This meant the company no longer needed its landmark 1930s radio factory in the Korsvoll district in north Oslo. Fears were raised about its survival, but now in a perfect example of “industrial recycling” this architectural gem has been reborn as the home of another technology pioneer. In June, diagnostics manufacturer Axis-Shield officially opened the magnificent arched production hall as an assembly line for its breakthrough Afinion point of care (PoC) analyser and its cartridge type test consumables.

One of the powerhouses of Norway’s new knowledge-based economy, Axis-Shield belongs to a long tradition of industrial medical technology and diagnostics innovation, which stretches back through companies such as Dynal, Genovision, Norsk Hydro and above all Nycomed. Many of the ideas and people at Axis-Shield have roots in these companies. And now it can also be seen that the success of Axis-Shield is stimulating a range of new companies including DiaGenic, Mole Genetics and NorDiag.

Indeed the success of Norway’s life sciences industry is making a lot of people sit up in these turbulent times. In the recent Ernst & Young Global Life Sciences report Norway was mentioned as one of the regions that continued to flourish despite the general downturn. Several factors have contributed to this. The first is the excellent tradition of medical research with researchers from not only Oslo but centres across the country – Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsø – regularly published in leading journals. In Axis-Shield’s case, Chief Scientific Officer Erling Sundrehagen has been a prime example of this with his work on the novel but now widely accepted marker for cardiovascular and other diseases – homocysteine.

Another factor is the general healthcare structure in Norway. With personal health id numbers, biobanks, disease registries, especially for cancer, and modern hospital facilities, Norway is an ideal test bed for new diagnostics and treatments. Clinicians and researchers work closely together to identify needs and devise solutions. Inter-national companies recognise this –  for example HP, GE and other leaders have research centres here, while leading pharmaceutical companies such as Astra Zeneca have said that Oslo is the best place in Europe to carry out initial trials of new cancer treatments.

Organisations such as Oslo Teknopol and Innovation Norway provide an environment in which companies can grow and flourish. They support both general and sector specific support education, business and other infrastructure initiatives, the latest being the Oslo Medtech Network. The growth and increased visibility of the sector is also giving it more strength at a national level, and thus the superb efforts of Oslo Cancer Cluster and others to ensure life sciences and medtech were covered in the recent government rescue package were successful.

Finally, it maybe a bit of a cliché, but the Viking spirit of adventure is alive and well! Axis was a relatively small company when it merged with Shield from Scotland ten years ago, but this bold move has more than paid off and Axis-Shield is now recognised worldwide as one of the leading players in the diagnostics market. Moving from pure diagnostics to developing and manufacturing the Afinion Point-of-Care System was an equally bold move. This area has proved extremely difficult to succeed in for many.

However, Afinion has exceeded expectations. The compact award winning design enables doctors and nurses to perform important “frontline” diagnostic tests such as for diabetes or cardiovascular risk on the spot in the surgery, rather than having to send off to a specialised laboratory. Through direct sales and distribution agreements with leading players such as Abbott in the US, Afinion has already captured a significant share of the growing PoC market. The newly refurbished Tandberg factory will give them the capacity to grow further and introduce more tests on the system. In general the medtech sector in Oslo is vibrant, and this could see the beginning of a significant manufacturing base. Sites are available together with a pool of highly skilled labour.