How to make Finland the best RDI environment for health and life sciences

Juha Paakkola, Director, Health Capital Helsinki

New campus incubators in Helsinki, new quantum computer, Lumi Supercomputer, new startups, listings, acquisitions and investments. Rokote Laboratories is developing a vaccine for COVID-19 with more than €9 million in funding, Aiforia and Nightingale Health got listed on the stock exchange. These are just a few examples of the great things currently happening in the Finnish health and life science sector.

The effects of the current pandemic are comparable to other significant crises of humankind: the pandemic forces people to innovate together and invest in new solutions. Where World War II boosted nuclear physics and aircraft, the COVID-19 pandemic has turbo-boosted mRNA vaccine technology and caused a huge demand for e.g. digital health solutions.

There’s a globally growing demand on the market, Finnish researchers have more and more courageous attitudes towards entrepreneurship and investors are interested in the health industry. These are all great news – but how can we boost innovation and make health an even better growth engine for Finland?

Three opportunities to boost health innovation in Finland

1. Improving legislation to enable the research use of Finland’s world-renowned health data
2. Increasing public RDI funding and ensure the continuation of strong RDI at HUS Helsinki University Hospital, and
3. Increasing startup funding: in addition to attracting international investors, domestic private equity funds with health focus are needed.

Health innovations can – not only create jobs and tax euros – actually save the mankind. Let’s all do our part to make Finland the best RDI environment for health and life sciences.