In recent years, the health, wellness and biotechnology sector in the Tampere region has been the fastest growing in Finland. The BioneXt programme was initiated in 2003 to develop biotechnology in the Tampere region. The results of the programme have exceeded all expectations in investments, number of companies and jobs established.

The core areas defined for the programme were biomaterials and tissue engineering, vaccines and

biological information processing. “These focal areas are also significant in terms of business opportunities – and will continue to be so”, says Tero Välimaa, Director of the BioneXt Tampere programme.

The aim of the BioneXt programme was to strengthen the region’s internationally-competitive biotechnology community, with sustained activities extending to 2010; and to achieve up to € 100 million in investment in the development of biotechnology in the Tampere region between 2003 and 2010.

The programme has significantly exceeded its goal. By the end of 2009, investments were almost three-fold the original aim, totalling some € 270 million.

During the BioneXt programme, 49 new health technology companies and 2,474 new jobs have been established in the Tampere region. A total of 336 new companies have been established in the health and wellness sector. The region’s wellness and health technology cluster provides some 30,000 jobs.

The BioneXt development programme has succeeded particularly well in attracting investors. Investments of close to € 40 million have been obtained for start-up companies. A network of some 60 investors has been created, to whom Finnish companies are regularly presented. The programme has also arranged meetings between companies and investors and invited representatives from large pharmaceutical companies to meet these companies in Tampere.

BioneXt embarked on a mission to cross traditional boundaries with unique business and operating models, setting out to do something new. “It’s essential to look towards the long-term,” Tero Välimaa says, summarising the vision of BioneXt and the future. “In its strong fields, Tampere is an attractive centre at the international cutting edge, which draws researchers and health tourists. Large and small companies come here too, because they want to conduct research and product development either alone or in cooperation with existing companies. Tampere could also provide a pilot environment when developing new operating models.”

The biotechnology degree programmes at the University of Tampere (UTA) and Tampere University of Technology (TUT) have together produced a bioscience curriculum that is both nationally and internationally unique. The curriculum links the possibilities of natural and engineering sciences with medicine in an exceptionally multidisciplinary manner.