Converting Agreements into Action: Sweden-India Year of Health

Swecare had the privilege of welcoming a delegation from India organised by our longtime partner InnovatioCuris.

Region Uppsala

Highlights included a highly engaging round table discussion with key Swedish innovators at the incomparable H2 Health Hub in Stockholm and a seminar at Vitalis in Gothenburg.

Aula Medica - KI

The delegation visited Karolinska Institute and Hospital in Solna, Uppsala Region and University, Surgical Science, Sahlgrenska, AstraZeneca's BioVentureHub, and GoCo Health Innovation City during their 4-day trip.

The focus of the delegation was to explore concrete collaboration opportunities between innovators in our two countries - taking the Innovation Partnership signed by Modi and Löfven last year to the next level.











Delegates

VR at Surgical Science

• Dr Sandeep Bhalla, Director of Training, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI): leading the capacity building initiatives for Primary care physicians in chronic disease management and injuries .
• Deepali Jetley, Qwazent: Managing Partner from an all-female executive search firm with health care focus.
• Kingshuk Poddar, AIC-AMTZ Medivalley Incubation Council: a comprehensive entrepreneur incubation hub catering to convergence technologies in the field of Medtech, Nutratech and Biotech.
• Rohini Pimple, Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH): an initiative conceived to unlock the national treasure created by the top scientific research institutions in Telangana State, and to actively facilitate the process of taking their research to market.
• Rajesh R. Singh, Wadhwani Initiative for Sustainable Healthcare (WISH) Foundation: improving the quality of and access to primary healthcare for under-served communities in India by appropriately introducing promising healthcare innovations in the public health system.
• Sachin Gaur, InnovatioCuris: expert in cyber security and frugal innovations in health care.
• Dr VK Singh, InnovatioCuris: veteran doctor with a decades long career in the Indian military and extensive network in India.

If you were unable to join us during last week's activities and are interested in pursuing any of these contacts, please get in touch. Further information: InnoBRIDGE 2019.

Upcoming projects & activities (email Swecare if interested):

Linda Swirtun, Vinnova

• New Initiative - building a much broader and stronger platform in infection control, where as many Swedish institutions and companies as possible are engaged, establishing a Vision Zero for hospital acquired infections, similar to what has been done for road traffic accidents in Sweden and now exported to India.
• Strengthening Collaboration - reducing environmental risks from antibiotic production & sustainable solutions through building alliances. On the issue, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) suggests a multi stakeholder call for action.
• Vinnova Call - company-driven research and innovation projects (Smart Cities & Clean Energy, Digitisation & IoT). Deadline 15 August - more information.
• Incoming visit - Director of AIIMS Jodhpur 12-14 June.

Seminar at Vitalis 2019

Swecare goes Göteborg!

För någon vecka sedan samlades en stor del av Swecares arbetsstyrka på Stockholms C, för att ta tåget till Göteborg. Vi har länge haft ett besök i planerna, för att träffa några av våra trevliga medlemsföretag på hemmaplan och passa på att knyta kontakt med nya och gamla bekanta.

Mikaela, Anna, Shampa och Maria på vift!

Först besökte vi Getinge i deras fina lokaler och fick bl a höra att vart fjärde operationsbord kommer ifrån dem, och att de satsar mycket på utbildning av både distributörer och användare. Näst på tur var Abigo, som når 70 länder med t ex det bakteriebindande plåstret Sorbact som tillverkas i Askersund. Sista besöket dag 1 gick till AstraZeneca i Mölndal, där vi fick går runt i deras interaktiva "Molecular World" innan vi träffade Bioventure Hub (https://www.azbioventurehub.com/) där framväxande bioteknik och medtech företag och akademiska grupper ges tillfälle att dela lokaler och interagera med "bigpharma" och varandra.

Losec molekylen

Vi avslutade dagen med en väldigt trevlig AW vid Kungstorget. Ett mysigt sätt att hinna träffa fler medlemmar, partners, gamla och nya bekanta.

Dag 2 började med en morgonpromenad till Elof Hanssons kontor, med utsikt över hamnen. Vi diskuterade bl a vikten av att Sverige kan bidra till konkurrenskraftiga och lättfattliga finansieringslösningar, genom t ex EKN och SEK. Vi kan konstatera att det är i Göteborg man ska jobba om man vill ha utsikt över vattnet! Särskilt avundsjuka blev vi över utsikten från Cellmarks kontor. Det var också spännande att höra om Cellmark Medical. De kan tack vare sin internationella närvaro hjälpa till att koppla utvalda medtech tillverkare med lokala distributörer, sjukhus och andra kunder runt om i världen.

Fint väder - fin utsikt i Göteborg

Besöket i Göteborg gav verkligen mersmak (inte bara utsikterna över vattnet och räkmacka till lunch). Det var verkligen givande och roligt att träffa medlemmar och partners på Sveriges framsida, så vi lovar att snart komma tillbaka!

Inkommande Delegation från Saudiarabien:

ledd av hälsominister H.E. Dr. Tawfiq Al Rabiah

De sista dagarna i juni besöktes Sverige av en delegation ledd av hälsoministern i Saudiarabien. Stora reformer genomförs på hälsoområdet och saudierna är måna om att utforma ett modernt och kostnadseffektivt system som levererar sjukvård av hög kvalitet. Man vill inte hamna i fällan där många länder fortfarande befinner sig att satsningar handlar om att skapa stora sjukhus, ett visst antal sjukhusbäddar eller liknande utan istället skapa incitamenten för en frisk och hälsosam befolkning genom att utveckla förebyggande insatser och effektiv primärvård. Ledorden under besöket var hur man skapar värde, och begrepp som värdebaserad vård och värdebaserad prissättning diskuterades flitigt.

