RESEARCH AREAS

World-class research matched by world-class facilities

Medicon Valley is home to pioneering research that is breaking new ground in cancer treatment, diabetes, inflammation, neuroscience, stem cells and microbiome. World-class research is matched by world-class facilities with knowledge sharing networks, advanced medical record databases, comprehensive health registers, and support organisations ready to help you excel. If you are looking to develop new technologies and a strong foundation for clinical trials, Medicon Valley provides the innovative environment you are looking for. 

Cancer

Cancer research is Europe’s fastest and largest growing field, with 23% of first round venture investments being commanded by companies focused on this area. Medicon Valley is home to more than 25 organisations focusing on cancer research, which collectively have over 75 therapeutic compounds in the pipeline.

Rigshospitalet (The National Hospital) in Copenhagen has a new unit dedicated to Phase I and II cancer research trials, which recruits patients from across Medicon Valley.

At the Sino Danish Breast Cancer Research Center Danish researchers collaborate with leading Chinese geneticists from Beijing Genomics Institute.

CREATE Health at Lund University, is a strategic centre for clinical cancer research. The centre brings together researchers from diverse fields, such as nanotechnology, proteomics, cancer genetics and tumour cell biology to develop novel cancer treatments and diagnostics e.g. novel molecular diagnostics for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, breast cancer and pancreatic cancer.

The MAD for Cancer programme is a unique concept in that it brings together several different facets of cancer biology into a multifocal approach. Areas including early diagnosis, patient stratification, targeted therapies attacking every tumour cell type and resilience are studied. The hallmark of this battle is the creative force generated by national and international collaborators from different scientific disciplines.

Diabetes

Medicon Valley has more than 10 companies dedicated solely to diabetes research, making this area a world leader in diabetes care. There are currently over 40 compounds in the pipeline for diabetes and metabolic disease, with a large portion of the cluster’s R&D expenditure focused on this field.

LUDC (Lund University Diabetes Centre) and Center for Diabetes Research at Gentofte Hospital and the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research in Denmark make Medicon Valley the home of one of the largest and most respected diabetes research centres in the world.

Inflammation and autoimmune diseases

There are over 20 pioneering companies in Medicon Valley working in the field of inflammation and autoimmune diseases. There are also many research groups exploring this field of diseases from basic immunology to applied inflammation research. The organisations involved in this research have over 45 compounds in the pipeline.

Lund University has had a lot of commercial success in this area; from developed treatments for allergic asthma to infection control. Here, industry works with academia to create a synergy resulting in one of the most respected centres for inflammation study, prevention, and treatment in the world. 

Example of research conducted in the field of inflammation at Lund University (in close collaboration with Skåne University Hospital):

• Cellular Metabolism and Inflammation
• Matrix and inflammation in Atherosclerosis
• Inflammation and Stem Cell therapy
• Airway inflammation
• Neuroinflammation
• Autoimmunity
• Autoimmunity and Kidney diseases

Neuroscience

Applied neuroscience is another area in which Medicon Valley excels, and is considered to be a world leader. Although the volume of organisations in the region is small, there are over 60 compounds in development.

The multidisciplinary research at the Wallenberg Neuroscience Center focuses on understanding neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers, Huntington and Parkinson diseases to develop therapies that benefit both patients and their caregivers. 

Additionally an Epilepsy Center was recently established in Lund with the goal to create a common platform for basic and clinical epileptologists and thereby bring preclinical findings to clinical applications, and develop novel treatment strategies for epilepsy. Advancements are being achieved through the strong cooperation with other universities and industry leaders within Medicon Valley.

Research at The Brain Research and Integrative Neuroscience Laboratory (BRAINlab) at University of Copenhagen is aimed at understanding normal, pathological and adaptive brain functioning, both at the molecular and systems level, thereby using a wide variety of techniques and approaches.

The Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CNSR) conducts multidisciplinary neuropsychiatric research. CNSR hosts a Lundbeck Foundation Center of Excellence for Clinical Intervention and Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research (CINS).