Norwegian government task force suggests formation of single company to commercialise biomaterial assets

HUNT BiosciencesFeb 18 2010

Having studied the ethical, judicial and political arguments, the Norwegian government task force has suggested that a single nationwide company should be formed to commercialise biomaterials assets from the country’s various sources. The task force has also recommended HUNT Biosciences be a model for the national company.

“Norwegian Biobanks represents new frontiers. This is the arena of HUNT Biosciences and our mission is to seek out new diagnostics , to explore opportunities for new drugs, and help improving the quality of life. We are one step closer to fulfill this mission with the current Norwegian governmental initiative.”

HUNT Biosciences provides pharmaceutical and healthcare companies with biomarker discovery and validation services. These are based on the unique HUNT Study, which for the past 25 years has gathered blood samples from the general population of the Nord-Trøndelag region together with detailed phonotype and environmental data.

The unique combination of biomedical and phenotypic information collected over the past 25 years from a general population rather than specific cohort promises rapid and effective biomarker discovery and validation.

The HUNT Study’s core strengths lay in key public health areas such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obstructive lung disease, osteoporosis and mental health.

Professor and former Deputy Rector, at NTNU and now chairman of the board of HUNT Biosciences Astrid Laegreid said, “We believe HUNT Biosciences provides an efficient and accountable vehicle for industry to access data on major disease areas such as type II diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, cardiovascular, kidney and lung disease, and can lead to the development of new diagnostics and therapeutics for the benefit of both Norwegian and international healthcare systems.”

HUNT Biosciences CEO Per A Foss added: “Norwegian Biobanks represents new frontiers. This is the arena of HUNT Biosciences and our mission is to seek out new diagnostics , to explore opportunities for new drugs, and help improving the quality of life. We are one step closer to fulfill this mission with the current Norwegian governmental initiative.