Meet our new Premium Corporate Member at SACC San Diego - Suzanne Svahn! We made an interview with Suzanne Svahn to get a deeper insight in how it is to work as a real estate agent in San Diego. 

Tell me about your background in being a real estate agent? 
I've been a REALTOR® for eight years and have lived in San Diego for 20 more. I’ve always loved houses and neighborhoods and, being an avid long-distance runner, I know San Diego inside and out on foot. Building real relationships with wonderful people is my favorite part of the job. I love what I do and I’m so grateful that I get to wake up every morning and help people find their home or ideal commercial property in America's finest city.

What differentiates you from other real estate agents in San Diego?
I'm a very hands-on person and I am actively involved in every part of the process. From first meeting a client to seeing them through either a successful find or sale, I make it a point to be available, communicative, and supportive as I lead my clients through the buying and selling journey.

Not only do I help my clients find the right property for their lifestyle, but I shine at crafting competitive offers and guide them through complicated timelines, contingencies, and escrow. California is a disclosure state with many documents that can be overwhelming. I will walk you through every step of the process and make sure you understand everything you need to know to make confident decisions. Additionally, I'm a certified international property specialist (CIPIS) and am actively involved in international real estate through our real estate association here in San Diego. 

Negotiating is one of my biggest strengths. I’m a huge advocate for my clients and work relentlessly to get them the very best deal on their home whether they’re buying or selling. It’s important to me to do my due diligence, collect the best research, and provide my clients with a successful, satisfying experience. To me, it’s not about the quick flip; it’s about helping my clients find peace of mind as they buy or sell their home at the best possible price. 

What does the process look like when a person from Sweden wants to relocate to the United States? 
I have in-depth experience helping international buyers and sellers with their real estate needs. The process starts with an initial consultation where we get to know each other. Ideally this would be in person but FaceTime and phone calls are a great way for us to connect when we can’t be together face-to-face. 

Finding a home is such a personal undertaking and it can feel difficult when you aren’t there in person. That’s why I prioritize communication and work hard to anticipate and answer all of your questions. If you’re not already familiar with San Diego, it’s my pleasure to educate you on the area and introduce you to neighborhoods that, based on our conversations, will be a fantastic fit for you. I listen to you and ask tailored questions to get a clear understanding of what you are looking for in a neighborhood and a home. 

In addition to doing all the research and conducting viewings on your behalf, I will do everything necessary to find the perfect home to fit your lifestyle and preferences. If that requires talking to the neighbors, exploring the neighborhood, and frequenting nearby establishments, that’s what I’ll do. Going above and beyond for my clients is second nature to me. I take pride in helping every client, near or far, feel confident, informed, and taken care of as they buy or sell their home.

What would you say are the greatest benefits of having a Swedish-speaking agent? 
There’s a special trust that comes from working with people who share your culture and can understand where you’re coming from and how you think. Having the Swedish language in common is an important part of that connection— it’s so nice to meet over a “fika” without having to define the term! 

Being fluent in both Swedish and English allows me to translate and guide my clients step-by-step through unfamiliar legal jargon and important deadlines. My familiarity with the buying and selling process in Sweden also helps me further relate to my Swedish clients and lead them through the similarities and differences they might face during the American real estate process. Overall, my professional experience and intimate knowledge of San Diego combined with our shared cultural background is a huge advantage for my Swedish clients.

What would you advise someone who is considering relocating to San Diego? 
First, I’d say congrats— you’ve made an excellent decision choosing San Diego for your new home!
The most important thing when you’re relocating to San Diego is to find a responsive agent that knows the area well. I have lived here for 28 years and know each corner of the city in detail. Real estate is more than a 9-5 business and I pride myself on being available to my clients when they need me. I am committed to exceptional communication and accountability and, when we work together, you will always be informed.

As you’re considering moving to San Diego, I’d love to speak with you sooner rather than later. It’s never too early to start searching for your home in America’s finest city. 

Three fast questions:
Do you prefer living close to the beach or city pulse?
The great thing about San Diego is that the city is practically on the water— you don’t really have to choose! But, if I must, the beach is my personal favorite.

What's your favorite thing in your house? 
I love my home and am so grateful for everything in it. I have a deck with a beautiful canyon view. It’s my favorite place to sit and be present.
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Which is your favorite neighborhood in San Diego?
The neighborhoods in San Diego have such distinct personalities and I love them all for different reasons. While I can’t choose for myself, I look forward to helping you find a home in your favorite neighborhood!

Read more on Suzanne Svahn here.

The Swedish American Chambers of Commerce of the United States of America (SACC-USA) invites you to the 2022 Executive Forum on June 2 in House of Sweden, Washington D.C. This year’s theme – Navigating Turbulent Waters – will take stock of market conditions and market solutions to tackle challenges ranging from supply chain bottlenecks to climate change imperatives, against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions. The event will reveal groundbreaking technologies, effective strategies, and efficient practices to capitalize on evolving political, macroeconomic, financial, and commercial conditions. 

