Chair
Mikael Dolsten
Chair, Prix Galien Bridges Committee; Board Member, Novo Nordisk & Agilent Technologies
PANELISTS
Maria Jose Alonso
Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Santiago de Compostela
Emelie Antoni
Country President Nordics, AstraZeneca
Thomas Lines
Founder & CEO, Quercis
Erik Renström
Vice-Chancellor, Lund University
Veronika Sexl
Rector, University of Innsbruck (pending)
BACKGROUND AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:
How do integrated healthcare systems and population-scale data create unique innovation opportunities that accelerate therapeutic discovery across Nordic+ borders? What happens when Nordic clinical excellence meets Spanish trial capabilities, Dutch precision medicine, Portuguese manufacturing agility, or Austrian research infrastructure—and how does this speed the path from research to patient impact?
Can regional collaboration fundamentally reshape how therapeutics are developed globally, creating new models that are faster, more equitable, and more effective?
This conversation explores concrete synergies already accelerating breakthrough discoveries, examines untapped partnerships that could transform therapeutic development timelines, and asks how Nordics+ complementary strengths can establish new global standards for life sciences innovation.
Chair
Johanna Furuhjelm
Director, Centre for AI Innovation, Karolinska Institutet
PANELISTS
Magnus Boman
Professor in Intelligent Software Systems, Karolinska Institutet
Carl Borrebaeck
Professor & Serial Entrepreneur, Lund University
Markus Lingman
Chief Strategy Officer, Region Halland; Professor & Senior Physician, Scientific Council for Medicine and Health, Board of Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research
Daniel Lundqvist
Professor of Neuroimaging at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience & Director of the Center for Imaging Research (CIR), Karolinska Institutet
Gabriel Westman
Head of Artificial Intelligence, Swedish Medical Products Agency
BACKGROUND AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:
What are the unique advantages of Nordic+ health systems for AI implementation? Is there a disconnect between AI's promised healthcare transformation and its current real-world impact in Nordics+ countries?
Why do so many AI health applications remain in pilot phases despite massive investment, and how can Nordics+ integrated healthcare systems accelerate the transition from laboratory prototypes to scaled patient care? How can emerging technologies like quantum computing and quantum sensors, already being employed in specialized applications, complement traditional AI to create new pathways for breakthrough healthcare solutions?
CHAIR
Torbjørn Bjerke
Chairman & Co-founder, CarLight Ltd.
PANELISTS
Carl Kilander
Partner, HealthCap
Philippe Douste-Blazy
Chairman, UNITLIFE; former Minister of Health, France
Thomas Eldered
Founder & Executive Chairman, Flerie AB
Erika Söderberg Johnsson
CFO, Novo Nordisk Foundation
BACKGROUND AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:
European life sciences face a paradox: world-class research constrained by fragmented, risk-averse financing that cannot compete with American or Chinese investment scale. This conversation examines how structural barriers, from siloed national funding to conservative capital markets, limit Nordics+ countries despite their strong individual economies and research excellence.
Topics include integrated cross-border financing mechanisms to multiply collective Nordic+ capital impact, cultural factors driving European conservatism in high-risk therapeutics, and bold policy reforms. How can nations leverage their combined resources to achieve transformational breakthroughs that individual countries cannot accomplish alone?
CHAIR
Carl Johan Sundberg
Professor & Dean, Karolinska Institutet Nord
PANELISTS
Jan Ellenberg
Director, SciLifeLab
Ulf Landegren
Professor, Uppsala University
Janne Lehtiö
Professor, Scientific Lead for Precision Medicine, Karolinska Institutet
Anna Martling
Professor of Surgery, Karolinska Institutet
Kari Stefansson
Professor of Medicine, University of Iceland; Founder, deCode genetics
BACKGROUND AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION:
This conversation will unpack learnings from the success of Nordic innovation in leveraging human genetic variation to search for new therapeutics, leading to breakthrough discoveries, and how these lessons and new genetic insights continue to drive next-generation drug development.
The conversation will address key questions about integrating modern multi-omics approaches with traditional population studies, identifying today's most promising genetic initiatives across Nordic+ countries, and considering which therapeutic breakthroughs will emerge from these distinctive regional advantages.
CLOSING REMARKS
5:10 PM - 5:30 PM
Unveiling Inaugural Award Nominees
Chair
TOP SCIENTISTS & KOL
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