In this podcast episode on turning research into societal value, host Søren Spanner Bach is joined by co-host Per Christensen of Black Swans Exist and guest Morten Engsbye, CEO of Danish BIO (Dansk Biotek) - the industry association representing over 190 pharmaceutical and industrial biotech companies in Denmark. Morten shares candid reflections on why Denmark, despite being Europe's #2 nation for per-capita life sciences publications, consistently underperforms at translating that world-class research into new companies - and what it will take to fix it.
Key structural challenges discussed include the cultural gap between academic excellence and entrepreneurial ambition, the scarcity of early-stage capital as late-stage companies attract the lion's share of investment, and Denmark's 42% capital gains tax making biotech investment unattractive compared to property or neighbouring Sweden. In a world premiere, Morten also unveils Danish BIO's proposal for direct cash grants to university departments that successfully spin out companies - a mechanism designed to make innovation a leadership priority at department level, not just an individual pursuit.
Morten also sounds the alarm on Denmark's GDP dependency on a small number of blockbuster drugs - life sciences now accounts for approximately 60% of all Danish GDP growth - and makes a compelling case for unlocking the country's 4.5 trillion DKK in pension fund assets, currently investing just 0.018% into venture compared to 1.9% in the US. His closing message: Denmark is a life sciences nation in every metric that matters. It just hasn't realised it yet.
TIMESTAMP
00:00 Morten Engsbye and Danish BIO
02:00 The Translation Gap: World-Class Research, Not Enough Companies
03:00 Why Other Countries Are Better at Spinning Out Science
06:00 World Premiere: Danish BIO's Department-Level Spin-Out Incentive Proposal
09:00 Freedom vs Mandates: Why Incentives Beat Obligations
11:00 Genmab, Myelomatosis & What Biotech Success Really Looks Like
13:00 The GDP Time Bomb: When Patents Expire, Markets Collapse
17:00 The Capital Crisis: $2.1 Billion to Bring a Drug to Market
19:00 A Schizophrenic Capital Market: Late-Stage Flush, Early-Stage Starved
20:00 Where Should the Capital Come From? The Draghi & Letta Reports
21:00 Capital Gains Tax: 42% in Denmark vs 27% in Sweden
23:00 Pension Funds: 4.5 Trillion DKK Doing Very Little for Denmark
24:00 The 100x Gap: US vs European Pension Funds in Venture
26:00 Ferrari vs Denmark: One Fund's Investment Priorities
29:00 Forcing vs Incentivising Pension Funds: The Italian Model
30:00 Why It Should Be a Slam Dunk — Jobs, Patients, Returns
34:00 Denmark as a Life Sciences Nation — and Why Politicians Don't See It
36:00 Call to Action for Academics and Department Leaders
40:00 Brain Drain: How Danish Taxpayer-Funded Research Ends Up in Boston
Quote:
"We pay for the research. They build the company here. Then, because there's no capital market, they leave for Boston — pay their taxes there, create all the jobs there. And we sit back holding the bill."— Morten Engsbye
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