The pharmaceutical industry is today facing tougher competition and regulations than ever before. One company that has countered these challenges in drug development since 2012 is Captario.
The Swedish company is specialized in using AI, advanced modeling and simulation to improve strategic decision making in the pharmaceutical industry. Captario started in a Swedish hub - Sahlgrenska Science Park and is now globally active. As one of SACC-SD´s Life Science Members, we met with Erik Post, President at Captario to learn more about their U.S. expansion. What made you want to expand your business to the U.S. market? We target the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world - helping them make more informed investment decisions in their drug development. These companies are all represented in the U.S., therefore, we naturally wanted to establish our business close to where they are located. What have you learned from starting a business in a new region? We have realized that all locations have their own business ecosystem. For this reason, we cannot overestimate the value of building relationships locally. What has been the biggest challenge VS. the greatest reward with expanding your business? Staffing and legal costs in the U.S. are quite high, which can be a challenge when creating a budget for a Swedish startup. That being said, these investments have proven to yield great benefits. How has SACC-SD helped you to facilitate your business in this new market? SACC-SD has helped us tremendously in gaining traction on the U.S. market. We have received help in setting up customer meetings, as well as, having webinars marketed through the Chamber. We have also been helped to gain more exposure on social media and through SACC´s website. What would your advice be for someone who has thoughts of expanding their business to the U.S. market? Having at least one vested person on the ground, someone from, or with a background from Sweden can be of great help. Get in touch with SACC and take other professional help as needed. This might seem counterintuitive to a “Can do it all myself” Swede, but it will make your journey smoother. Specifically, get U.S. legal and accounting assistance early on, as well as consider using a SaaS solution for payroll and HR. Want to learn more about Captario and their work in addressing the major points in the drug development process? Check out our webinar with Captario from earlier this spring, click here. SACC-SD would like to highlight Aloha Printing this month for their contribution to our local community during Covid-19.
Aloha Printing normally specifies on commercial printing demands for offices, smaller growing businesses, and established corporations. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the business has been down significantly despite commercial printing being deemed as an essential business. These past months, Aloha Printing has concentrated its efforts on helping clients conform to State Issued mandates. For instance, producing signage, wall and floor adhesives, banners, outdoor signs, and much more. The company has also adjusted its production and used its equipment to make sneeze guards to protect workers at their desks and customer service counters. Furthermore, aligned with SACC-SD´s focus on CleanTech & Life Science, Aloha Printing believe that;"...we are all stewards to this planet". Hence the company providing a complete line of recycled stocks in all finishes and coatings. The liners include papers that originate from Forest Certified Council, Sustainable Forestry Initiative Council, Rainforest Alliance, and Green Certified mills. Along with these environmentally friendly materials, they also use soy-based inks and recycle. Reach out to Aloha Printing if you need printing, graphic design, thermography, mailing services, banners, trade show displays, or anything related to commercial printing. If you are looking for high quality and expectational service, plan a safe Zoom meeting today. Aloha Printing has been under George Burrola´s ownership since 1988 and is based in San Marcos, CA. Click here for website and contact information. SACC-SD had the pleasure to sit down with Fredrika Syrén from The ZeroWasteFamily for a Q&A to learn about her sustainable lifestyle. The main takeout from our conversation is that we all can start building a conscious shift towards sustainability. One can contribute in at least one way or another, whether it is by eating more plant-based or consuming less. Because just like Fredika believes: "Take it one step at a time, the change cannot happen overnight".
Q: When and why did you start your lifestyle? A: We were living in Sweden back in 2015 when we committed to go zero-waste. The reason is to fight for our children’s future. Me and my husband James believe that we’re raising the next generation and we want to not only save the planet for them but also be good role models for our children to inspire them to continue the fight and to live a sustainable life. Q: What does it mean for you to live a zero-waste lifestyle? A: Essentially, we refuse what we do not need and reduce what we do need and make choices and try to live with as little impact on the planet as possible. If we can compost or recycle it—we don’t buy it. So we prefer things that are package-free, and anything reusable. Q: What has been most rewarding about your lifestyle? A: Our zero waste lifestyle saves us $18,000 a year which is a lot of money. As a result, we can both work part-time, mostly from home, and be home with our children when they are on break. When they are on summer break, we’re spending all our time with them. This has given us more family time and made us a stronger family. Also, during this pandemic, it helped us to be self-reliant and budget-friendly so we’re not as impacted by the lockdown as many others. Most of our food grows in our 400 square foot backyard garden, which plenishes many of our meals. I have to say, feeding my kids homegrown food is a huge reward Q: How can an everyday person live more sustainably? A: Take one step at the time and set up your personal goals. Look at what is in your trash bag and see how you can reduce it by either replacing it with a reusable alternative or maybe even skip it altogether. Find low-waste and zero-waste social media accounts and get inspired by them. Join a zero-waste social media group and meet other people also wanting to live more sustainable. Q: What is something that easily grows in San Diego that one can grow on their balcony or backyard? A: We’re so lucky to live in a warm climate like San Diego where we can grow all year round. Tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and kale are easy to grow here and can grow even in a small yard or balcony. Q: Out of these four ways of living (zero-waste, plant-based, gardening, and minimalism), which one do you believe is easiest to adapt when shifting to a sustainable lifestyle? A: It all depends on your personality but for us, plant-based was the first thing we began with. Reducing waste might seem like an impossible task but truth to be told, it is a lot easier than it seems. Thank you so much, Fredrika, for taking your time and inspiring others to live more sustainably. If you want some more inspiration on how you can start living a zero-waste life, check out the e-book “Zero Waste for Families”- a practical guide with lots of tips and recipes for steps to begin reducing waste and save money with little effort. Click here to join the journey! This week, we would like to introduce our bright and shining Board Member, Patty Carran!
