Making Life Sciences Strategic
The super-sized contribution of the life sciences sector to Denmark’s national economy can hardly be overstated. With over 100,000 professionals currently engaged in biotech and pharmaceuticals across the country, Denmark already ranks as one of the European Union member states with the largest proportion of the population employed by the industry. Meanwhile tax revenues from more than 1500 homegrown and locally operative life science entities have doubled over the past decade, while it is now estimated that the nation’s pharmaceutical and medtech annual exports could be bringing in as much as DKK 350 billion (47 billion euros) by 2030. Little wonder, then, that successive Danish governments have been united in their determination to preserve, sustain, and future-proof the country’s competitive advantages in this domain.
Central to these efforts has been the historic unveiling in 2024 of a highly ambitious ‘Strategy for Life Science Towards 2030’ bringing together recommendations from a Life Science Council composed of representatives from industry, academia, patient groups, healthcare providers and employee organisations. “Developed as a joint exercise on the part of no fewer than four different ministries of state – namely those of Industry & Finance, Foreign Affairs, Interior & Health, and Higher Education & Science – the Strategy serves as a cross-cutting framework and blueprint for driving economic growth through innovation, while simultaneously fostering the creation of a coherent, robust and future-ready healthcare system for the benefit of patients,” explains Morten Bødskov, Minister for Industry, Business, and Financial Affairs. “Moreover, it sends a strong and unequivocal signal to the investor community that this is a country firmly committed to consolidating its position as a top-tier life science nation,” he elaborates.
Naturally such a move has been roundly applauded by industry insiders. “Denmark stands apart within Europe for its clear and unambiguous recognition of life sciences as a strategic industry, an approach that has translated into meaningful policy support,” enthuses Charl van Zyl, President and CEO of the iconic Danish specialty neuroscience outfit, Lundbeck. “Having a comprehensive policy framework like this in place not only provides incentives to attract the sort of world-class scientific talent that our industry requires to flourish, but also goes a long way towards cultivating an environment conducive to innovation and long-term investment,” he believes.
Defining A Practical Blueprint
“What’s remarkable about this very well-structured life science strategy is it goes beyond just mere vision or aspiration, and constitutes a detailed roadmap to 2030, complete with concrete and actionable goals that address the entire value chain from early-stage research to patient access,” concurs Montse Jansà, General Manager and Managing Director of German biopharma player, Merck.
Also noteworthy, has been the inclusiveness and all-encompassing reach of the strategy. “We believe this to represent a major step forward, because, for the first time, we see policymakers taking a holistic view of the entire life science ecosystem,” says Diana Arsovic Nielsen, Director of the Danish Life Science Cluster, noting that the strategy not only addresses the evolving development needs of innovative biopharma, but equally those of other industry segments whether that be generic drugmakers, medtech providers, or digital health designers.
“This very latest iteration of the nation’s life sciences planning marks a clear improvement in terms of recognising the medtech sector’s role and priorities,” agrees Mads Koch Hansen, Director of Medicoindustrien, Denmark’s association for medical device developers. “Unlike previous attempts at a nationwide strategy, which were more heavily weighted toward pharmaceutical interests, the current version is much more integrated in affording medtech a stronger voice, more commensurate to our contribution to local manufacturing, innovation and positive healthcare outcomes,” he observes.
“There is basically something valuable in it for everyone: companies of all sizes, not just early-stage or research-driven ventures. The government has made a concerted effort to develop a framework that supports a broad spectrum of industry players, and that is something we very much welcome because it should help nurture a fully-fledged enabling ecosystem that will be greater than the sum of its part and end up benefiting everyone,” believes Peter Halling of CEO and President of a homegrown drug developer, ALK, that has risen to become a global leader in allergy research and treatment.
A Full Spectrum Approach
What then, are the major strands of the strategy? For a start, promoting the production of next generation medicines and state-of-the-art medical technology is now designated a national priority. “This wasn’t certainly the case only five years ago. There used to be an ingrained perception that Denmark couldn’t be a production country, based on outdated comparisons to low-cost manufacturing. But pharmaceutical production is altogether different. It’s high-tech, capital-intensive, highly regulated, and built for the long term. Once you’ve made the investment, you don’t move it, and nowadays the political stakeholders properly appreciate these nuances,” explains Ida Sofie Jensen, CEO of the Danish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Lif).
