Sweden signs new cooperation agreement with the US on cancer research
Sweden and the USA have previously enjoyed strong collaboration in the field of cancer care and research, and now it is further strengthened through a bilateral agreement. The purpose is to promote exchange between the two countries in both cancer research and the implementation of this research within cancer care, including both prevention and improved quality of life.
The agreement was signed during the US-Sweden Cancer Summit 2024, held from March 12 to 14 at the Swedish Embassy in Washington. The signatories were Acko Ankarberg, the Swedish Minister of Healthcare, and Andrea Palm, the US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. This agreement builds upon a previous collaboration between Sweden and the USA from 2016 to 2021.
During his speech at the summit, Ambassador Urban Ahlin also highlighted KI's collaboration with Mayo Clinic as one of the flagships for cancer research between the countries. The collaboration, which covers around eleven different research areas, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
Part of the Swedish delegation was also KI’s Vice President Martin Bergö and Stephan Mielke, a professor of hematology and cell therapy at Karolinska Institutet and the head of the Theme Cancer at Karolinska University Hospital, was part of the Swedish delegation. Alongside representatives from among others Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Skåne University Hospital, they also visited organizations as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Inova, a leading nonprofit healthcare provider in northern Virginia.
Mielke emphasizes the importance of “co-creational” collaboration among healthcare, research, industry, and authorities, with the patient at the center: “Collaboration between the different parts of cancer care is a must; there is no other way, and this became even clearer. Not least, the visit to NIH was inspiring because they already live in such close collaboration between research and healthcare where ALL patients are treated in clinical trials.”
He also underscores the significance of collaboration to ensure that new treatments reach patients in need: “It became so clear how we should work and collaborate moving forward. Not just in Sweden but on an international level. We must understand that the largest market is in the USA – virtually all pharmaceuticals arrive there first and then Europe, so communication between us is very important. Writing this agreement with the USA helps us; it paves the way for, for example, bilateral projects, such as joint clinical trials and data sharing."
The entire news article can be read on the Karolinska University Hospital website.
Stephan Mielke is a professor at the Department of Laboratory Medicine and leads a research group specializing in advanced drug therapies for cancer treatment. He is also responsible for SWECARNET, Sweden’s competence network of key representatives working to enhance expertise, knowledge exchange, and standardized processes for the treatment and follow-up of CAR-T cell therapies.