Our partner Øivind Enger talks about importance and breadth of life sciences in Norway
Our partner Øivind, microbiologist by training and policy and research strategy expert, shares his vision on Norwegian life sciences strategy on MedWatch.
Øivind in addition to being a partner at Sarsia is member of the Norwegian Council for Health and Care -21 (Rådet for helse og omsorg -21). He is adding to the ongoing debate about the Norwegian life sciences strategy.
The key message – life sciences is not only human health and medicine, it is much broader and should include:
- Health Sciences and Biomedicine,
- Marine biology and aquaculture,
- Agriculture and forestry,
- Biotechnology and bioeconomy,
- Environmental and climate research related to biological systems,
- Ecology and biodiversity.
Marine biology and aquaculture have been particularly important for Norwegian economy with an annual export value of over 100 billion kroner for salmon alone. Academic research on fish health and wellbeing has helped the industry thrive, not least by developing vaccines against the most common diseases and thus reducing the use of antibiotics by 99% percent since the 80ties.
The Norwegian aquaculture industry still faces major challenges that require extensive life science research. New diseases, parasites such as sea lice, escape issues and environmental impact are areas where new knowledge and innovative solutions will be crucial. Academics together with the industry are on the quest to solve those challenges.
Read the full article here.