Cancer

Medicon Valley is among the leading European regions in cancer research

Cancer is one of the key scientific areas in Medicon Valley. It is especially strong on the academic side, and several spin-off biotech companies have emerged from the universities and hospitals.

Focus on basic cancer research
Medicon Valley's academic cancer research is focused on basic research. Medicon Valley has several world-class cancer research groups. The strongest cancer research in Medicon Valley is focused on basic cancer mechanisms, such as cell cycle studies.

The strongest cancer research in Medicon Valley is focused on:

• Cell cycle studies (e.g. Danish Cancer Society)
• Laminin-cell surface interactions (e.g. University of Copenhagen)
• Proteins with tumour suppression or protection activities (e.g. Danish Cancer Society)
• Immunogenic therapy (e.g. Lund University Hospital)
• Genetic cancer markers (e.g. Lund University)
• Epidemiological cancer studies based on good, comprehensive databases and patient records (e.g. Malmö University Hospital)
• Molecular mechanisms behind the disease (Basic Research and Innovation Centre - BRIC)

A novel project focusing on detection of biomarkers for testis cancer has been initiated and is an excellent example of collaboration between academia and private sector. The basic research was conducted at the Copenhagen University Hospital, which now has been translated into a formal partnership with the Danish image analysis company Visiopharm.

Strong corporate cancer research
EUR 40 million a year is spent on corporate cancer research in Medicon Valley. The region hosts a broad spectrum of companies involved in cancer research within:

• Drug discovery (e.g. Acadia Pharmaceuticals, Santaris and BioInvent)
• Drug development (e.g. Genmab, Meabco, Enkam, TopoTarget, 2cureX and Active Biotech)
• Drug delivery (e.g. LiPlasome Pharma and ZGene)
• Diagnostics (e.g. Dako and Medical Prognosis Institute)

Medicon Valley attractive to cancer research and start-up companies
Medicon Valley's broad basic cancer research is attractive to companies already active in cancer research or starting new activities in this field. In Europe, no other cluster can match Medicon Valley's strong combination of pharmaceutical and biotech companies active in cancer research. Medicon Valley is probably the strongest region in Europe for cancer R&D, and the region's output of quality publications and the size of its cancer research community stand out in international comparisons.