Patty has been on the Board with SACC San Diego since Januari 2018."I have found the Swedish-American Chamber to attract the most amazing people to work with. What draws me to SACC is the community of like minded business owners focused on environmental sustainability from both Sweden and the U.S." Patty is an experienced art director, marketer, and business owner with a career spanning over thirty years. Throughout her career, she has gained professional experience in branding, UI & UX design, advertising, and digital marketing while founding and serving as the art director at her full service marketing agency, Green Biz Marketing. - What is your favorite thing about living and working in San Diego? "Living north of San Diego county, I find San Diego a wonderful city that´s full of beauty, plenty of things to do, and an overarching drive to preserve the environment." - Best Swedish meal? "I absolutely love Swedish Meatballs with noodles.That is one of my favorites. The second Swedish specialty I crave is Rebecca Janzon´s Janssons frestelse (Swedish potatoes with anchovies)." Thank you, Patty! We love having you on the SACC-Board.
Coala has accelerated through Covid-19 by expanding the team, doubled the footprint in the US with a new sales partner, and signed on a few large new healthcare customers in the midst of the storm.
Coala Life is a digital health company founded in Sweden on a mission to develop patient-centric medical solutions. The company is digitally transforming the field of cardiac diagnostics with a portfolio of CE- and FDA-cleared solutions based on the COALA Heart Monitor, a cloud-based and device driven solution powered by smart algorithms and AI to predict and prevent cardiac disease. The COALA is used by thousands of patients and over 200 connected providers in Europe and the company just recently launched in US with local headquarters in Irvine, CA. The Swedish Native Philip Siberg is the President and Co-Founder of Coala, and he moved to Southern Califronia to head up the US expansion for the company. "Southern California is the world's epicenter of medical device and life science development. Equally, the local market is among the largest and most early adoptive in the world, so it's a good breeding ground to leverage on" Thank you for being part of the SACC-community! Did you miss our Webinar with Coala Life we did in April? Watch the full recording with Coala below! Last week, Sweden celebrated its dearly beloved tradition 'Midsommar'. Wheather you are a Swede in the region Dalicarlia and wearing your traditional national gown, or if you are a Swede abroad somewhere: the tradiditon and celebration of Midsommar is a must.
In agrarian times, Midsummer celebrations in Sweden were held to welcome summertime and the season of fertility. It was not until the 1900s, however, that this became the most Swedish of all traditional festivities. Midsummer Eve is usually celebrated in the countryside with friends and your whole family gathering to eat, drink and dance together. A typical Midsummer menu features different kinds of pickled herring, boiled new potatoes with fresh dill, soured cream and chives, and for dessert the first strawberries of summer, with whipped cream. PS. Some of you may have seen the movie "Midsommar" where a group of Americans travel to their Swedish friend Pelle to celebrate Midsommar. The film shows "how Swedes celebrate midsommar" with rituals, sacrifices and other events, we can assure you that the movie is very far from the real tradition. Read about it here ;-) The Spring team of 2020 want to thank the entire SACC- San Diego organization, our brilliant Board, our devoted members and last but NOT least our President Ted and Chairman Hans. We have had an amazing time and even with cancelled events and everything going virtual, we had so much fun and learned an incredible amount through our work with the Chamber.
Covid-19 has effected us all in some way or another. Not only are people getting ill, but families and individuals with small businesses are facing extreme difficulties as the US economy is seriously damaged by the aftermaths of the pandemic. San Diego Regional EDC, in partnerships with San Diego and Imperial SBDC, have commissioned a broad team to develop detailed guides to help small businesses reopen. There are different guides depending on what line of business you are in.
"Small businesses are the backbone of our region’s economy, and employ the majority of San Diegans. In order to meet our regional goal of creating 50,000 quality jobs in small businesses by 2030, we all need to invest in ensuring small businesses have the tools they need to recover, adapt, and thrive over the coming months. Funding, technical assistance, and childcare for working parents are also important to the long term recovery and resiliency of San Diego’s small businesses." Linked in the button below is the specific web page for small business guides by San Diego Regional EDC. Happy Friday! Time for a new Board-presentation- Alfonso Limon! Alfonso has been on the SACC-SD board since 2018.
