The Danish Life Science Invest has kicked off its partnership with its first major joint initiative – bringing together companies and investors in a strong life science setting focused on new solutions, knowledge and access to capital.
Life Science Invest was kick-started at TechBBQ in Denmark, a large Scandinavian meeting place for innovators and investors. It became clear that when the strongest investment and capital partners join forces, we strengthen the overall Danish ecosystem and show the outside world that Denmark is strong in life science.
Life Science Invest was behind the exhibition of 36 innovative and investment-ready companies as well as a number of activities that shared knowledge about the potential for investments in Danish life science.
“It was inspiring to see innovative companies and capital players come together in meetings and conversations that can be the starting point for future investments and collaborations. When we come together, we strengthen both Life Science Invest and Denmark’s international position of strength in life science,” says Diana Arsovic Nielsen, CEO of Danish Life Science Cluster, which is one of the partners in Life Science Invest.
FOTO: LARS RØNBØG / DANISH LIFE SCIENCE CLUSTER
A fragmented ecosystem must be brought together
Life science is a complex investment area with regulatory requirements, long development processes and a large capital requirement. Therefore, there is a need for a partnership that brings together investors, private equity funds, business angels, companies and other key players and makes it easier to share knowledge, find the right collaborations and mobilise more capital.
For Jonas Hjortflod Dupont, Account Manager at EIFO, the partnership’s most important contribution is precisely that a previously fragmented environment gets a common direction:
“When we join forces, the potential becomes more visible, and we show a strong Danish ecosystem with a considerable impact,” says Jonas Hjortflod Dupont.
The right meetings can take companies forward
Business angel Brian Østergaard emphasizes that many promising life science companies die prematurely due to lack of funding. At the same time, the companies need sparring about the commercial journey and access to investors who match their stage of development and capital needs. Here, Life Science Invest can become a crucial player.
“It has been quite clear at TechBBQ that the Life Science Invest partnership can make a huge difference for both companies and investors. When we join forces in a neutral platform like Life Science Invest, we can facilitate the right meetings that quickly create momentum for everyone,” says Brian Østergaard, who is also on the board of DanBan, Danish Business Angels.
A comprehensive overview makes a noticeable difference
As one of the partners who had close contact with both Danish and international investors during TechBBQ, Nicolas Bouchet from Health Tech Hub continuously took the pulse of their experiences.
He says that the feedback from the investor side unequivocally pointed to the value of gathering the life science players in one common ecosystem.
– Investors and international guests say that our common platform makes it easier to find the companies and people they want to meet. When we join forces in Life Science Invest, we clearly create more value for both investors and companies, says Nicolas Bouchet, Investment Manager, Health Tech Hub.
Now the work in Life Science Invest continues to strengthen knowledge sharing, create more relevant meetings and attract the capital that can help more Danish life science companies move on from innovation to growth and application.
By Lotte Overbjerg, Danish Life Science Cluster.
