Karolinska Development's portfolio company Umecrine Cognition resumes patient inclusion in its Phase 1b/2a clinical study
Umecrine Cognition is developing a new class of drugs to alleviate cognitive symptoms caused by liver disease. The company's most advanced drug candidate, golexanolone, is currently being evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 1b/2a clinical study in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) who experience clinically significant fatigue and cognitive symptoms.
Karolinska Development's ownership in Umecrine Cognition amounts to 73%.
For further information, please contact:
Viktor Drvota, CEO, Karolinska Development AB Phone: +46 73 982 52 02, e-mail: viktor.drvota@karolinskadevelopment.com
Johan Dighed, General Counsel and Deputy CEO, Karolinska Development ABPhone: +46 70 207 48 26, e-mail: johan.dighed@karolinskadevelopment.com
TO THE EDITORS
About Karolinska Development ABKarolinska Development AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: KDEV) is a Nordic life sciences investment company. The company focuses on identifying breakthrough medical innovations in the Nordic region that are developed by entrepreneurs and leadership teams. The company invests in the creation and growth of companies that advance these assets into commercial products that are designed to make a difference to patient's lives while providing an attractive return on investment to shareholders.
Karolinska Development has access to world-class medical innovations at the Karolinska Institutet and other leading universities and research institutes in the Nordic region. The company aims to build companies around scientists who are leaders in their fields, supported by experienced management teams and advisers, and co-funded by specialist international investors, to provide the greatest chance of success.
Karolinska Development has a portfolio of eleven companies targeting opportunities in innovative treatment for life-threatening or serious debilitating diseases.
The company is led by an entrepreneurial team of investment professionals with a proven track record as company builders and with access to a strong global network.
For more information, please visit www.karolinskadevelopment.com.
Attachment
KD Umecrine Cognition resumes eng
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
8 hours ago
- Forbes
The Omega Suverän Watch: Sweden's Historical Reverse Luxury Tax
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 07: OMEGA watch at OMEGA Speedmaster 50th Anniversary at the ... More OMEGA Boutique on November 7, 2007 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rebecca Sapp/WireImage) *** Local Caption *** In the 1940s, Sweden found a way to fund its military without resorting to raising taxes or issuing war bonds—it sold luxury watches. The Omega Suverän was a luxury good, but it wasn't taxed; it was instead sold directly to consumers by the state. The Suverän model wasn't about discouraging luxury, it was about monetizing it. In the modern era, we're used to seeing governments tax indulgence—cigarettes, plastic bags, sugary drinks, champagne—all fair game in the name of public health and public revenue. The underlying logic for these 'sin' taxes is simple: if you can't stop people from buying things they want, you can at least make them pay for the privilege. Sweden's wartime watch effort flipped this logic on its head—what if instead of taxing luxury, the state sold it? Neutral in the war but not insulated from the costs, the Swedish government commissioned Omega—the Swiss watchmaker of future Speedmaster and Moonwatch fame—to produce a wartime wristwatch. The Suverän, Swedish for 'sovereign,' wasn't a military issue or a tax-incentivized write-off; it was a retail product sold directly to the Swedish public as an alternative to war bonds or broader tax hikes. The government collected the profits and buyers got a sleek, reliable, Swiss-made timepiece. And, without the implementation of a tax, luxury consumption was turned into an engine of public finance. The production of the watch wasn't a tax expenditure, it wasn't even a tax per se. But it did something similar in converting private spending into public good without laying a finger on the Swedish tax code. In addition to providing an interesting tax-adjacent anecdote from history, this raises a question we may not be asking often enough: does every dollar for the public fisc need to come from coercion, or can aspiration do the job just as well? Sweden's Fiscal Issue In 1940s Sweden, official neutrality did not equate to immunity from the effects of the war. The country may have stayed out of the actual fighting, but it wasn't thrown clear of the fiscal crisis. The Swedish military needed modernizing, borders