Olivier Duchamp is Director General for the Nordic Life Science Days – the largest life science partnering meeting in the Nordic region. We met Olivier for a brief about the conference.
Hi Olivier, the NLSDays will be back in Stockholm, could you give us an update?
2017 in Malmö-Copenhagen, we broke this meeting’s record on networking with over 3000 face to face meetings. We had more participants and more participating companies. Now we are back in Stockholm, and it feels great to be able to be here with the support of a number of local co-hosts. Obviously, expectations are high, and we work hard to make sure this year’s meeting will deliver value to participants, exhibitors, sponsors and co-hosts alike.
What are the focus areas this year?
We always have two foundations in the program, one which covers topics like investment, funding and basically everything else related to company growth, and the other is sessions with R&D oriented themes such as nanomedicine, artificial intelligence in life science, drug delivery, oncology and orphan diseases.
In addition, we have topical workshops such as the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) which is held in collaboration with Vinnova, Service providers as trusted partners, SciLifeLab as a resource for life science R&D and one with focus on intellectual property.
In parallel to the events taking place on stage, we have company presentations and partnering areas for one-on-one meetings, where companies can meet other companies, investors or future partners. For the duration of the conference, we have the exhibition hall as the natural meeting point for informal meetings and knowledge sharing.
For big pharma, a meeting like NLSDays is everyday business – but why should my small, innovative company attend?
First and foremost – because this is an efficient way of meeting with several potential collaborators, investors, and peers in only two and a half days. Secondly, because of the target audience reach. The decision makers you would like to meet are likely to be there. And thirdly, because it is cost efficient. Small company spring rate is 7500 SEK, a sum easily spent on air fares and hotel costs if you would set up your own meeting outside of the conference.
In our evaluations, small companies almost always tell us that they have received good return on their investment. And that is our driving force – we want to make sure that you will be pleased with your participation in the conference. No matter if you are a small company, represent big pharma, or are an investor.
Nordic Life Science Days 2018 will take place in Waterfront, Stockholm on September 10-12.
