BioHealth – aiming for health

BioHealth

  • Staff of 2,500 based in the Turku region
  • Local higher education institutions produce approximately 1,000 graduates annually with relevant qualifications
  • Some 1,000 international scientists working in more than 100 groups
  • In excess of 100 businesses employing some 3,000 staff generating a total turnover of approximately EUR 800m annually.
  • Companies based in the Turku region include Bayer, Orion Pharma, Perkin Elmer Wallac, Biotie Therapies, Hytest, Lundbeck, Biovian, Abacus, Arctic Diagnostics, Raisio, DHR Innotrac and FCAS Finland.

www.turkusciencepark.com/bioturku

Life sciences have a long history in the Turku region. Companies based in the area generate nearly half of the total Finnish pharmaceutical industry’s turnover.

Tradition and innovation are supported by the BioTurku® cluster operating under the auspices of the Turku Science Park Oy, which brings together know-how from local businesses, higher education institutions, research organisations and the university hospital.

Our future health needs call for tailor-made solutions and diagnostic expertise.

Particular areas of expertise include endocrinology and oncology, inflammatory conditions, infectious diseases and central nervous system disorders. The established life sciences specialties are complemented by diagnostics, functional foods, materials and nanotechnology.

BioTurku® is Finland’s leading biotechnology centre based at the Turku Science Park. BioTurku® combines training, research, production development, manufacturing and commercialisation activities under a single umbrella.

Turku produces pharmaceutical product innovations for the international market

Internationally well-known brands created or manufactured in Turku include Benecol and Xylitol. The financially most significant product is Bayer’s bestselling Mirena hormonal coil that contributes export profits equivalent to one cruise liner’s worth each year to the Turku and wider Finnish economy. The latest pharmaceutical successes hailing from Turku include Osphena developed by Hormos Medical for the treatment of menopause symptoms, Biotie’s Selincro for the man-agement of alcohol dependence as well as Jaydess, Bayer’s new intrauterine contraceptive system.

Auria Biobank – part of the pharmaceutical ecosystem

In spring 2014, Finland’s first clinical biobank was granted a license by Valvira, the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health. The Auria Biobank will play a key role in clinical research carried out in the Turku region. Samples stored in the Auria Biobank can be used for clinical research purposes and for the development of targeted diagnostic methodologies.

ICT is a key industry for the Turku region.
The industry offers employment to some 3,800 people in the area. The wide range of ICT know-how on offer is utilised across a number of specialisms, including the health and social care sector and the maritime and metal industries. The ICT sector is also closely linked with biotechnology and medicine, which draw on bioinformatics. Further areas of spe-cialism include electronics, digital media and speech and language technology.