The newly formed cluster will contribute to and improve the foundation for world-class patient care, innovation and product development.
Denmark's new national business cluster for life science and welfare technology has now been officially established as an association under the name Danish Life Science Cluster (DLSC).
The purpose of the new cluster is to strengthen the collaboration on the transfer of the large research efforts and high-quality knowledge production created at universities, clinics, technological institutions, and other educational institutions, so that it can become much more innovative and commercial. solutions and products in new and existing companies. These include strong innovation projects, better and continued secure use of health data for research and innovation, networking, funding, entrepreneurship and much more.
Deputy Chairman of DLSC and Head of DTU Bioengineering Bjarke Bak Christensen sees good opportunities for the cluster to support and promote the growth of life science and the welfare industry:
“We are extremely pleased that the cluster is now established in a strong partnership across the country. We look forward to the development of new initiatives that can strengthen an interdisciplinary knowledge bridge that can support the development of new groundbreaking products in existing and future companies within Life Science and welfare technology. DTU is therefore an obvious partner in this cluster. Every day we work purposefully to create technology for people and to find new sustainable solutions, but we need strong partners and organizations like DLCS to ensure that the solutions are established to the benefit of society.”
The board is composed across a total of 26 companies, knowledge and healthcare institutions. The starting point for the new organization is a joint application from 26 actors across the country, including the five largest universities, five GTSs, business and industry organizations in life sciences and welfare technology, the regions and municipalities as well as existing cluster organizations in the field.
“We need a significantly stronger knowledge bridge between knowledge and business within life science and welfare technology in Denmark. We now have this with a strong partnership, where we jointly create a strong collaboration to create a strong ecosystem and develop new innovative solutions. Now the association has been founded and we have a big and important task ahead of us with a common high ambition for a national cluster that can compete with the best in the world", says Chairman of the board of DLSC, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Industry Association (Lif), Ida Sofie Jensen.
The health solutions of the future
"DTU is therefore an obvious partner in this cluster. Every day we work purposefully to create technology for people and to find new sustainable solutions, but we need strong partners and organizations like DLCS to ensure that the solutions are established to the benefit of society."
Deputy Chairman of DLSC and Head of DTU Bioengineering Bjarke Bak Christensen
In addition to the Chairman, the board of DLSC represents the broad composition of partners behind the cluster, and the presidency looks forward to getting started.
“It is very positive that we have now constituted ourselves in DLSC, and thus established that we are nationally, jointly and across different perspectives ready to work for the development of innovative health and treatment solutions. I look forward to representing the regions in the cooperation. As a healthcare system, we know the need for innovative products and solutions, and at the same time we in the hospitals have a lot of clinical knowledge and data, which we must involve the companies in a good way ", says Regional Council Chairman in Central Jutland and Deputy Chairman of DLSC Anders Kühnau (S).
"It is very gratifying that the hard work with the establishment of a national cluster within the strength position healthtech and life science has finally borne fruit", says Páll Johannesson, CEO of SMART-TRIAL ApS and Chairman of the board of the regional cluster Life Science Innovation North Denmark. He continues:
“Personally, I look forward to the SME activities we been successful with in North Jutland now having the opportunity to be offered nationally, in parallel with the country's SMEs and entrepreneurs throughout the country getting one access to an ambitious cluster organization backed by all relevant actors ”.
The new organization builds on the great work of existing cluster organizations, and it is employees from these clusters, approximately 30 people in total, who initially will form the staff of DLSC. In the coming months, a director will be hired and the organization will establish itself physically with a presence in four preliminary and eventually five regional hubs.