Innovation in European healthcare – what can Sweden learn? - LIF

An example of healthcare Innovation with the
help from a GTS-institute
About the product: The Danish invention, SuPARnostic Quick Triage,
was first introduces on the markets in the end of august 2012 after a
11 year process, it is on it’s way to the hospitals in the western
world, as well as Africa.
Through blood-test it can, within 30 min. determine whether or not a
patient is in the danger zone for a long line of diseases, among these
HIV, tuberculosis, meningitis. Further the invention can forecast the
development of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
The SuPARnostic-testmethod respond to inflammation in the body,
through measurement of the suPAR-protein presence in the blood.
This gives doctors and nurses justification of determining if a patient
should be hospitalised or not. In saving resources in healthcare, this
product optimize the treatment through fast diagnosing.
The process of Innovation, is the process of co-operation: In the end 90’s
a trained Biochemist by coincidence discovered that the suPAR-protein,
which exist in every human body, gained a greater volume when the HIVvirus
was added. By cooperation with Rigshospitalet it was discovered
that the suPAR-level in the blood did not only meant a bad prognosis for
HIV, but also for a long line of other diseases. This meant that the suPARtest
could be used as a general predictor.
Opfinderrådgiveren (”The Inventor adviser”) is a body under the Danish
Technological Institute (one of the GTS-institutes) and the ministry of
research and innovation. This body helped getting funding from The
Danish Agency for Trade and Industry (erhvervsfremmestyrelsen), partly
help for the patent application and advise regarding private enterprises
helping to develop, invest and carry on the invention towards a licensed
agreement. The product was also developed in a close cooperation with
Hvidovre hospital. The co-operation agreement with the hospital is now
so well-developed, that the firm behind the product and the hospital, has
common employees.
Involving business partners kick-started the project and helped it become
what it is today. It has demanded a great deal of patience from the
investors and a lot of testing on animals and humans. Now the product is
on the market and it is estimated that it has a quantitative market
potential of earning billions of euros on an international scale.
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