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Swedish protein research proved to be a great commercial success. Mathias Uhlén regards collaboration between industry and academia as an
essential condition for growth. Here Mathias demonstrates a detail to Swedish Minister for Education, Research and Culture Leif Pagrotsky.
recipe for Europe is to develop an effective
research funding system that can
meet a variety of requirements.
– We need to go in for breadth, so as
to have a broad scientific base, and for
excellence, so that we can support largescale
projects that require a concentration
of resources. No country can afford
not to support applied research today. All
investment in this sector pays off handsomely
in our export earnings.
Apart from breadth, excellence and
applied research there is, according to
Mathias Uhlén, a fourth component in
European growth – support for innovations.
Sweden has an advantage here
compared with many other countries,
MAPPING THE BODY’S BUILDING BLOCKS
since researchers in Sweden can take
out patents on their innovations. The
result is a very simple and unbureaucratic
system, says Mathias Uhlén.
HE HAS HIMSELF been involved in
about 70 patent applications and has set
up companies in fields as different as
DNA sequencing and research into the
biology and biochemistry of trees. One
thing about commercializing research
findings that he has learned over the
years is the vital importance of picking
the right product.
– The crucial thing is to position
yourself so that you are best in the
world. It is not enough for a Swedish
Human Protein Resource is a unique
scientific project that involves mapping
human proteins. The researchers
in Stockholm are investigating the
22,000 proteins that represent the
body’s building blocks and improving
our basic understanding of the biology
of the human body.
The objective of the project is to create
an atlas of all the proteins that are
active in human cells. This information
is published continuously on the Internet
and made available to researchers
all over the world. About 800 proteins
and half a million tissue images are
added to the database every six months.
All in all, the project is expected to
produce about three million images
company to be as good as an American
competitor, since the USA is an enormous
domestic market. You simply have
to find a niche where you are unique.
He considers Sweden a good country
for research-intensive companies.
– Swedes are good at teamwork, although
we are sometimes a little too dependent
on consensus, which can hold
up decisions. But we are loyal co-workers
and this is something that you really
need in research-intensive companies.
There is also a very laid-back relationship
between universities and companies,
just as there is in the USA. This is
a great advantage for knowledge-driven
growth.
covering over 700 different types of
body tissues. The proteins control
the life processes in the cells, and
knowledge about them can be used
to improve our understanding of the
progress of diseases and make the key
to the development of new drugs. The
project is funded by the Knut and Alice
Wallenberg Foundation.
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