New bio-venture vision Mölnlycke

nEW BIo-vEnTuRE vIsIon

Mölnlycke is a major global player in the development and manufacture of surgical and advanced wound-care products. The company places a high priority on investment in research and the development of new innovative technologies. Recently Mölnlycke signed a partnership agreement with Astra Zeneca, a leading global pharma company that will help to transform its capabilities in the areas of cell biology and analytical chemistry. Philip Yorke reports.

Mölnlycke is a multinational Swedish company that was founded in Gothenburg in 1849 and began life as a textile producer. Today it is a world-leading medical products and solutions company that provides healthcare professionals with cutting-edge solutions in both clinical and economic outcomes. Its key business areas include solutions for wound-care treatments, pressure ulcers, infection prevention and surgery.

The company operates 15 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, two of which are located in the USA, six in Asia and the remainder spread throughout mainland Europe. Mölnlycke is present in over 30 countries and active in more than 100 countries worldwide.

Future focus

Recently Mölnlycke signed a major partnership agreement with Astra Zeneca’s BioVenture Hub division. This has already resulted in positive results in the form of strong collaboration in the building of its capabilities within cell biology and analytical chemistry. The company’s specialised teams are working in an exciting environment at the heart of Astra Zeneca’s premises, which now hosts part of its own extensive R&D team.

“Within the BioVenture Hub we are aiming to change the way we do innovation. Normally you have to show a business case that provides a predicted financial outcome before you can start. We believe that no ground-breaking innovation can be done based on things that you can predict. We believe in mixing people with complementary skills in an innovative setting to create a mind-set that is driven by science and opportunity rather than money. And already after two months we see results,” said Magnus Bjorsne, CEO for Astra Zeneca’s BioVenture Hub division.

Ewa Kolby–Falk, manager of Mölnlycke Lab Services and head of the company’s BioVenture Hub team, commented, “One could say that we have one team on site and one supportive team also serving as a discussion partner at HQ.”

Kolby-Falk added, “It is very inspiring to be part of the AZ Hub and we are grateful for the massive support we have from Barry McBride and senior management. We have access not only to the

Astra Zeneca researchers, but also to the 25 start-up companies within the hub – thus adding competences not only within medical and med-tech areas, but also within those of digital and diagnostics research.”

Standardising chronic wound care

As a world-leading medical solutions company, Mölnlycke has teamed up with another leading player in order to simplify and standardise chronic wound care. The company has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Tissue Analytics, a leading developer of sophisticated digital wound-imaging platforms.

This powerful partnership brings together Mölnlycke’s unrivalled expertise in wound-care, and Tissue Analytics’ advanced digital capabilities. The two parties will jointly develop and commercialise new innovative digital solutions for wound-care practitioners, including comprehensive clinical decision support tools that will significantly simplify and standardise wound assessment and treatment. “Today practitioners are constrained by the quality of data available for wound assessment. Conditions such as chronic wounds, burns and pressure ulcers are evaluated using only visual approximations,” added Bjorsne.

Tissue Analytics develops software solutions that use artificial intelligence to automatically and objectively extract high quality

data from input and images. The extracted data can automatically be integrated into the institution’s EMR system to allow greater efficiency and improved workflows. The two high-tech companies will jointly develop Tissue Analytics’ existing software, by adding Mölnlycke’s expertise in wound-care management and undertake extensive testing with clinical partners to ensure optimal clinical and patient outcomes.

largest single investment

In 2017 Mölnlycke successfully introduced a range of new innovative products within the areas of pressure ulcer prevention and post-operative wound management. The company also began the construction of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for the production of surgical procedure trays in the Czech Republic.

The new investment, which is close to €70 million, is the largest single investment in the company’s history. “The important product launches we have made recently are the result of our continuing focus on new product development and innovation, and they have been received very positively by our customers,” said Richard Twomey, Mölnlycke’s CEO. “We also globally launched new products from the businesses that we acquired during 2016 in the US. In addition, we inaugurated our new, modern and highly automated production site in the Czech Republic which will further improve our efficiency and increase the flexibility of our customer offer,” Twomey added. n

For further information about Molnlycke’s latest innovative products and services visit: www.molnlycke.com

eric De Kesel executive Vice President, operations