Nordic Market Access a Hidden Accelerator

By Rebeca Varela Lores, Investment Associate

Sept 15, 2025

Maria Lundius and Roger Lias

In the global life sciences industry, “market access” has become one of those terms that can mean almost anything: regulatory approval, reimbursement, or simply getting products into patients’ hands. At Ventures Accelerated, however, we use the term more broadly, encompassing access to clinical trials, institutions, manufacturing capacity, and collaborative networks that enable companies to move faster, smarter, and with less risk. 

The Nordics — Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland — are often overlooked in this conversation. Too small, too peripheral, some might assume. But talk to those on the ground, and another story emerges: this is not a marginal region, but a strategic entry point into Europe with unique advantages for companies looking to accelerate clinical development and scale-up. 

To explore this further, we talked with: 

• Roger Lias, Global Head of Biologics at Kymanox and Senior Advisor at Ventures Accelerated, with deep experience building and scaling CDMO and biomanufacturing operations worldwide. 

• Maria Lundius, Senior Director for Clinical Business Development at QPS Holdings LLC, with expertise in clinical trial strategy across the Nordics, UK, and wider European markets. 

Clinical Development: Speed, Trust, and Data Quality 

For companies entering first-in-human or early dose-escalation studies, time is currency. Every week shaved off a startup timeline translates into reduced burn rate, faster decision-making, and earlier data to support licensing or investment.  

Maria highlights how universal healthcare and centralized electronic records simplify patient recruitment. Combined with GCP-compliant sites and modern infrastructure, the result is speed without sacrificing data quality. 

National health registries and biobanks in Sweden and Denmark further strengthen trials, tying longitudinal data to patient cohorts. “They enable long-term follow-up on survival or safety without costly retention programs. You can generate Real-World Evidence (RWE) even after sites have closed, something impossible in the U.S.,” Maria notes. 

The regulatory environment adds another edge. Ethics and regulatory approvals in Sweden and Denmark are faster and more predictable than in many other European markets, often allowing studies to start within four to eight weeks. For early-phase studies, that can cut months off timelines. 

While the per-patient cost can be higher in the Nordics, the overall economics often turn out better. Faster recruitment, fewer quality issues, and earlier readouts reduce burn rate and CRO costs, while delays in larger EU countries quickly drive up total spend. As Maria Lundius explains, “In the Nordics, you often end up with the same or even lower overall cost — and a much stronger return on investment.” 

Perhaps the most underappreciated factor is patient trust. With high confidence in healthcare providers and strong engagement in research, Nordic populations are generally more willing to participate and to stay in studies over time. That’s particularly critical for oncology or long-term safety trials, where expensive retention strategies are often required elsewhere. 

Scaling up: from bench to biomanufacturing  

If clinical trials are the Nordics’ first calling card, what about manufacturing? Here, Roger pushes back against the perception of the Nordics as a minor player. 

“I really don’t look at the Nordics as ‘smaller markets,’” Roger says. He points out that the region has built significant scientific and technical capability, with Denmark hosting giants like AGC Biologics and Fujifilm Diosynth, both operating at massive biologics scale. In Sweden, specialized players such as NorthX bring hard-to-find expertise, including BSL-3 manufacturing, while companies like Meribel are expanding drug product capacity. Taken together, this is a vibrant ecosystem, far from a niche. 

What differentiates the region, in Roger’s view, is the integration of discovery, development, and manufacturing. Unlike in other geographies where these functions are siloed, the Nordics foster a seamless handoff from research to scale-up. 

“I’ve been impressed by the cohesiveness of the ecosystem,” he notes. “Public/private collaborations, government-backed hubs like the Testa Center in Uppsala or the Center for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine in Gothenburg — they all help companies validate technologies in GMP-like environments and accelerate the path to commercialization.” 

This ecosystem approach means that a biotech entering the Nordics can tap not just capacity, but a culture of practical problem-solving and applied innovation. 

Collaboration as a Cultural Edge 

Both Maria and Roger underscore collaboration as the Nordics’ defining cultural feature. There is genuine openness across academia, hospitals, and industry — or as Roger puts it, “the default mode is to work together.” 

This spirit is not limited to domestic players, the Nordics actively welcome international companies, creating a fertile environment for cross-border engagement. For global biotechs, this means an opportunity to tap into strong networks that can accelerate development and de-risk European entry. Companies that focus only on the UK or Germany risk overlooking these advantages. 

For early-phase entrants especially, the Nordics serve as a strategic steppingstone into Europe, with data generated in the region carrying high credibility among EU regulators and smoothing the path to expansion or licensing deals. 

Why the Nordics? A Dual Answer 

So, what’s the strongest argument for choosing the Nordics over larger European markets? 

For Maria Lundius, the answer is data-driven: faster study starts, higher-quality results, and the ability to generate long-term follow-up without excessive cost. 

For Roger Lias, it’s cultural: while infrastructure and regulations matter, what truly sets the region apart is the people, their openness, collaborative mindset, and drive to build together. 

Together, their perspectives show why the Nordics are not just an alternative, but a strategic partner region where speed, quality, and collaboration converge.  

Or as Roger puts it: 

“The Nordics are open for life science business.”