needed guarding, and defense spending had to be ramped up. The government, reluctant to issue war bonds given their neutrality or hike taxes amid an uncertain peace, had to find a workaround. So, it turned to another neutral state: Switzerland. Omega, based in Bienne, Switzerland, was commissioned to produce a special line of wristwatches—tough, understated, and modern. The government of Sweden purchased these from Omega and sold them directly to the Swedish public, at a premium, with proceeds quietly redirected to the military budget. No new tax, no loan for the state to repay, and no public ledger of wartime debt. It wasn't charity, it wasn't austerity—it was luxury with a purpose. If you had the means, you could buy a piece of Swiss engineering and communicate your civic virtue through the ticking of your wrist. Between Tax Break and Bond From a fiscal policy perspective, the Suverän is something of an outlier. It doesn't fit into any of the standard budget tools we think of today. It wasn't a tax, because no one was compelled to pay it—even those that could afford the watch could opt not to purchase one if they saw fit. It wasn't a tax expenditure, because the government didn't forego revenue—it made money on each sale. And it wasn't a war bond, because buyers didn't expect repayment or interest. The government got money, the buyer got a watch. That's it. This is public finance by way of product design. The state didn't exactly subsidize Omega, though the Swedish contract almost certainly helped keep the enterprise afloat through the war, it acted almost as a retailer of the wristwatch company. It was fiscal commercial intervention through a government-approved and sold consumer good designed to generate revenue for a specific budgetary need, without resorting to tax policy. That makes the Suverän model not just clever, but rare policy. Governments frequently tax what people want, but Sweden simply sold what people wanted and kept a margin. Scarcity and Symbolism What made the plan effective wasn't just the policy mechanics—it was the meaning. These watches weren't mass-market consumer goods, there was an element of exclusivity. They were marketed as a limited, national product: available only in Sweden, only during the war, and only to those that could afford to contribute. Even the name suggests solidarity—you weren't just buying a watch, you were buying in to a political project. The psychology there is worth noting—and is a frequently-overlooked aspect of tax policy. War bonds offer the promise of repayment, of reaping a reward beyond mere contribution. Taxes offer no choice at all, they're compulsory. But the Suverän was wearable proof of solidarity; an object that conferred utility, shouted status, and indicated you had done your part. No coupons or interest, just a sweep-seconds dial and the personal satisfaction of civic engagement. In this broad sense, the watch didn't just raise revenue, it curated the experience of contribution and commodified it. The Fiscal Inversion of Luxury Where most governments slap excise taxes on luxury goods to extract value from indulgence and use ability to pay as a stand-in for progressivity in taxation, Sweden took the exact opposite route. It created the luxury good and then sold it to extract value. It is an inverse sin tax and a luxury tax with better branding. Sweden's experiment with the Omega Suverän won't show up in any tax policy or public finance textbook. It wasn't a deduction, an exemption, or a government subsidy. But it raised revenue, supported the military during a time where doing so directly could have threatened neutrality, and did so without resorting to the tax code, bond markets, or a central bank. Today, we live in an era where tax policy increasingly oscillates between punitive and wholly opaque. The Suverän stands as a quiet, save for the ticking, reminder that public finance doesn't necessarily have to be extractive. It can be elegant, voluntary, and even aspirational. Could a government do something like this today? Not just taxing what people crave, but selling it—and creating the market if need be? Imagine the federal government partners with Rivian or Ford to release a limited-edition electric vehicle—not tax-credited or subsidized but sold at a premium with net proceeds directed to electric vehicle charging infrastructure or grid modernization. What about a high-end U.S. made bicycle made in collaboration between a state government and a luxury brand that raises funds for urban bike lane construction or national park trail maintenance? Direct, voluntary funding of green infrastructure through conspicuous conservation. If a watch can fund a war, surely a well-designed truck, bike, or doo-dad can help keep the lights on during peacetime.
