Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator, has been awarded an honorary doctorate for 2023 at the Faculty of Science and Technology at Umeå University.
“I want research to benefit people, that is my driving force,” she says.
The Board of Directors of Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) has announced that CEO Jennie Ekbeck is leaving her post after eleven years.
Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) is arranging a recruitment day with life science companies this May – and already 19 companies have signed up to take part.
“We want students to get in touch with us. Recruitment opportunities are everything for life science companies”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator.
The life science industry in the Umeå region is on track to triple its turnover and double the number of people it employs by 2030. To help it reach this target, the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth has awarded Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) a grant of SEK 9.5 million.
For the next 18 months, UBI will develop meeting places and create the conditions for the continued growth of the life science industry in northern Sweden.
“We are delighted that our application has been approved! This gives us the opportunity to continue to develop the industry and contribute to the appeal of northern Sweden”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of UBI.
Companies and alumni from Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) raised SEK 301 million in capital investment and grants in 2021 – a huge increase of SEK 243 million compared to the previous year.
“It’s an absolutely fantastic amount. We work hard to help companies attract investment, so it is clear that our incubator process is working. Of the companies that raised money, 50 percent have a female CEO, which is extra gratifying”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of UBI.
The northern Sweden’s first networking pub for people working in the life science industry will open its doors in Umeå on November 23rd. Behind the initiative is Umeå Biotech Incubator, which has previously been named Europe’s most innovative life science incubator.
“In Umeå we think it is important to ‘pay it forward’. We want to help and support one another and create a strong sense of unity and community. In order to succeed, we need to get to know each other”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator.
The CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI), Jennie Ekbeck, has been named as one of five finalists in the small company category of Sweden’s CEO of the Year 2021.
“I was surprised and very happy to find out I had made it to the final. I feel really honoured”, says Jennie Ekbeck.
The award ceremony will be held at Fotografiska in Stockholm on 11th November.
The life science industry in Umeå is booming. Employment has risen by more than 17 per cent per year and life science companies have attracted SEK 230 million in equity investment over the past two and a half years.
“Two years ago we set a goal that the life science industry in Umeå would generate more than SEK 1 billion and add more than 500 jobs by 2030. At today’s rate we will far exceed this goal”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI).
Global Health and Pharma Magazine has named Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) as Europe’s most innovative biotechnology incubator in recognition of the positive changes it is making to the biotech industry.
“We are delighted to have been given this award, and that word of our innovative way of working has spread from Umeå to the whole of Europe. It’s really cool”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator.
Three high school girls from Umeå have started a UF (Young Enterprise) company that hopes to encourage more girls to study technology and qualify to work in the tech industry.
The three students have already attracted the attention of a number of large technology companies in Umeå who share their ambition.
“We are delighted that several major technology companies believe in us. It shows they are willing to make an effort to create a gender-equal technology industry”, says Aja Tomic, one of the three UF company founders.
Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) has strengthened its board with the appointment of respected business profiles Anette Nordvall, named Sweden’s most powerful tech investor by DI Digital, and Camilla Huse Bondesson, who has extensive experience of marketing, sales and business development in the life science industry.
“We have been focused on finding people who can contribute with business acumen and an investor perspective so that we continue building a world-class incubator”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator.
Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) is one of the hosts of the Swedish Life Science Investor Meeting (24-25th November), a digital event that will bring biotech companies and potential international investors together.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused untold problems for businesses, but one advantage it has given life science companies is the opportunity to meet international investors who may not have necessarily visited Sweden otherwise. Thanks to digital technology we can now reach out further than ever before”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator.
Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI), has been nominated for the prestigious Nordic Startup Awards in the ‘Ecosystem Hero of the Year’ category.
“Wow! I’m so happy to be nominated! It is proof that all our work to create better conditions for life science development in Sweden has been appreciated,” she says.
A new and different Facebook group is enabling companies in the Umeå region to buy and sell second-hand laboratory equipment, as well as gain access to cheaper lab services.
“Umeå University, the County Council and a number of life science companies in Umeå are often in need of a laboratory, but new equipment is expensive and requires a great deal of knowledge to operate. This new Facebook group allows Umeå companies to sustainably support each other,” says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator.
Publicly listed Diamyd Medical is to open a new vaccine manufacturing facility in Umeå.
“This is fantastic news and demonstrates that Umeå is a growing life science hub,” says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator.
Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) is strengthening its team once again with the appointments of a new Business Coach and Community Manager.
“The pressure is on! Right now we have a lot of ideas developing at our incubator and several of our companies are looking to take the next step. That’s why it is so important we have sufficient resources to handle this growth”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of UBI.
Umeå Biotech Incubator (UBI) is hosting two events in Stockholm later this week. Both the Meet Umeå Life Science and the Biotech Umeå Investment Day are expected to attract record numbers of participants.
“These events are a great way for us to connect life science companies from the Västerbotten region with national and international experts and investors. And this year a record number of participants have registered for the events, which feels amazing,“ says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator.
When Umeå’s big business gala was held on November 7, three of twelve awards went to life science.
“Previously, life science had a relatively hidden role in Umeå – but during this year’s Umeågala we have proven that we are an industry that has great potential”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubator.
Umeå Biotech Incubator has been named the best in Sweden in the category Best Accelerator Program or Incubator Program – and thus goes on to the Nordic final in the prestigious Nordic Startup Awards.
“Now we keep our fingers crossed that as many people as possible votes for us. We aim to win the finals – and to move on to the global finals in China”, says Jennie Ekbeck, CEO at UBI.
Umeå Biotech Incubator has reached the final of the Nordic Startup Awards in the category Best Accelerator or Incubator Program. This gives us the chance to advance to the Global Startup Awards competition.
