Inflammation & Immunology

Medicon Valley comprises strong basic immunology and inflammation research.

Medicon Valley holds a strong position in immunology and inflammation through the presence of AstraZeneca's respiratory research centre in Lund and many world-class academic research groups ranging from basic immunology to rheumatoid arthritis applied inflammation research.

The high-quality academic research in Medicon Valley is focused on:

• Connective tissue and arthritis studies (e.g. Lund University)
• Animal models (e.g. Lund University)
• Basic immunology research (e.g. University of Copenhagen)
• Vaccine studies and production (e.g. University of Copenhagen and Statens Serum Institut)
• Disease markers (e.g. Lund University)
• Population and epidemiological databases as well as genetic epidemiology (e.g. Lund University)

In addition, Medicon Valley houses WHO's centre for epidemiologic disease surveillance, which is located in Copenhagen.

AstraZeneca - a major driver behind inflammation research
More than 5.500 are employed at AstraZeneca's three research and development sites in Southern Sweden. Of these more than 1.200 are employed in the respiratory research unit in Lund with focus on asthma, COPD as well as inflammatory diseases. AstraZeneca is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, with the main focus on respiratory and inflammatory research and gastrointestinal, cancer and cardiovascular therapeutic areas.

The strong presence of AstraZeneca in Medicon Valley ensures a critical mass of research within this field. Furthermore, AstraZeneca represents a strong pool of skilled staff from which other companies can recruit. Besides AstraZeneca, key companies like Active Biotech, Genmab, Symphogen, BioInvent, Leo Pharma and Cartela also contribute to the inflammatory research conducted in Medicon Valley.

Medicon Valley is also strongly positioned in the development of new immunotherapies against allergy. Alk-Abelló has launched the Grazax tablet, which is the first tablet to address the underlying cause of grass pollen allergy. Curalogic is also developing immunotherapies against allergy using a formulation technology to encapsulate the natural allergens.

Strong international position
Medicon Valley possesses some unique features among inflammation clusters, making the area attractive for investments in inflammation in several ways. In particular, the unique combination of world-class arthritis research and clinical research found in Medicon Valley is attractive to companies with arthritis products in their pipelines. In addition, the basic immunology research can form the basis needed for companies involved in developing vaccines.