From Nordics to the World – Global Expansion for Homegrown Biotechs

In Bergen’s breathtakingly beautiful harbour, there’s a sleek high-speed sightseeing ship, Eric the Red, with a picture of a fierce Viking on the prow. Erik Thorvaldsson was the intrepid Viking explorer who forever altered the course of Nordic history by settling Greenland, well over a thousand years ago, around 984-986. And it was one of his sons, Leif Erikson, who was the first European to set foot in Vinland. So it’s fair to say people from the Nordics know a thing or two about global expansion and transforming the world.

Just across the water from Eric the Red’s picturesque mooring is the magnificent King Håkon’s Hall, built 750 years ago as Norway’s largest royal residency, and now a national cultural monument. It’s also where the LSX Nordic Congress 2025 held its opening reception and provided an awe-inspiring venue to start the event. At the Congress a prestigious panel representing companies in different phases, and with different types of drug and device modalities, across a range of therapeutic areas, talked about how to grow companies beyond their origin in the Nordics. Despite the differences there are many similarities in what’s needed to grow, not least being the tricky trio of securing good locations to work from, finding good partners, and building global teams. And for everyone, access to finance is always an issue in life sciences.

Location, location, location

Companies look for supportive geographical locations that help them reach their potential. That’s not always Vinland (now called North America): Dr. Marcella Origgi, recently appointed new CEO of Helsinki, Finland’s Valo Therapeutics, talked about how the company’s co-founder is from Naples, but the company was set up in Helsinki, where the other co-founder is from. Now, as Valo Therapeutics has reached clinical stage, it has opened its first subsidiary, in Naples, to help progress its clinical trial in four challenging cancers and validate its PeptiCRAd platform. Synergy between locations is crucial, and Italy has a lot to offer around doing clinical trials.

Also originating in Helsinki, which like Norway has much untapped biotech potential, is Tilt Biotherapeutics, developing oncolytic viruses, and which has just closed its Series B round. Tiltbio’s CEO Dr. Akseli Hemminki talked of originally running trials in Europe, and now almost entirely in the US, as that’s where the market is. With over 80 patients treated, the company is lining up a phase 2 trial in ovarian cancer, and starting plans for a Phase 3, to be supported by a Series C financing round.

In Oslo, Norway’s capital, Calluna Pharma is a global fibrosis and inflammation-focused biotech with first-in-class clinical-stage antibodies, and a lead candidate in Phase 2. In traversing the high seas, it’s the ship that makes the difference, whereas in a body’s sea of blood, antibodies are a tried and trusted vehicle. Calluna’s SVP Operations, Berte Poulsson talked about when scaling a business it will need financing. Ideally capital is raised globally, as that not only brings in the necessary money but also expertise and networks. Doors can be opened that could otherwise remain firmly shut, especially when a company has secured an investor from outside their home country. To attract these ‘door-keepers’ a company needs to develop a compelling investment thesis, and be clear about what the financing could deliver, and when. And local investors can be good for attracting global ‘door-opening’ investors. As Berte highlighted, it’s also essential to know what sort of investors you’re trying to attract, and to know what stage of development they typically invest in, so that you can pitch to people who can say ‘yes!’. And that an investment from your target investor should make sense for your product. What additional value can they provide, such as expertise around how trials are designed, the use of real-world data, market research on the product’s true potential, and more. All of that can help you develop a better pitch to secure additional investors, and for investors to have greater confidence that there’s a high chance of return on investment.

Across Norway’s border, a little south of Calluna’s HQ in Oslo, is Gothenburg, Sweden, which is the HQ of Cereno Scientific. There, CEO Sten Sörensen and his team are pioneering treatments to enhance and extend life, with an innovative pipeline of disease-modifying drug candidates in rare cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Active in clinical trials, Cereno has two drug candidates, one with topline results expected mid-2025 and the other having completed a Phase 2 trial. Sten emphasised that the company’s trials are run solely in the US, hence the company needs to be global in its operations. Whilst Sten led Cereno from just an idea in 2014, and no assets, to listing on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market in 2023, as he observed, the IPO window is quite closed now, so that’s not currently an option. He’s also done debt-financing as a strategic move in the last 18 months, which involves a different kind of financing partner. Sometimes, you need to bring different people with you on your journey.

Not unlike way back in Viking times, there were seasons when the fjords froze, and sailing was simply impossible. But the seasons do change, and whilst sometimes you can’t head out on the water, you can still do a lot locally to improve your chances. As session moderator Fred Sundberg, VP Market and Business Development at Standard BioTools (Nasdaq: LAB), observed, investors like to invest locally, hence a meeting like the LSX Nordic Congress gives companies a chance to meet many local VCs.

But whilst money is essential, it is not the end goal, it is a means to reach that goal. To be successful, be true to your mission. As Akseli said, fashions come and go, and as it takes such a long time to develop a new drug in a new class, continue to work with the things you know! Erik the Red might have said something like this to his crew, when voyaging through terrifying uncharted waters a thousand years ago, ‘Keep sailing!’. Times may change, but the need to be resilient, determined, and to stay on mission is enduring.

