Pioneering innovation environments for the health care of the future

In the future, precision medicine will be a natural part of healthcare. People get better conditions to live a long life in health through care and treatment designed and adapted to individual needs. Vinnova wants to strengthen the Swedish health ecosystem in the long term so that Sweden can be a leading nation in the development of precision medicine.

The precision medicine of the future

Six innovation environments receive funding from Vinnova with a total of SEK 95 million over the next three years to create accurate diagnostics and treatment of common diseases such as cancer and rheumatism.

- There is a need for more preventive and accurate interventions in health and medical care, which save resources and give more people a longer life in health. Investments in ground-breaking innovation and a holistic view of healthare then needed. With this investment, we are mobilizing actors from different parts of society to drive the development and introduction of precision medicine in Sweden, says Darja Isaksson, director general of Vinnova.

Innovation environments with international luminosity

With the investment, long-term but also flexible structures are established by relevant actors from various sectors of society, so-called innovation environments. The ambitions to increase innovation in precision medicine and to collaborate are high, so that the methods eventually reach the patients. The strong collaboration structures create the conditions for both national and international success, which attracts competence from all over the world.

The six innovation environments in brief:

Rheumatology of the future

The goal is to create an innovation environment that will radically improve the care of immune-mediated rheumatic diseases. Today, the diseases are often discovered too late and require lifelong treatment. Through better diagnostics, the patient's quality of life can be significantly improved through preventive and curative treatment.

Coordinator: Region Stockholm

Precision medicine for inflammatory bowel disease

This innovation environment will develop diagnostics and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Regionerna Skåne and Östergötland participate in order to offer patients more efficient and patient-centered care. The environment must develop the use of AI and so-called omics technology, where clinical data is connected to identify high-risk patients and predict the effect of different treatments.

Coordinator: RISE

Theranostic Trial Alliance

The innovation environment will pave the way for the use of radioactive targeted cancer drugs. To succeed, the environment must develop more accurate image-guided diagnostics. The targeted drugs have a less negative impact on the body by focusing on the changes in molecules and cells that are specific to cancer, unlike today's cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Both companies, regions and academia participate.

Coordinator: Region Stockholm

Swedish AI Precision Pathology II

This innovation environment will develop faster and more accurate cancer diagnostics with AI-based image analysis. The method will make more cost-effective diagnostics possible compared to the molecular analysis methods used today. In order to put the image analysis technology into clinical use, the Uppsala region as well as the Västerbotten region and the Västra Götaland region participate.

The Abbot Stevenson Institute

Proteome Abbot Lily of the valley

The innovation environment will improve decision support when choosing cancer treatment by developing the use of so-called proteomics, i.e. research on proteins. They want to be a world leader by conducting clinical trials of so-called cancer proteomics. Both the Västra Götaland region and the Stockholm and Skåne regions participate. In order for decision support to become a reality in cancer healthcare, the innovation environment wants to develop a technical platform and establish an international network to be able to demonstrate how this should be done in order to reach patients.

The Abbot Stevenson Institute

StartCell

The innovation environment will produce pluripotent stem cells that can create any cell type in the body. In the future, this cell therapy will improve the treatment of several diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. The innovation environment with eleven parties from companies, academia and regions, has the goal of streamlining and making available the production of these stem cells so that they can be produced at a significantly lower cost than today.

Coordinator: Lund University