Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield is leading a delegation of Alabama bioscience businesses on a trade mission to this week’s Nordic Life Sciences Days (NLSDays), the largest Scandinavian partnering conference dedicated to the life sciences industry.

The Alabama team, which includes representatives from six bioscience firms, arrived in Copenhagen Monday and attended an evening reception hosted by Alan M. Leventhal, U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark.

Beginning today, the group will engage in pre-scheduled one-on-one meetings, tour the region’s dynamic Medicon Valley life science cluster, attend presentations and take part in networking opportunities. The event runs through Thursday.

“Alabama’s robust bioscience industry is plugged into a sweeping range of cutting-edge fields, and we’re committed to helping foster growth in this strategically important sector,” Canfield said.

“This mission to NLSDays will permit these Alabama companies to make valuable new connections and explore the possibilities of collaborations in the Nordic region,” he said.

U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Alan Leventhal, center first row, hosted a reception for the Alabama delegation in Copenhagen for a trade mission to the Nordic Life Sciences Days. The team is led by Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, right, first row. (contributed)

Growth opportunities

Launched in 2013, NLSDays attracts leading decision-makers from biotech, pharma, medtech and more. Organizers say the event creates a unique place to do business by bringing innovative companies together for inspiration, partnering and for global industry growth.

“The NLSDays mission is a critical step in marketing the life science capabilities of Alabama on a global basis,” said Jeremy Blanks, CEO of BioAlabama, a trade group representing bioscience enterprises across the state.

Alabama bioscience companies on the mission are:

• CytoViva Inc. (Auburn), a provider of state-of-the-art optical and spectral imaging instrumentation.
• Gulf Sterilization Inc. (Mobile), which provides medical device sterilization services using chlorine dioxide gas.
• iRepertoire (Huntsville), a provider of next-generation sequencing of immune receptors and T- and B-cells.
• MRIMath LLC (Birmingham), which provides cloud-based workspaces for image analysis and sharing using AI-aided methods.
• SynVivo Inc. (Huntsville), a provider of tissue and organ-on-chip models for drug development and personalized medicine applications.
• TriAltus Bioscience (Birmingham), which provides a simplified protein purification platform for research applications.

Alabama is home to 780 bioscience companies, which have an annual economic impact estimated at $7.3 billion, according to an analysis performed for BioAlabama. Nearly 18,000 Alabamians are employed in life science or biotechnology jobs, with average annual salaries in the industry topping $67,000.

The state’s bioscience sector is growing, with $236 million in new, private-sector investment during 2021 and 2022, creating more than 740 jobs, according to data from the Alabama Department of Commerce.

Auburn-based CytoViva is one of six Alabama bioscience companies represented on a trade mission to Nordic Life Sciences Days in Copenhagen, Denmark. (contributed)

Birmingham’s TriAltus Bioscience is one of six Alabama bioscience companies represented on a trade mission to Nordic Life Sciences Days in Copenhagen, Denmark. (contributed)

Enhancing perception

Christina Stimpson, director of the Department of Commerce’s Office of International Trade, said the trade mission to Denmark represents an opportunity for Alabama businesses to identify new growth opportunities to strengthen the future of their enterprises.

In addition, the mission will serve to enhance the perception of Alabama as a rising biotechnology and life sciences region and highlight its strategic importance in a global world.

The Office of International Trade is a member of the Export Alabama Alliance, a network of agencies that help Alabama companies access foreign markets.

“For the Alabama companies, the opportunity to exhibit will introduce their technological capabilities and know-how to key partners in the Nordic region,” Stimpson said. “This will also generate a greater interest and understanding of the exceptional strengths in Alabama’s bioscience sector.”

NLSDays represents the final overseas trade mission for Canfield who, after 12 years, is stepping down from his post at the Department of Commerce to return to the private sector. During his tenure, Canfield has led more than 30 trade missions to promote Alabama businesses.

This story originally appeared on the Alabama Department of Commerce’s Made in Alabama website.