Alfonso has a BS in Mech Engr, MS in Math and PhD in Comp Sci at SDSU/CGU. He spent a few years teaching at the Claremont Colleges; transitioned into bio-tech, first at Impedance Cardiology Systems and at Intersection Medical as Director of Research. "After opening the Oneirix office in San Diego, my time is spent helping clients develop next generation technologies in the intersection of engineering, data science and medical applications" -What's your favorite thing about living and working in San Diego? The family move to San Diego a century ago; during the Great Depression they moved across the border and founded the first newspaper. My parents moved back to San Diego in 1980, so I feel almost native. My only escapade was about a decade in LA during my graduate work and where I met my wife. Great people, beaches, mountains and desert valleys, what’s not to like. -Best Swedish meal? I always look forward to Rebecca and Hans’ Gravlax that have become a great holiday tradition for the SACC family. Thank you Alfonso, we love having you on the SACC-Board!
Johan Marcus, President and Executive Director at SACC-USA, was interviewed in Dagens Industri on June 4th. The interview is in Swedish and discusses the current economic status in the US in midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The interview also discusses how this in turn may effect the Swedish-American relations.
Johan Marcus- "We can see that it is almost an economy in free fall. The first quarter we did not see so much, but the second quarter we saw much clearer impact. The economy has shrunk by a quarter. The Governor (of Sveriges Riksbank) believes that it can be as much as a third" This week we want to highlight our Board Member, Anders Brunmark! 👏 Anders has been on the Board of SACC-SD a little over 4 years. He grew up in Skåne and completed his undergraduate in chemistry in Lund and his PhD in Linköping with a thesis work on quinones and oxygen radicals. He moved to San Diego for a postdoc at Scripps in 1990.
“It was supposed to last for two years but those two years quickly became four. And now almost 30. Well, my postdoc ended after four years and then I took a job at J&J just across the street. So after moving nine time zones I felt a move of a few hundred meters was just right.” -What's your favorite thing about living and working in San Diego? Even the first years in town when I returned from trips and we were just about to land on Lindberg field I had that feeling of coming home. There was just something all together pleasant and welcoming about this city. And, ever since then I have never been able to talk myself out of here, there are just too many good things in San Diego. -Best Swedish candy/ or meal/ or sommarställe? Do I have to pick just one? Moose filet with gorgonzola. Warm smoked salmon. Smultrontårta. Homemade vanilla ice-cream with cloudberry jam. Etc. Thank you Anders for your engagement and work on the SACC-San Diego! Today we want to introduce Hans, our Chairman and solid rock of SACC-San Diego. Hans has been on the Board for four years and has during that time served as President of our organization.
👏 Hans has a Masters in Geological Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. During the years 1981-1985 Hans worked as a geologist including 2 years in the North Sea for Norsk Hydro. From 1985 to 1996 he worked in various marketing manager jobs at Atlas Copco, Mining and Construction including 2 years in Seattle. From 2003 to 2014 Hans was President of Grolls/Björnkläder in Sweden, where he managed to successfully build the company from 9 stores to 49, with stores in four countries and an increase in sales from 300 MSEK to 1000 MSEK in those 12 years. Amazing and inspiring work! -What's your favorite thing about living and working in San Diego? My favorite thing to do in San Diego is golfing and hiking,and some skiing in the winter. San Diego has the best climate in all of the US. Also working with SACC is a great pleasure! -Best Swedish candy/ meal/ sommarställe? My favorite Swedish candy is Turkish peber (really strong salt licorice) My favorite meal is Sechuan beef at PF Changs or anything REAL spicy. My favorite place in Sweden is Bohuslän with the fantastic archipelago Thank you for all your hard work Hans, we really appreciate you! On June 4th The Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in San Diego will host a Webinar focusing on decision making in the Life Science Industry. For this Webinar, we have invited one of our Life Science Members- Captario. Specialized in helping Drug Development project teams and portfolio leads, the Swedish high-tech company Captario will show their advanced modeling & simulation tool and argue that decision making must shift from guesswork to well-informed data driven decisions. The complexities in the development processes must be structured and uncertainties must be dealt with and used to your advantage. This will save time, enable evaluation of many more options, understand risks and find the right opportunities.
We are also presenting our newest member, Westwood & Wilshire! They deliver premier talent to the world’s most innovative companies; primarily in Life Sciences and Technology industries. W&W partners with companies ranging from VC-backed start-ups to mid-sized commercial entities on assignments ranging from C-Suite to mid-management. The firm has offices in Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, and Seattle; serving clients on a local, national, and global basis. The Webinar will discuss how to deal with uncertainty – in drug development and in leadership response. We are thrilled to have these two highly skilled companies with us and the webinar will bring great insight and discussion in this thriving industry. WHEN: June 4th. 11 am PDT, 20:00 CEST. WHERE? Closer to the event, a Zoom-link will be sent out to all registered attendees. The event is free of charge for all to attend. #lifescience #pharma #pharmaceutical #decisionmaking #responsevieleadership #drugdevelopment #recuitement #saccsdmember #saccwebinar #lifescienceindustry #socal |