Medicon Valley is a leading international life-sciences cluster in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, spanning the Greater Copenhagen region of eastern

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

and southern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. It is one of Europe's strongest life science clusters, with many life science companies and research institutions located within a relatively small geographical area. The name has officially been in use since 1997. Major life science sectors of the Medicon Valley cluster includes

pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

, health tech and medical technology. It is specifically known for its research strengths in the areas of

neurological disorders A neurological disorder is any disorder of the nervous system. Structural, biochemical or electrical abnormalities in the brain, spinal cord or other nerves can result in a range of symptoms. Examples of symptoms include paralysis, muscle weakness ...

inflammatory diseases Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecu ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

Background and activities

The population of Medicon Valley reaches close to 4 million inhabitants. In 2008, 60% of Scandinavian pharmaceutical companies were located in the region. The area includes 17 universities, 32 hospitals, and more than 400 life science companies. 20 are large pharmaceutical or medical technology firms and 170 are dedicated biotechnology firms. Between 1998 and 2008, 100 new biotechnology and medical technology companies were created here. The biotechnology industry alone employs around 41,000 people in the region, 7,000 of whom are academic researchers. International companies with major research centres in the region include

Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, with production facilities in nine countries, and affiliates or offices in five countries. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder ...

, Baxter,

Lundbeck H. Lundbeck A/S (commonly known simply as Lundbeck) is a Danish international pharmaceutical company engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals across the world. The company’s products are target ...

LEO PharmaHemoCue
and

Ferring Pharmaceuticals Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a Swiss multinational biopharmaceutical company specialising in areas such as reproductive health, maternal health, gastroenterology and urology. Ferring has been developing treatments for mothers and babies for over 50 ...

. There are more than 7

science park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...

s in the region, all with a significant focus on life science, including the

Medicon Village Medicon Village is a life science research park in Lund, Sweden. It is located on the eastern outskirts of Lund University. Medicon Village is involved in the Medicon Valley cross-border cooperation with Denmark. The park was created as a trans ...

in Lund, established in 2010. Companies within Medicon Valley account for more than 20% of the total GDP of Denmark and Sweden combined. Medicon Valley is promoted by Invest in Skåne and

Copenhagen Capacity Copenhagen Capacity is Greater Copenhagen's official organization for investment, promotion and business development. The organization was established in 1994 by Copenhagen Municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, Copenhagen County, Frederiksborg C ...

. Many of the region's universities have a strong heritage in biological and medical research and have produced several Nobel Prize winners. The almost century-long presence of a number of research-intensive and fully integrated pharmaceutical companies, such as Novo Nordisk, H. Lundbeck and

LEO Pharma LEO Pharma A/S is a multinational Danish pharmaceutical company, founded in 1908, with a presence in about 100 countries. Its headquarters are in Ballerup, near Copenhagen The company is 100% integrated into a private foundation owned by the LEO F ...

, has also contributed significantly to the medical research and business development of the region by strengthening abilities within applied research, attracting suppliers and producing spin-offs.MVA's History
Medicon Valley Alliance In 2011, the organisations of MVA and Invest in Skåne, launched the concept of Beacons. Beacons are projects for creating world-leading cross-disciplinary research environments with a focus on areas where there are considerable potential for

synergies Synergy is an interaction or cooperation giving rise to a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts. The term ''synergy'' comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' from ', , meaning "working together". History In Christian ...

in Medicon Valley specifically. After a long thorough selection process, the four Beacons of

systems biology Systems biology is the computational modeling, computational and mathematical analysis and modeling of complex biological systems. It is a biology-based interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological syst ...

structural biology Structural biology is a field that is many centuries old which, and as defined by the Journal of Structural Biology, deals with structural analysis of living material (formed, composed of, and/or maintained and refined by living cells) at every le ...

immune regulation In biology, immunity is the capability of multicellular organisms to resist harmful microorganisms. Immunity involves both specific and nonspecific components. The nonspecific components act as barriers or eliminators of a wide range of pathogens ...

and

drug delivery Drug delivery refers to approaches, formulations, manufacturing techniques, storage systems, and technologies involved in transporting a pharmaceutical compound to its target site to achieve a desired therapeutic effect. Principles related to d ...

were approved. The Medicon Valley issues the quaternal life science magazine "Medicon Valley".Medicon Valley Magazine
/ref>

Science parks

Science parks A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...

in Medicon Valley includes:
Copenhagen Bio Science Park
(COBIS)
Ideon Science Park
(largest of its kind in Scandinavia)
Symbion

Krinova Science Park
*

Medeon Science Park
*

Scion DTU DTU Science Park (previously Scion DTU) is a science park in Hørsholm north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The park is administratively part of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Kongens Lyngby, and it also comprise premises at DTU's main ca ...

References

Sources and further reading

* * * A case study. *

External links

Medicon Valley
Swedish-Danish life-sciences cluster
Medicon Valley Alliance

Invest in Skåne
Swedish business organisation
Copenhagen Capacity
Danish business organisation {{Copenhagen Biotechnology High-technology business districts Science and technology in Denmark Science and technology in Sweden Venture capital