For researchers and students at the University of Oslo, researchers at Oslo University Hospital (OUS) and Akershus University Hospital (Ahus), members of Oslo Cancer Cluster, Norway Health Tech, LMI and The Life Science Cluster, the Oslo Science Park community and Oslo Science City partners. Free of charge, but you have to sign up.
The registration deadline was 19 April, and the event is fully booked.
All who have registered, will receive an email with a reminder 20 April.
Programme
Registration, coffee, tea and fruit from 16:30.
The programme in Forum auditorium starts at 17:00.
Inspirational talk
by Stefan Ries
PhD, Venture Partner, Versant Ventures, Switzerland. He is a biochemist and tumour biologist by training and has more than 20 years of experience in drug development for oncology.
More about the talk, the speaker and Versant Venture
Stefan Ries will highlight how academia and pharma have to work closely together to bring the most innovative drugs to patients in need. While academia discovers all the essential biology know-how about potentially promising molecular targets for a given disease, pharma is specialized in developing compounds against it. Working well together is synergistic and benefits all, patients, academia and industry. In his talk Stefan Ries will show some examples of pharmaceuticals that wouldn’t exist today, if it hadn’t been for this collaboration. Venture capital is important to fund high-risk but highly rewarding ideas/new companies, e.g. spin-outs from academia.
Stefan Ries is an investment professional at Versant Ventures driving the identification of game-changing innovative therapeutic concepts for oncology and beyond, and building new biotech companies. He is a biochemist and tumour biologist by training and has more than 20 years of experience in drug development for oncology – small molecules, biologics and cellular therapies. He has been responsible for the the strategic buildup of a strong portfolio of innovative externally derived projects covering projects from early research to clinical proof of concept in Roche and has and excellent overview on the global oncology landscape and novel therapeutic approaches to treat cancer – cancer immunotherapy, molecular oncology, cellular therapies, oncolytic viruses and bacteria, and methods to early detect cancer.
Versant Ventures is a leading healthcare investment firm committed to helping exceptional entrepreneurs build the next generation of great companies. The firm’s emphasis is on biotechnology companies that are discovering and developing novel therapeutics. With $2.4 billion under management and offices in the U.S., Canada and Europe, Versant has built a team with deep investment, operating and clinical expertise that enables a hands-on approach to company building.
Role model talk
by Anette Weyergang
Senior scientist, PhD, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital and SPARKee in UiO:Life Science’s innovation programme SPARK Norway, former attendee School of Health Innovation
More about the talk, the speaker and her research
Anette Weyergang will share her experiences from working on a research and innovation project: how the innovative idea came about, and what she thinks is important for researchers and students who want to follow their innovative idea. As a SPARKee she will highlight what UiO:Life Science’s innovation programme SPARK Norway, which is based on milestone-based funding and mentoring, has taught her, and how the programme has helped move the project forwards. She has also attended the School of Health Innovation. Are there services that she has been missing and that she wants the Life Science Growth House to develop?
Anette Weyergang is cand.pharm. and PhD from the Department of Pharmacy, UiO. Her main interests are in drug delivery and targeted cancer therapeutics, and she has her own project group Recombinant Light Activated Therapeutics at the Institute for Cancer Research. Anette Weyergang was admitted to SPARK Norway in January 2021 with the project A Novel Biomarker for Antibody Drug Conjugates. This project is based on the research finding of a new biomarker for Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs), one of the cornerstones of precision medicine. Though these drugs are highly efficient, they do not work in all patients, so there is an unmet need for predictive markers for clinical response. The goal with this project is to develop a diagnostic tool to select patients for ADCs or alternative treatments.
Short presentations from the organisers about their services
by Ketil Widerberg, CEO, Oslo Cancer Cluster and Hilde Nebb, director, Life Science Growth House
Meet the companies
At this hangout 10 companies that are members of Oslo Cancer Cluster, have been asked to give a 2-minute pitch on their company to let researchers and students know what the company is all about and what they can discuss with representatives from the company at the matchmaking. The companies might for example share their experience on the transition from academia to industry or tell if they are open to collaboration, have plans to expand and if so, what competence they are looking for, or if they are open to hire interns.
Matchmaking
The companies are available for matchmaking with researchers and students in the area outside Forum auditorium after the talks and pitches
Food and beverages, and mingling
About the innovation hangouts
The Life Science Growth House will arrange quarterly afternoon/evening-innovation hangouts. This is an informal meeting place where researchers and students from the University of Oslo (UiO) can interact with actors from the public sector, hospitals, companies, mentors, business clusters and incubators within UiO's innovation ecosystem. We will provide inspirational talks, talks from role models, matchmaking, food and beverages, and mingling.
The overall goal of the Life Science Growth House is to strengthen the innovation culture at UiO to put more knowledge from research to use. With this meeting place, we want to inspire researchers and students, give them self-confidence and knowledge about the innovation process, help them build networks, and facilitate collaboration between academia and industry.