Key findings from Almedalen Week

Almedalen Week 2024 has come to an end, with 1,000 participants creating 2,000 events for 20,000 politicians, officials, business people, and others. For us at Medicon Village, it is important to be present with the aim of creating and maintaining contacts that help strengthen our position as a hub in one of the country’s leading life science clusters.

Some key findings from Petter Hartman and Mikael Lagerwall, our representatives at Almedalen Week this year:

• A calmer week than in other years due to it occurring between two general elections.
• No issues directly dominated the week (as sustainability did a few years ago).
• The life science industry was well represented by both larger and smaller companies, as well as organizations, politicians, officials, and representatives from academia. Feel free to see the events that were arranged at https://almedalsveckan.info/program.
• The life science industry has increased in economic significance, and there is political awareness of this, requiring investments in research and innovation and an updated life science strategy with clear priorities.
• The Swedish healthcare system faces significant challenges regarding deficits, skills shortages, and capacity issues. This must be managed in the long term, which is important both for individual patients and for society’s resilience in times of major or sudden stress.
• Innovation is largely driven by small companies, which in turn depend on environments that promote interaction between clinics, academic research, and capital. Well-developed innovation support is also crucial for companies to develop over time. Here, Sweden has much to offer with many innovation hubs around the country (not least Medicon Village).