​Let us introduce one of our amazing sponsors for this year's Bridging the Gap, Back Bay Life Science Advisors!
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Back Bay Life Science Advisors works with international Biopharma, Medtech Guidance and Investment Banking with Emphasis on US-Nordic Growth. The company was founded 12 years ago in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood by a physician with a long academic background and a life science advisor. Since then, Back Bay has become an integral part of the Boston and Nordic life science ecosystem with roots that run around the globe.

With offices in Boston, Frankfurt and Toronto, Back Bay Life Science Advisors is a globally respected boutique consultancy known for pairing expert strategy with investment banking guidance and execution with a special emphasis on US-EU life sciences partnerships, particularly on the Nordic region. Back Bay has completed dozens of strategy and investment banking projects with Swedish, Danish and Norwegian organizations and provides supportive work for Nordic events throughout the year.
 
Back Bay works to advance biotech, healthtech and medtech development on an international level by partnering with life science innovators that range from global brands to emerging companies, nascent startups, government-backed incubators and academic centers. The Back Bay team, comprised of scientific researchers, biotech executives, physicians, surgeons, bankers and data researchers, excels at partnership and in guiding global life sciences companies and their investors through complex business, scientific, market and transactional challenges. 
 
Back Bay is an industry leader for a reason; they know how to turn data into knowledge. With custom-designed due diligence, primary research, optimal strategy, forecasts and insight, Back Bay offers deeply experienced life science expertise. All of their assignments leverage a comprehensive range of data sources backed by the analytic capabilities of their team, and their integrated strategy and investment teams bring their scientific expertise, clinical knowledge and M&A experience to every project. 
 
They provide solutions that are advantageous and actionable, and Back Bay delivers a keen understanding of the value of new technologies, medicines and scientific approaches. They work with companies across every stage, sector, geography and disease area to position assets for maximum value and impact. 
 
Their strategic analytics have supported work by leading global banks and corporate entities, and Back Bay regularly works with clinicians, opinion leaders, investors, C-suite investors, payors and regulatory experts, across industry and academia. 
 
Back Bay offers industry insight and interviews via their monthly podcast, The Life Science Report. Listen at https://www.bblsa.com/podcasts.
 
Contact person at Back Bay Life Science Advisors: Jonathan P. Gertler, Co-Founder, Managing Partner & CEO, info@bblsa.com.
 
Read more about Back Bay Life Science Advisors here

​Meet the new president of SACC San Diego, Ulf Sundberg!

Ulf, with a background in engineering, has spent a career in high tech driving product development and software introduction in telecom carrier networks, consumer software like Intuit's TurboTax, and software development programs for Augmented and Virtual Reality at Qualcomm. Ulf is Swedish but has lived abroad since the mid 1980s, including London United Kingdom, Yokohama/Tokyo in Japan and has resided in California since 2000. Ulf also volunteers as head judge advisor FIRST FTC Robotics San Diego region, a youth STEM program, and is a member of Tech Coast Angels that helps start-ups get their initial funding to grow their business.

He spent five years in Silicon Valley, but is calling San Diego home where lives with his wife, dog and a cat. Ulf was a Board Member at SACC San Diego from 2006 to 2010, rejoined in the summer of 2021. Ulf is an engineer at heart but has a big passion for the positive impact companies can have for employees, customers, investors and society in general.

"I am excited to continue to work with the other board members, our interns/marketing managers, advisory board and other stakeholders to help make San Diego an excellent choice for companies that are looking to set-up or expand their presence in the US market."

Gothenburg, Sweden – Captario, the life science SaaS-platform decision analytics company, announces the launch of Professional Services to further enable strategic decision-making throughout the drug development process.

The Captario proprietary SaaS-platform, Captario SUM® (Strategic Uncertainty Management), is a purpose-built decision analytics tool developed by former pharma professionals who saw a need for proactive, faster, and informed business decisions. Through the use of the Captario SUM® tool, customers can model an end-to-end drug development cycle, account for developmental uncertainty, have access to real-time insights across functional silos, and run countless what-if simulations in a sandbox environment that enables superior decision-making.

Customers now have access to the just launched Professional Services, which serve as extensions of the already existing Captario SUM® subscription, and are being offered in two separate ways:

1. In conjunction with a subscription to the Captario SUM® platform, enhancing the SaaS platform tools
2. Independently as a product package to help new or existing customers create immediate decision value, all based on the computational power of the Captario SUM® technology
   
   

Captario CEO, Johannes Vänngård, says this about the new addition to the Captario offering:
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”It has always been our mission to make a major step-change in decision-making within pharma – and that’s what SUM® does today. With a talented team that hold a variety of of essential competencies such as advanced statistics, applied mathematics, data analytics, and decision theory, we feel confident that our Professional Services offering will further expand our ability to collaborate individually with customers and answer their most pressing and complex development questions.”

