Norwegian life science needs government's financial commitment

Access to capital is the most pressing challenge facing emerging life sciences companies in the Norway. The sector now needs a financial commitment from Government in order to reinvigorate the investment environment for SMEs, according to the Annual Survey from the Norwegian Bioindustry Association.

In May-June 2009 the Norwegian BioIndustry Association (NBA) conducted a survey on the financing of the life sciences industry including:
Therapeutic, diagnostic and devices companies
Agro-food biotechnology companies and industrial and
Environmental biotechnology.

The conclusion from the survey is that access to capital is the most pressing challenge facing emerging life sciences companies in the Norway, and this has been further exacerbated by the current global economic environment. Although the Norwegian Government has supported the life sciences sector, the global environment has become more competitive. The sector now needs a financial commitment from Government in order to reinvigorate the investment environment for SMEs.

The aim of the survey is to map Norwegian Bioindustry access to finance. Norwegian Bioindustry Association will also use the information to influence authorities with the aim to improve policies and framework conditions. 55 companies were requested to answer the survey, of which 23 (42%) participated in the survey, and 3 (5%) refused to participate. Unfortunately 29 (53%) companies have not answered the survey, therfore the data set is collected from a very small number of companies.

More information is available in the complete survey.

• Annual survey Norwegian Bioindustry Access to Finance 2009