“There’s definitely rising political and commercial interest in bringing high-value life science manufacturing to Denmark and the strategy reflects this course correction. For instance, it contains provisions for a ‘red carpet’ initiative, which supports companies seeking to establish or expand manufacturing capacity. This envisages a one-stop-shop platform simplifying regulatory approvals and ensuring designated industrial zones are pre-equipped with infrastructure,” confirms Vanessa Vega Saenz, Director of Invest in Denmark.
“Our logic is to render it evermore simple and faster to move forward with infrastructural investments. We understand that speed and ease of doing business have become global competitive parameters for domestic and foreign manufacturers alike and are ready to do whatever we can to encourage these entities to deepen their in-country production footprints,” reasons Minister Morten Bødskov.
Meanwhile there is a concerted effort underway to further elevate Denmark’s medical research intensity and prowess in developing innovative therapies and healthcare technologies. “Our ambition is that Denmark should be among the top countries in Europe that create the most new, viable life science companies per million inhabitants, while simultaneously retaining our longstanding reputation as one of the go-to preferred destinations for clinical trials,” reveals Bødskov.
One envisaged way of accomplishing this is to identify superior mechanisms for translating the country’s unique healthcare data into ground-breaking research. “The strategy details a move towards centralising access to health data with plans in motion to establish a single point of contact and a national analytics platform for health data,” confides Vega Saenz. “This shall allow researchers and companies to access public datasets in a coordinated way, through both public and public-private frameworks,” she explains.
Notably conspicuous has also been the inclusion of access to medicine in the value chain. “In previous strategies, the focus always stopped at R&D and early development. Now, access, sales, and marketing are for the first time recognised as integral to the full lifecycle of innovation,” observes Ida Sofie Jensen. “This is absolutely vital because life sciences must be the bridge between scientific research and real-world patient benefit. It’s simply not sufficient to generate breakthrough discoveries if there aren’t well defined pathways for ensuring that patients can access those innovations,” she argues.
Maja Lassenius Kramp, General Manager of specialty women’s health player, Ferring Nordics, very much mirrors this sentiment. “Denmark has long shown itself to be a receptive environment for developing advanced therapies. However, the ability to translate scientific progress into real-world impact depends not only on the strength of innovation pipelines but on the frameworks that govern market access, reimbursement, and pricing as well,” she opines.
Kramp is therefore cheered to see new roles being ascribed to the national authorities and the central procurement agency for public hospitals, Amgros, with a view to enhancing such frameworks. “These developments can be fundamental to creating the sort of predictable, sustainable conditions where innovation can thrive,” she believes.
“The strategy has undoubtedly had the effect of broadening our focus by placing greater emphasis on the life science sector as a vital stakeholder,” concedes Nils Falk Bjerregaard, Director General of the Danish Medicines Agency (DKMA). “It has encouraged us to view our work not only through the lens of regulatory excellence but also as a proactive facilitator of innovation, a partner to healthcare systems and patients, and a contributor to national competitiveness. In this way, the strategy has sharpened our direction while reaffirming the foundational responsibilities that define the agency,” he recounts.
Ripe for Replication
Finally, the strategy explicitly commits the state to playing an active international role in solving global health challenges and supporting the export of Danish healthcare solutions. “This embracement of the international dimension applies to research, to hospital systems, and to industry and is especially sensible given prevailing geopolitical shifts,” thinks Jakob Nielsen, CEO of Healthcare Denmark, a non-profit public-private partnership promoting Danish healthcare solutions internationally.
“After all, as a small, open economy with life sciences now accounting for almost 25 percent of total exports, Denmark is deeply dependent on other countries, and risks finding its companies impacted when stability and trade become replaced by increased tensions between great powers, protectionism, and supply chains disruptions,” he reasons.
“The more the strategy gets implemented, the more it will establish a precedent for others in the region to follow, positioning Denmark not only as a leader in innovation but also as a replicable model for pragmatic, inclusive policy-making that supports a thriving, innovation-driven ecosystem,” predicts Merck’s Montse Jansà.
“Already we perceive other countries beginning to take notice, using it as a reference point for shaping their own approaches,” reflects Christof Bischoff, Country Director at AstraZeneca, noticing how the EU’s own emerging life science strategy is visibly shaped by Denmark’s determination to align industrial policy and healthcare innovation, while redefining what is possible though collective action and astute cross-sector collaboration.
“Compared with its neighbours, Denmark offers a particularly concrete model of supportive policy, and with the country recently assuming the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, the timing could well be perfect for sharing this model more broadly,” he concludes.
