Capital of Life moves from strategy to action

The meeting marked an important step in turning the strategy’s ambitions into concrete action. Discussions reflected a strong commitment across the partnership to work together to strengthen Stockholm–Uppsala’s position as one of Europe’s leading life science clusters.

A key theme throughout the day was the need to strengthen the entire innovation pipeline – from research and clinical trials to commercialisation and patient benefit. Participants highlighted the importance of improving conditions for scaling companies and securing investment in later stages of development.

There was also broad agreement that the region must take a more visible international role, attract more companies and investment, and continue to develop strong public-private partnerships to drive long-term growth and competitiveness.

Participants were also presented with a new benchmarking report by JLL, commissioned by Region Stockholm, comparing Stockholm–Uppsala with other leading life science clusters across Europe. The report confirms the region’s strong position in research and innovation while identifying opportunities to further strengthen commercialisation and scale-up capabilities.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to reflect on the progress made over the past year. Key achievements include the adoption of the joint life science strategy, strengthened collaboration in advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), dialogue between political leaders and industry representatives, the launch of Capital of Life’s communication platform and website, and the introduction of cluster-wide KPI monitoring.

With a shared strategy now in place, the focus turns to implementation. Together, the partners of Capital of Life will continue working to strengthen the Stockholm–Uppsala region’s international competitiveness and create the conditions for the next generation of life science innovation.