Förutom att möta sin motpart Annika Strandhäll deltog delegationen även i ett rundabordssamtal med svenska myndigheter på sjukvårdsområdet samt ett samtal med svenska företag. Intresset för samarbete är stort och man välkomnar kontakter och partnerskap med de svenska företagen. Ett område som fick stort utrymme och uppenbarligen ligger ministern nära om hjärtat är frågor kring digitalisering.

Tre MoU-avtal signerades under delegationsbesöket, en med Skåne Care och två med AstraZeneca. Det officiella besöket till Sverige arrangerades tillsammans av Svenska Ambassaden i Riyadh, Business Sweden och Swecare.

Myndigheter:

• eHälsomyndigheten
• Folkhälsomyndigheten
• Läkemedelsverket
• Socialstyrelsen

Företag:

• Aleris
• AlerisX
• AstraZeneca
• Bactiguard
• Diaverum
• Essity
• Getinge
• GHP
• Global Pharma Consulting
• MinDoktor
• Mölnlycke Health Care
• Sectra Imaging
• Skåne Care
• Sobi
• Surgical Science
• Sweco
• TSS
• UCR - Uppsala Clinical Research Center
• Vironova

Studiebesök till:

• Sofiahemmet
• Vironova
• Folkhälsomyndigheten
• AstraZeneca Mölndal
• Volvo
• GHP
• Sahlgrenska

Om du är intresserad av att delta i nästa planerade aktivitet med Saudiarabien under hösten, hör gärna av dig till Swecare.

Kenya & Tanzania: Exploring East Africa - Part I

Samarbete - Collaboration. A concept which sounds deceptively simple. The objective of this delegation trip was to take a limited number of Swedish companies (and in this case one institution) to Kenya and Tanzania in order to meet potential local collaborators with whom they can forge longlasting partnerships in order to expand, and/or establish, their presence in East Africa.

The delegation trip itself would not have come about without the close collaboration between Swecare Foundation and Business Sweden. After the phenomenal initial interest which surprised even us, it seemed that the trip might not even take place. We were obliged to wait for the political situation in Kenya to stabilize before we could confirm the program and bookings with our delegates. By this time, the uncertainty had caused a few of the interested actors to back out. Although we had always wanted a small delegation, one or two companies would not be enough to capture the interest of local partners, nor would it have been financially viable. It had to be lagom. But as is often the case, things have a way of working out at the last minute and we ended up with 15 people from seven Swedish companies participating. And the 19-23 November trip was quite the success.

Program Overview

Anna Jardfelt welcoming the delegation

The trip started with a short but extremely productive cocktail at the Swedish Residence in Nairobi on Monday, presided over by the Swedish Ambassador to Kenya, Anna Jardfelt, and the United Nations' Resident Coordinator, Siddarth Chatterjee. Networking had already started and meetings were arranged even before the program had properly begun. 

Representatives from the Kenyan Ministry of Health, the country manager of PharmAccess, and our own Hans Winberg from Leading Health Care spoke to a targeted Kenyan audience and the delegation during the morning seminar on Tuesday. The Swedish companies also got a chance to present themselves in order to clarify their vision and the types of partnerships they seek. The theme, loosely defined, was increasing efficiency through regional partnership and collaboration, with a focus on the most immediate healthcare challenges in East Africa.

As inspiring as talks were, what our delegation appreciated the most were the B2B meetings arranged in the afternoon. Keeping the group small meant that instead of the quick 10 minute chats one usually has during these sessions, our participants could spend up to 30 minutes on each meeting if it was going well. The value of such meetings cannot be overestimated. The key to successful collaborations often hinges on the unlikeliest of factors - do you actually get along? Do you enjoy the time you spend together? We all know that in our personal lives respect and affinity are the basis of all good partnerships, but we often dismiss this while making professional choices. Don't. Spend the time necessary to get to know each other. We hope and suspect that many left the day's events not only with business cards, but with potential friends.

Part of the delegation during the Coptic Hospital visit in Nairobi

Site visits in Nairobi took place on Wednesday before the evening flight to Dar es Salaam. The delegation received a warm welcome at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Kenyatta National Hospital, and Coptic Hospital. Most common requests:

• Longterm financing solutions for equipment
• capacity building & skill transfer
• local market presence

Our day in Dar es Salaam took the shape of a Road Show which started with a meeting with representatives from the Tanzanian Ministry of Health at the Swedish Embassy. This was a good lead for a number of companies in the delegation who felt that success in Tanzania would very much depend on the goodwill of the government as they crack down on corruption. This meeting was followed by site visits to Medical Stores Department, Muhimbili National Hospital, and Ocean Road Cancer Institute and ended with a reception hosted by the Ambassador of Sweden to Tanzania, Katarina Rangnitt, at her Residence.

Participating Companies

Much of the reason for the success of this delegation trip rests with the participants - a dedicated set of highly intelligent, passionate, and fun individuals. Thank you for coming!

• AstraZeneca - Health Heart Africa
• East Africa Technologies, Medtech, Pharmaceuticals, and Medical Supplies (EATMPS)
• Elekta
• HemoCue
• Karolinska Universitetssjukhus
• MedCardApps (MCA)
• Pansanté
• Systemair

Interested in learning more about our leads in East Africa? Email us and plan to join us in Rwanda and Uganda for Part II of this delegation, 19-22 March, 2018.