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Forbes
How The Øresund Bridge Transformed Travel In Scandinavia
The Øresund Bridge links Sweden and Denmark, and has transformed travel in the region. getty It began as a bold engineering gamble and became a symbol of Scandinavian unity. The Øresund Bridge, which links Denmark and Sweden, has reshaped travel and even pop culture across the region. Scandinavia is known for its high quality of life, sleek design and high cost of living. But it also has an unexpected global export: Nordic noir. Among the genre's most iconic titles is the hit TV drama The Bridge . In the opening episode, a body is discovered on the border between Denmark and Sweden, right in the middle of the Øresund Bridge. As the show gripped global audiences, the structure itself gained new fame. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Øresund Bridge's opening, and new data shows just how much it has changed travel, commuting, and tourism across the region. What began as a controversial megaproject is now a vital artery for everyday life and a symbol of Nordic integration in action. An Icon Of Scandinavia The Øresund Bridge is a remarkable feat of engineering: part bridge, part tunnel, stretching nearly five miles from Copenhagen to the man-made island of Peberholm, then continuing through a 2.5-mile tunnel to reach Malmö. When it opened in July 2000, it was the largest infrastructure project in Scandinavia and also one of the most politically controversial. Early concerns about cost, environmental damage, and nationalism were widespread. Sweden's environment minister even resigned in protest. Thousands commute across the Øresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark every day. Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images Yet today, the bridge is broadly seen as a success story. According to the Øresundsindex Jubilee report, cross-border integration is now at a record high. Quarter-Century Of Travel Growth Since the bridge's first full year of operation in 2001, cross-border integration has accelerated dramatically. The Øresundsindex, which tracks nine key indicators of regional integration, has risen by 134% over that period. In 2024 alone, the Øresund region recorded nearly 38 million journeys across the strait by car, train, or ferry. That includes 17 million car trips over the bridge, which is an all-time high. The 15 million train journeys is also a record. The number of daily commuters reached 21,585, the vast majority of them Swedes traveling to jobs in Denmark's capital region. Meanwhile, 1.3 million overnight stays were logged by travelers staying on the opposite side of the strait from where they live. These figures point to a profound transformation in how people in Denmark and Sweden live, work and explore the region. Danish healthcare worker Camilla Latifi, who moved to Malmö for love but continues to work in Denmark for financial reasons, told researchers that earning Danish wages while spending in Swedish kroner 'just makes sense', even factoring in the 90-minute roundtrip by train. Two Scandinavian Cities Enjoying The Benefits The cities of Malmö in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark have been the main beneficiaries of the bridge. As well as serving local commuters, it gives international travelers arriving at Copenhagen Airport, the busiest in the Nordic region, an easy way to include Malmö and other parts of Sweden in their itinerary. From the airport's train station, it takes just 15 minutes to reach central Copenhagen and about 25 minutes to reach Malmö. Thanks to the Schengen Agreement, there is often little sign that you are crossing an international border. For tourists, the appeal of visiting two culturally distinct cities in a single trip is hard to resist. Copenhagen offers world-class dining, cutting-edge design, and boutique hotels, while Malmö charms with its laid-back atmosphere and waterfront parks. Crossing the Øresund Bridge by train or car adds to the experience, offering sweeping views of the strait and a tangible sense of crossing borders with ease. With integration stronger than ever, attention now turns to the next phase of Nordic connectivity. The Fehmarn Belt tunnel linking Denmark and Germany is under construction, promising faster connections to the continent. Meanwhile, infrastructure upgrades on both sides of the Øresund continue. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes Why Denmark Is The Scandinavian American Travel Destination For 2025 By David Nikel Forbes 'CopenPay' To Encourage Greener Travel Choices In Copenhagen, Denmark By David Nikel Forbes Scandinavia Struggling To Cope With 'Coolcation' Motorhome Tourists By David Nikel
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Nordic Cold Chain launches cold chain packaging for GLP-1 drugs
Temperature-controlled packaging solutions provider Nordic Cold Chain Solutions has introduced what it claims to be the first cold chain packaging solution tailored for transporting glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications. The company noted that the GLP-1 drugs necessitate consistent temperature regulation during transit to preserve their therapeutic effectiveness and adhere to regulatory standards. The solution, dubbed the Nordic Express Pack, is designed specifically for this purpose, providing a dependable and user-friendly packing option to assist speciality pharmacies and healthcare distributors in managing increasing demand. Featuring a compact, space-efficient design, the Nordic Express Pack minimises storage requirements and enables swift operational expansion as demand rises. The packaging is engineered to enhance efficiency for both incoming and outgoing freight, reducing shipping costs while meeting stringent quality standards. Incorporated temperature indicators offer visual confirmation of any temperature deviations through colour changes. The solution has undergone testing in International Safe Transit Association-certified laboratories, demonstrating its performance in extreme seasonal conditions. Nordic Cold Chain Solutions CCO Keith Baechle said: 'Nordic has always been built on a customer-first foundation, focused on truly understanding our partners' needs and the demands of the marketplace. 'We built the Nordic Express Pack to solve the real-world challenges of GLP-1 shipping. While there are plenty of generic cold chain mailers available, none have been specifically designed and tested for shipping GLP-1 therapies. 'With this launch, we're delivering a faster-to-pack, easier-to-store solution that protects these critical medications without driving up costs." Nordic Cold Chain offers a range of products and services to clients in the cold chain industry. In October 2024, the company successfully acquired Minus Works, a US-based manufacturing company focused on developing sustainable cold chain packaging and shipping products. "Nordic Cold Chain launches cold chain packaging for GLP-1 drugs" was originally created and published by Packaging Gateway, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
