On Tuesday, October 13th-Thursday, October 15th, The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce New England (SACC NE), spearheaded by Stella Loven, co-founder and president of the SACC Accelerator, hosted its inaugural Life Tech Forum to introduce Swedish life science, biotech and medtech entrepreneurs to Boston’s prolific life sciences ecosystem. The three day event provided eleven Swedish startups with an insider glimpse at the inner workings of Boston’s premier life sciences/biotech community of universities, research facilities, scientists, industry executives and investors.
Life Tech Forum
The forum began on Tuesday with a full day of lectures and panels from industry insiders, covering everything from globalization tactics for Swedish companies to building international partnerships and diverse strategies for entering the US market as a European startup. Keynote speakers included representatives from Third Rock Ventures, Astra Zeneca, Shire Pharmaceuticals and many more local life sciences, biotech and medtech experts.
When I arrived on Wednesday at the scenic office of SACC NE sponsor WilmerHale, I did not know what to expect, being neither Swedish nor having a background in life sciences or biotech. My apprehension quickly transitioned into awe, as I had the pleasure of introducing the noteworthy speakers during the morning program. The fascinating topics included operating a US business from a legal perspective, IP validation strategy and moving drug candidates and medical devices through the FDA. Despite being an industry outsider, I was truly blown away by the informative nature of these lectures.
High-profile program
After lunch, the program switched its emphasis from lecture-based to an interactive investor panel on how to attract American investors, led by Johan Christenson, MD, PhD, partner at HealthCap. Included in the panel were local Healthcare/Biotech investors Jeffrey Arnold, Doug Cole and Rasmus Goksor. Instead of the panel simply talking at the audience, Johan posed a variety of open-ended topical questions about investment in the space, comparing US and European investment methodologies and what Swedish companies should be focussed on when pitching to US investors. In addition, Johan opened up the session to the audience to allow many of the entrepreneurs the opportunity to engage and ask questions regarding their respective business models. To me, the most fascinating component of the panel was comparing and contrasting the investment strategies and general philosphies of Johan and Rasmus (both Swedish) versus Jeffrey and Doug. While the panel agreed on many topics, the experience of investing as Swedes in the US versus investing as Americans in the European markets was discussed and dissected, illuminating many subtle differences in approach.
Despite being the last piece of programming on Wednesday, the Sharktank pitch competition was perhaps the most exciting event of the day as the eleven Swedish startups had the opportunity to take the limelight and present their companies to another panel of local investors, as well as a large community audience. Despite having only five minutes to pitch (I’ve found this to be an incredibly difficult endeavor) and five minutes of Q&A, each team respectfully stopped within the allotted time and all “pitchers” did a remarkable job at concisely outlining their companies, business models and market opportunities. Not only this, but each team confidently responded to each and every difficult question from the investor panel, despite being early-stage and having the inherent obstacle of minor language barriers. Bravo!
Until we meet again...
With that, the first annual Life Tech Forum concluded after a truly enjoyable and enlightening three days of programming. Needless to say, SACC NE did a wonderful job executing the event and though many of the entrepreneurs will be returning to Sweden, it is obvious they left with a changed perspective towards Boston’s burgeoning startup ecosystem.
