Tromsø - the hotspot for cold biotech The frigid waters off northern Norway provide the perfect environment for marine bio prospecting and biotechnology research of microorganisms, plant and animal cells. Among the recent developments have been the building of a new Barents BioCentre and the establishment of the new cluster BioTech North in Tromsø to help gather the biotech community together. It is all part of Tromsø’s goal to become an international centre for bio marine research and innovation.

The biotech and bio prospecting industry in the Troms area currently employs about 500 people within research and development and 400 in companies. The largest of these is ProBio, a producer of Omega-3 and pharmaceutical products. It is one of several biotech companies in Tromsø, such as Calanus, Marealis and Olivita, which develop health and nutritional products.

Another core competence among some of Tromsø’s biotech companies is within pharmaceutical and diagnostic. Biotech Pharmacon’s subsidiary Marine BioChemicals, for example, has had particular success with developing an enzyme from cod that is used in commercial HIV tests because it increases the specificity and sensitivity of the tests by controlling contamination. 


Barents BioCentre
These are just some of the biotech companies that are expected to possibly avail themselves of the new laboratory facilities at the Barents BioCentre (BBC) next year. 

The BBC is a new joint infrastructure project with the University of Tromsø and the Norwegian Research Institute (Norut). The centre will be established in a new building in Tromsø Science Park by next year. It will include activities from the University of Tromsø, mainly the Norwegian Structural Biological Centre (NorStruct), Norut’s new department for industrial and medical biotechnology, and several biotech companies.

It will cost the Industrial Development Corporation of Norway an investment of NOK 160 million to build the 8,000 square metres addition to Tromsø Science Park, which will comprise mostly laboratories and some office space. Once completed, it will expand the science park to 26,000 square metres and add some 50-100 jobs to the 700 already there, according to Erling Sandsdalen, Norut Tromsø research director and pending BBC managing director.

The centre will benefit from its near proximity to Norway’s national marine biobank Marbank and analyse laboratory Marbio, which are located at Tromsø Science Park. In addition, Norrinova and TTO Nord – Technology Transfer Office will contribute to commercialising the results from the Barents BioCentre.

The main goal of the BBC is to develop the biotech industry in the region. It will serve as a meeting place for industry and academia and provide opportunities for developing new, innovative products and companies. It is expected that some 10-15 biotech companies will be associated with the BBC, meaning they can come and hire access to the labs and personnel for certain periods. It will be both a national and international resource open to any biotech company or institution. 

“We have been working for several years to include international companies in our biotech (community),” said Sandsdalen. “We hope by establishing the BBC, it will be easier…by making it an interesting environment.”

“The benefit is for smaller companies that don’t have access to equipment and personnel,” he added. “Both the university and Norut will have personnel operating in the labs.”

Along with BBC’s members, there are several key players that will be important to developing a strong biotech cluster. These include the University Hospital in Tromsø, BioLab Prosess, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research (Nofima), Centre on Marine Bioactives and Drug Discovery (MabCent), Marbank, funding agencies, the regional forum for biotech and fisheries, and international and national networks.


BioTech North
In a separate recent development, the Tromsø Chamber of Commerce gave the industry a much-needed push by establishing the BioTech North cluster this March. 

The idea for BioTech North started several years ago, when a number of biotech companies in the area felt the need to boost the value creation for the industry, according to Einar Kloosterman, BioTech North manager. The goal is to get more growth and recruit more people, companies and investors to the area.

“A number of companies were the initiators,” said Kloosterman. “They sat together in 2007 and concluded that after 30-40 years of bio tech they had good universities, research and development branch and companies, but it was not enough. The value creation had been less than expected. We want to create a better cluster so that is easy to identify what we are doing and create more value.”

BioTech North will work partly with helping organize workshops and seminars, such as the international conference on marine bio prospecting BioProsp. The next one will take place in Tromsø during February 23-25, 2011. 

BioTech North will function as the promotional arm of the biotech industry, whereas BBC will be the physical gathering point. Kloosterman believes the success of the medical valley in the Øresund region of Sweden and Denmark and the Oslo Cancer Cluster are good examples of how the biotech companies can reap the benefits of working together.

It is estimated that some 25 biotech companies and organizations could be part of Tromsø’s biotech cluster. These would include those involved in bio prospecting, such as Marbio, Marbank and MabCent, a research-based innovation centre within the field of bioactive compounds and drug discovery based on bioactives from marine organisms. 

“In the end, what we want to have is that companies here get more growth, recruit more people, get more companies to the area, and make it an interesting area to do more investments,” said Kloosterman.


Original author: Norway Exports 

The Euro-zone drags on Swedish Economy

The Swedish central bank forecasts a slowing in the Swedish Economy due to weakness in the euro area. Meanwhile the Swedish Trade Council, also forecasts poor economic development in important trading partners. Not least, the Euro zone is expected to tip into recession, with two consecutive quarters of negative growth. With exports standing for 50 percent of GNP, Sweden will be strongly affected.

The Swedish central bank lowered its interest rates against a background of less inflationary pressure and weaker economic expectations. Their press release states, “the worsened outlook is causing households and businesses to delay consumption and investment,” and points to significant uncertainty about future economic developments.

Against this background, the central bank’s Executive Board indicates that additional changes to interest rates can be necessary if the problems experienced in the Euro area deteriorate, stating, “the public-finance problems in the euro area in particular may become more serious and have more negative effects on the Swedish economy. In this situation, the repo-rate path may need to be lowered.”

As well, forecasted growth in Swedish GNP is cut for coming years, including growth of 1.3 percent for 2012, compared to the previous forecast of 1.5 percent.

The Swedish Trade Council also issued new forecasts where they still expect a slight increase in exports for 2012, though a smaller increase than forecasted in September. “The debt crisis in the Euro zone has forced austerity policies that act as downward pressure on the economy, which can cause lower public revenues as households and businesses lose confidence in economic developments. The greatest risk looking forward is that insufficient measures are taken to resolve the debt crisis in the Euro zone,” notes the Swedish trade council Chief Economist Mauro Gozzo.

The Trade Council forecasts an economic recession in the Euro zone, which also will affect Central and Eastern Europe. Export markets in Scandinavia are expected to grow 3 percent, but in West Europe by 1.5 percent, and in Central and East Europe by 5.5 percent. Moreover, China, currently the most important locomotive in the global economy, shows initial signs of contraction.

Finland maintains Moody’s top credit rating

Finland has a strong fiscal position and its rating is not expected to come under pressure, according to Moody’s.

Finland has maintained its excellent Aaa sovereign debt rating by Moody’s Investors Service. Moody’s has reduced the ratings of six European countries and worsened its forecast for three others to reflect their susceptibility to the growing financial and macroeconomic risks emanating from the euro area crisis.


According to Moody’s report, Finland’s rating is “appropriately positioned”. Finland is also named among the countries with the strongest fiscal position, whose ratings are not currently expected to come under pressure.



Source: Moody’s

Spain - economy: Wages in the target

A central tenet of the new government's policy programme is to introduce labour market reforms to improve the economy's longer-term competitiveness. Restrictive labour laws and a high degree of wage regulation have persistently undermined the Spanish economy's capacity to improve skills and productivity. The prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, seems determined to push through radical changes to the rigid two-tiered structure of the labour market and decentralise collective wage-setting procedures, although implementation risk suggests that their overall impact over the near term will be modest. Recent data underline the need for reform, with employment declining sharply in the final quarter of 2011 and the rate of youth unemployment rising close to 50%.


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