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| The Øresund bridge
connects Denmark with Sweden. |
| Courtesy Wonderful Copenhagen |
Medicon Valley Academy (MVA) is a binational network
organization working on both the Danish and Swedish
sides of the Øresund, the body of water that
separates the two countries. MVA comprises all of
the hospitals and universities in the region and
250 pharmaceutical companies are members.
The Øresund region is a geographical way
of describing eastern Denmark and southern Sweden.
It has three million inhabitants, 11 universities,
29 hospitals and 350 biotech and pharmaceutical
companies. It is the third-largest medical hub in
Europe.
Bent Christensen, the director of MVA, says “I
present to the board a vision for the future whenever
it needs to be revised,” he says, “presenting
the region internationally to the world. We always
have Swedish and Danish representatives in the board
meetings.”
The idea for the network came in the early ‘80s,
initiated by the universities, and has grown steadily
since then. “We were very much inspired by
Silicon Valley in the early '90s," Christensen
says, "when they started discussing possibilities
of binational networks in Life Sciences. What really
made the breakthrough were the EU framework programs.
We are about to commence the sixth framework programs,
which will program support and funding of research
and development all over Europe."
MVA was turned into a member organization in 1999.
“It is quite a unique network between hospital,
industry and universities, unlike any in the world
as far as I know,” Christensen says.
Did the existence of Medicon Valley influence the
decision to build and finance the Øresund
Bridge? “No, but the bridge made the opportunities
obvious and viable.”
The Danish government has signed the Barcelona
Agreement on research and development funding, and
Denmark should be equal with other EU countries
by 2010. How are world-class scientists treated
here?
“We still have this Jante lov, don’t
think you are better than me," Christensen
says. "Yet, if they understand to behave like
normal people we will respect their achievements.
You should not put yourself on a pedestal. If you
don’t understand this, you will never be accepted.
“The EU has been a big influence, because
we don’t see ourselves as an isolated island
in EU biotech. If we are going to be competitive
with the U.S., then all the clusters in Europe have
to cooperate.”
For more information please visit: www.mva.org
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