Summer vibes in our house

The annual summer gathering at Oslo Cancer Cluster brought together researchers, clinicians, innovators, industry representatives, politicians, and more, for a festive event on 13 June.

“Cancer affects us all. It does not discriminate by age, gender or nationality. This shared challenge calls for a united front, bringing together researchers, practicioners, industry leaders, and policymakers nationally and from around the world. Oslo Cancer Cluster has successfully created a vibrant eco-system where such multidisciplinary collaborations can flourish, driving forward the frontiers of cancer research and treatment. Your work and efforts are important both today and for future generations,” said State Secretary Ivar Bühring Prestbakmo, Ministry of Education & Research, in his opening remarks.

The first part of the event included short presentations from new members and a variety of older members. There was also an overview of upcoming events and an outlook on Oslo Cancer Cluster’s future activities.

The second part was dedicated to delicious afternoon coffee and networking among friendly colleagues. The attendees made new connections, exchanged knowledge with one another, and got a well-deserved break during this hectic summer month.

New members

Levanger Hospital and Cody AS were presented as the most recent additions to the cluster.

The Levanger Hospital has extensive research activity, with 117 peer-reviewed papers last year and many PhDs every year. The cancer department has six doctors and ten nurses. They see 600 patients and perform 6000 consultations every year. They have 13 ongoing trials and participate in many national trials as well.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Oslo Cancer Cluster for several years on the Cancer Biomarker Symposium. Biomarkers has been one of the important areas I focus on, especially for early diagnosis and prediction of treatment. We have support from the Norwegian Cancer Society for the E-Lung Project, in which we have developed models to pick the right persons for screening. Instead of treating people in the last stage, we can cure people in the early stage. We are also developing an app for general practicioners to help motivate patients to stop smoking,” commented Oluf D. Røe, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Oncology, Levanger Hospital.

Cody AS is an engineering firm that develops, designs, and constructs customized production equipment. The company is a primary supplier of specially designed solutions for pharmaceutical production and the radiopharmaceutical industry in Norway.

“Cody has been closely involved with the pharmaceutical and radiopharmaceutical industry for many years, contributing to most stages of development and production. This includes research on manufacturing processes, to custom hot cell and lab equipment, as well as full-scale GMP production and packaging machinery. For the best possible results for our customers, it is instrumental for us to be involved as early as possible. We find that getting to know the core technology is essential to developing simple and robust solutions,” said Magnus S. Larsen, Head of Sales, Cody.

NorTrials update

Signe Ø. Fretland, Head of NorTrials Coordinating Unit, Oslo University Hospital, also gave an update. NorTrials is one of several initiatives in the National Action Plan on Clinical Trials launched in 2021, and is a private-public partnership to strengthen the collaboration between the healthcare industry and the Norwegian healthcare system.

“The global competition to attract clinical trials to Europe from pharma and medtech companies, and the challenge for Norway to stand out as a preferred country, has been increasing over the past decade,” commented Fretland.

“One key to succeed is collaboration; a close partnership between healthcare and industry, but also with academia and patients, is fundamental to create an attractive environment for clinical trials. I am sure that Oslo Cancer Cluster has been and will be playing an important role in this aspect,” added Fretland.

Radforsk website launched

The day also marked the launch of the new Radforsk website and logo. Radforsk is an early-stage evergreen investment fund dedicated to oncology, and one of the most successful pre-seed investment firms in Europe.