Finding the right partner for your journey

As Fred remarked, when finding a partner or investor, strategic alignment is critical. It is important to understand how your innovation fits with the pharma portfolio and its life cycle. From the investor’s perspective, it is important to pitch and front with both the science/innovation and its relevance, how it really adds value to the portfolio and disease-area focus. Fred asked the panel what they look for to identify the right partners and mitigate risks. Tiltbio’s Akseli outlined how his company has both commercial partnerships with pharma, including with America’s Merck (MSD in Europe), and Germany’s Merck Darmstadt, and non-commercial, such as with Nordic and US hospitals. Each has a separate set of issues to keep in mind. It can be more straightforward working with a commercial entity as you know their reasons for operating. With academic scientists, it can be more difficult to understand what drives them. Even with a supply agreement from a pharmaceutical company for free access to a checkpoint inhibitor for use in clinical trials, collaboration can still cost a lot, for example for storage, labelling, shipping, and so on, of the drug product. The biggest benefit from a pharma partner is they have a strong interest in following how your progress, if you have good clinical data then they will be the first point of call for a licensing deal.

Berte emphasised that a partnership must create value for both partners, and it’s not just about the money. A biotech considering a partnership should look at the wider benefits including insight and experience. Plus scientific validation and external validation. Calluna have worked with the ExploR&D group of Eli Lilly on clinical trial design and CRO selection. This has provided a lot of benefit, and something for other biotechs to consider when drawing up a collaboration agreement. She added that, when in negotiations, it is important to identify early-on the ‘must have’ versus the ‘nice-to-have’ elements: what is absolutely non-negotiable and have that clarified with key stakeholders.

Sten looked at things from another angle: In drug development, sometimes you don’t get a partner early on. To pursue your vision, quality advice from other sources is important, so anchor high-level thought leaders in the field, pre-clinical & clinical, in developing new therapies, who have good connections with the FDA/EMA, as part of your Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Sten created his company’s SAB way before he went into clinic. Keep in mind every thought-leader has valuable connections, which is of high value for biotech, as you can dig into those connections for business and scientific purposes. This is also partnerships on a personal level, prior to making a licensing deal with pharma.

Marcella added that it’s important to evolve expertise within the company, and to interact with patient associations. This can help with patient enrollment onto trials, creating awareness about what’s on offer. Similarly, connections with relevant scientific groups and networks can help identify potential eligible patients. Marcella commented that what’s really lacking though is a way for biotech companies to share peer-experience on how to solve difficult problems.

Sten reflected on Marcella’s point, saying that there is a loneliness in driving a biotech company, and the things you must solve. Expanding on his point above, he said it is critical for a biotech’s leadership to have good advisors, which includes regulatory experts, bankers, deal makers, communicators and others, who know where the hiccups are, how the playing field is played, and what major pharma want to do (and not do) and try to meet in the middle. This kind of support, which includes legal counsel, as there’s always something about legal/regulatory aspects and money. When you do procurement of a big deal or contract there are a lot of details to sort through. Sten remarked that AstraZeneca’s CEO Pascal Soriot has said recently his company is pursuing 30 new drugs to 2030 and employs 90,000 people. In Sten’s company he is pursuing 3 new drugs and has 10 people! So, you need groups around you. Sometimes he has 100 people working in various constellations around Cereno, all engaged on advancing the company. Plus, events like LSX’s CEO Round Tables can help.

Building global teams

Wrapping up the session, Fred asked the panel about how they build global teams effectively. Berte said it can be easy to reach out to friends when looking to fill teams, but it is better to seek broader access, with people all over the world. The majority of Calluna’s people are in Oslo, but there are also people in the US, UK and elsewhere, as this gives the best chance of securing the best people for the best roles.

For Akseli, whilst the main office is in Helsinki, with around 20 people, who meet in person at least twice a week, it does help to have a US office, which Tiltbio has in Boston, as this supports trial activity. In oncology the unmet clinical need is so obvious everywhere that it barely needs to be mentioned, but with the US being about 60% of the drug market its important to do trials there. Plus it’s only natural US sites prefer US people to talk to. About half his team trained at the nearby University of Helsinki, with a PhD before joining the company, with the other half mainly connecting with the company at events.

For Marcella, addressing cultural barriers is important, and to do this, it’s good to sit in person with people, also in informal settings, to better understand each other. Europe has amazing diversity and that difference is richness. She added that the company’s investor network is very useful for suggesting people to hire.

For Sten, it is a difficult challenge to attract the best people. In part this is as the Nordics is not the best payor (that’s the US), so the pay gap is a challenge. Small biotechs can also be a lonely place initially, which is a challenge if an individual is a social animal. That makes it good to relate to research hubs. His company moved early-on into the AstraZeneca Bio-venture hub in Gothenburg and spent eight years there and then went to the ‘Go-Co’ research real estate facility next door, which provides a small flexible office and good environment for the company to retain people. If possible, extend a stake in the company to staff, so they feel they’re building something together, and are more than just a ‘salary-person’.

Berte echoed Sten’s points on research hubs. Being part of a hub is a great environment where people can share their experiences. Calluna is based in a science-park in Oslo, where it’s easy to have informal interactions, discuss struggles and solutions, and source new staff. Both Marcella and Sten commented on the value of interns, and the social good in helping interns secure their first career item on their CV.

Biotech may be built on science, but it’s driven by people—from seasoned leaders to first-time interns finding their footing. Creating spaces for talent to grow, connect, and stay inspired is how Nordic companies are shaping not only pipelines, but a sustainable future.