BioStock met industry leaders at LSX

LSX Nordic Congress connects life science companies, global investors and potential strategic partners to drive the growth, development and internationalization of Nordic and Baltic innovations. The goal is to increase investments in the region, while building strategic partnerships and collaborations with global sector players.

“Pan-European investors are the backbone of our investor network. At the same time, we continue to work to attract a greater share of American and Chinese capital and connect it with European life science innovation,” says Josh Dance, CEO of LSX, to BioStock. See the full interview here.

Networking on the conference floor

BioStock met with some of the big players, including Xspray Pharma. BioStocks Natasha Bank had a chat with the company's CEO By Andersson and discussed the prospects for their oncology pipeline and hybrid technology. Xspray is targeting the largest segment in oncology – a market valued at $33 billion in the US alone (2021), with the goal of launching the first candidate, Dysonac, in 2025. See the full interview here.

Another Scandinavian oncology company that was present is Sprint Bioscience. CEO told BioStock Johan Emilsson about the current market climate, the conditions for preclinical partnerships and the development of The TREX-1 program.

“We are targeting the largest market for licensing opportunities,” says CEO Johan Emilsson to BioStock.

A recent article in the journal Nature found that during the period 2015 – 2022, a full 73 percent of all licensing deals in the oncology area concerned preclinical projects. According to Sprint Bioscience, there are recurring signals confirming that there is a significant appetite for innovative research in early development stages. Watch our interview here.

Women driving lifestyle changes

We also encountered Sana Alajmovic, co-founder and CEO of the health tech company Sigrid TherapeuticsShe talked about the company's strategy to combat chronic lifestyle diseases – something that seems to be on everyone's lips these days.

During our conversation, Sana told us about the company's SiPore technology, which uses engineered silica particles to alter digestion and improve metabolic health. Sigrid works to prevent and treat diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

“Our female consumers are our best advocates. Once they try our product, they tell their friends and buy it for their husbands,” says Sana Alajmovic, who then ran off to participate in a panel discussion about women's health.

Finance – the gateway to untapped opportunities

BioStock also took the opportunity to speak with several institutional investors. Among them were Paul little from The Lundbeck Foundation, who spoke about the fund's investment strategy in the life science sector. Paul highlighted the importance of responsible investments and how the Lundbeck Foundation integrates sustainability into its decision-making process. By seeing sustainability as a form of quality assurance, such investments provide long-term and sustainable effects on both health and the environment. He also mentioned that a prerequisite for the fund to make a large investment is a major medical need, but that they are open to companies and projects of different maturity levels. See the full interview here.

We also had the pleasure of talking to Stephan Christgau from Eir Ventures, who highlighted the lack of venture capital as one of the biggest constraints within the Nordic ecosystem. At the same time, he himself benefits from the many attractive investment opportunities on offer. Despite receiving several hundred applications annually, the fund has only made 20 investments since its inception four years ago. Being able to be selective among a large set of high-quality innovations provides good opportunities for funds like Eir Ventures to build a solid portfolio. See the full interview here.

See all interviews

The 2024 edition was the sixth in a row for the LSX Nordic Congress. BioStock left the event in a good mood, inspired by all the food-useful meetings with both new and old acquaintances.

Here you will find all of BioStock's interviews from the congress floor.

Mehdi Ainouche, Senior Principal at JEITO Capital.

Stephan Christgau, Founding Partner at Eir Ventures.

Josh Dance, Managing Director at LSX.

Sana Alajmovic, CEO of Sigrid Therapeutics.

Paul Little, Operating Partner at the Lundbeck Foundation.

Per Andersson, CEO of Xspray Pharma.

Johan Emilsson, CEO of Sprint Bioscience

Stine Friis, head of research at Evaxion Biotech A/S

Giovanni Rizzo, Partner at Indaco BIO Fund

Neil Anderson, Senior Director at Science2Medicine iNNvest

Ward Capoen at V-Bio Ventures