The Captario Professional Services offering span the entire drug development life cycle from early-stage to late-stage product and portfolio needs, and can help answer questions such as:

• What is the ideal study design to maximize product value and investment decisions?
• What is the best launch sequence across different markets?
• Can we achieve our long-term goals (e.g. revenue, profitability, value creation) with our current portfolio and already launched products?
  
  

Professional Services further solidify that no matter where a pharma company is in its drug development journey, Captario can help – with a team that strives to make a positive impact on a global scale. As a testament to this, a Top 50 Pharma customer recently acknowledged:
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"The partnership with Captario has, since the beginning with a Proof of Concept, been outstanding… we only wish we had more vendor partnerships like this!"

Read press release here.

At Lund University, cancer research is one of the academy's flagships. In close collaboration with healthcare and other actors, the goal is to take the university's innovations out into the real world, where they can make a real difference. A successful example is SAGA Diagnostics AB - a spinoff company that now works with, among others, AstraZeneca.

It all started in 2009 when Lao Saal, today a lecturer at Lund University, moved to Lund and started a cancer research group. The research group received financial support from, among others, the Cancer Foundation and the Swedish Research Council and studied several different types of treatment for cancer diseases. However, one area that made them raise their eyebrows a little extra was liquid biopsy. 

- Instead of having to do a major operation on the patient when you take a tissue sample, as you usually do, you can get a sample by liquid biopsy, which is based on the liquid. Either blood, urine or in some cases saliva, says Lao Saal.

​Through liquid biopsy, you can measure how many cancer cells a patient has in the body and how it changes. The technology measures a specific biomarker, the so-called Circulating tumour-DNA (ctDNA).

- Today, there is a great need for improved biomarkers to diagnose cancer, choose the best treatment, and monitor how the patient responds. Through ctDNA, we can solve those problems in a minimally invasive way, Leo Saal explains.

From research group to spinoff company

The years passed and cancer research continued to flourish. The research group had something big going on and an organization at the university saw potential in taking the research one step further. As a spinoff, SAGA Diagnostics, a cancer genomics company, was formed in 2015, which today develops ultra-sensitive liquid biopsy tests for early detection of cancer recurrence and precision medicine in cancer treatment.

- We actually had no plans to start a company, we only focused on research. But when the idea got presented to us and the opportunity came, we took it. Lund University and Lund University Cancer Center (LUCC) have played a major role in being able to take this significant step, says Lao Saal, who is one of the two founders of SAGA Diagnostics AB.

Lund University is creating opportunities 

Six years have passed since the company was created and today the company has 20 employees who strive to improve healthcare with its ultra-sensitive services and products. The company is financed by large investors such as Segulah Medical Acceleration and collaborates with the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and Swedish Alligator Bioscience.

- I am incredibly proud that our technology has reached the healthcare industry and can be used in practice. We are a young company that has come a long way in a short time. The development and commercialization we have been able to do, from starting at Lund University to actually making a difference for patients and society, means an incredible amount, says Lao Saal.

On the 25h of September 2021 we hosted our annual crayfish party. Due to the pandemic the celebration was limite, however still a huge success! We would like to say a big Thank You to everyone who participated and we wish to see you again next year!

The House of Sweden in Balboa Park, San Diego will be hosting a smaller Midsummer celebration on June 20th at 2pm. Entertainment and the traditional maypole dance will be starting at 2pm, but if you would like to volunteer setting up the maypole, arrive early for breakfast. 
Click here to sign up to volunteer, help is needed for setting up the Maypole and serving food. You will need a food handlers card to serve food, if you need renewal of your card, House of Sweden will reimburse you for the expenses.

The celebration will include; Speech by Swedish consul Britta Armstrong, folk dancers, Silja´s singing group, an ukulele group singing ABBA, and of course dancing around the maypole. 
The program is as follows:

8 AM-11 AM: Decorate the Maypole and set it up. 
11 AM-12 PM: Set up food and pastry trays.
12 PM-4 PM: Serve food.
2 PM-3:30 PM: Lawn program and Maypole dances.
3:30 PM: Take down Maypole. 

If you have a Swedish costume, please bring or wear it. If you have extra greens or flowers, please bring for the Maypole. 

For more info; Visit The House of Sweden  or email: pat.coffey@cox.net 

Hope to see you all there! 

We are pleased to present the first life science event organized together by the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce in San Diego, San Fransisco/Silicon Valley and New England - the top three life science clusters in the U.S. Since Life Science Bridge's mission is to promote trade between our clusters and Sweden, we can now proudly announce our first event together Bridging the Gap - with the purpose to inspire, educate and connect people in the life science scene.

Bridging the Gap will be held on April 7-8th on Zoom. Day one will be focused on The life science ecosystem in the U.S., Swedish life science and Expanding to the U.S. Speakers will attend from the U.S. and Sweden. A virtual trade delegation will be held during day two, where you will have the opportunity to network across borders.

We hope you are as excited as we are! 
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You can read more about the event here (click)! 
Contact Evelina for questions, inquiries, and sponsorships: development@sacc-sandiego.org