and health care providers, according to the project.

The companies in DIGI-B-CUBE receive funding and mentoring/coaching in the project. This week, Cathrine Heuch met Milena Stoyanova from EISMEA and her mentor in DIGI-B-CUBE, Astrid Green, at Oslo Cancer Clusters offices.

THree women in front of a green wall looking into the camera smiling

From the left: Astrid Green, Milena Stoyanova, Cathrine Heuch.

Read more about the CEREBRI project on the DIGI-B-CUBE webpage

 

 

NOK 16 million to new RWE company

The Research Council of Norway recently awarded grants to several innovation projects in the industrial sector. One of the lucky companies was the newcomer NordicRWE.

NordicRWE was granted 16 million NOK for their research and development (R&D) project that will focus on applying Real-World Evidence (RWE) in different steps in the drug development process.

Let us pause for a moment at the term RWE. What is it? According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDE), real-world data are the data relating to patient health status and/or the delivery of health care routinely collected from a variety of sources. Real-world evidence is the clinical evidence of the usage and potential benefits or risks of a medical product derived from analysis of real-world data.

Addressing a mismatch

“Nordic and Norwegian health data are among the best in the world, but we can use them much better than how it is done today. This is especially true for drug development and follow-up of patient care. However, advanced research and quality assurance are needed”, said Ketil Widerberg, chairman of the board in Nordic RWE.

Ketil Widerberg is also the general manager of Oslo Cancer Cluster.

The vision of NordicRWE is to develop a research-based system for RWE that supports drug development in accordance with high regulatory demands. Observational data, epidemiologic methods of research, and the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning are all part of the research base.

The funded R&D project will construct external control arms for oncology clinical trials and combine machine learning with pharmacoepidemiology for drug signal detection. Pharmacoepidemiology is the study of the utilization and effects of drugs in large numbers of people. It provides an estimate of the probability of beneficial effects of a drug in a population and the probability of adverse effects.

“There is a mismatch between the need to document effect and the availability and tools to analyse health data. This is what we aim to address,” said Steinar Thoresen, project leader NordicRWE.

Well known in the Norwegian health industry, Thoresen has worked for more than twenty years at The Cancer Registry of Norway and published more than a hundred international papers on cancer-epidemiology. He has held leading roles in the pharma industry since 2006, and he has seen many of the hurdles and opportunities to succeed with innovative clinical trials. Thoresen will join the company in October in a half-time position while keeping a separate consultancy role.

Private initiatives are needed

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Christian Jonasson, project leader NordicRWE.

Jonasson will join the company full time in October from the position of Specialist Director Health Data at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. He brings 25 years of diverse experience from R&D roles in pharma, academia, and the governmental sector.

“The need for high-quality health data is increasing exponentially and private initiatives are needed to complement government programs. Cooperation based on public-private partnerships is our goal,” said Jonasson.

The funded R&D project will focus on external control arms for oncology clinical trials and machine learning methods combined with pharmacoepidemiology for drug signal detection, which represents innovative applications of RWE in drug development.

Joining forces for RWE

Professor Arnoldo Frigessi, Director at the Oslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Oslo, and Lena Nymo Helli, CEO of Norway Health Tech, have both joined the board as non-executive directors.

“Technologically, we are at a crossroad. The ability modern machine learning and statistics give for understanding and being able to deliver better healthcare is transformative, NordicRWE comes at the right time,” said Professor Frigessi.

He has supervised more than forty Ph.D. students and published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers in the field.

“We see real-world data change the dynamics in consultancy companies, technology companies, and medical technology companies. However, we believe now is the time for a dedicated effort to enable Nordic health data to be transformative. This is what NordicRWE is about,” said Lena Nymo Helli.

With more than 25 years of experience in the international pharmaceutical industry, she has worked in many phases of the product life cycle from R&D to sales and marketing.

The timing is now

In the project description to the Research Council, NordicRWE stresses that the timing is now for RWE, mainly because of precision medicine, implying advanced treatments for smaller patient groups, making health data a natural part of drug development, and evaluation of patient care.

To succeed with the research project, NordicRWE has partnered with the AI drug development division in NEC Corporation, The Cancer Registry of Norway, and the University of Oslo. The company is currently looking for new employees.

For more information about Nordic RWE, see the company webpage.