7TM PHARMA

7TM Pharma is one of the approximately 110 new biotech companies that have been established in the Øresund Region in recent years. The company conducts research in the field of 7TM receptors and development of drugs for the treatment of metabolic diseases.

38 employees work in 7TM Pharma in a very innovative environment of well-educated people. Most of the employees are Danish but the staff also consists of persons from the United Kingdom, France, Norway, and Sweden. All the Swedish employees commute from Sweden every day. Today, the company is located in Copenhagen but will relocate to Hørsholm 25 km north of Copenhagen. This will make the commute from Sweden substantial, which has had an effect on 7TM Pharma’s ability to recruit and retain employees from Sweden. However, the case of 7TM Pharma shows that it is possible to live in Sweden and work in Denmark.

"A location in the Øresund Region gives the company the possibility to recruit employees from a relatively larger pool of qualified people", says Erik Nauerby, Chief Financial Officer. 7TM Pharmas Swedish employees enjoy working in Denmark and have had no difficulties adjusting to the Danish culture and work methods.

"7TM Pharma recognises the big potential of the Øresund Region labour market and have high hopes for even better integration of the two countries", states Thomas Högberg, Director of Medicinal Chemistry. The company actively recruits in the entire Øresund Region. Today, there are still some problems for cross-border commuters, mostly relating to differences in regulations and social security between the two countries. However, the political relationship between Denmark and Sweden is good and the ongoing dialogue will improve the integration in the Region.

The location of the company in the Øresund Region was obvious since the company is based on cutting edge research from the Panum Institute. The Panum Institute houses the Faculty of Health Sciences of Copenhagen University, where research in human biology and other disciplines are undertaken as well as the education of doctors and dentists. The university has been the source of many start-up companies in the biotech sector. "The density of biotech companies in Medicon Valley is another advantage for 7TM Pharma because networking with similar companies is made very easy", Erik Nauerby states.
About 7TM Pharma

7TM Pharma, founded in 2000 as a spinout from the University of Copenhagen, works within medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology. 7TM Pharma's core focus is discovering and developing drugs that target a variety of 7TM receptors. 7TM receptors are membrane receptors whose stimulation or inhibition regulates very important molecular pathways involved in the development of many common diseases. 7TM Pharma bases its drug discovery on its unique knowledge of the structure and function of 7TM receptors and its proprietary drug discovery platform Site-Directed Drug Discovery. The company has raised $23m through various investors. Index Ventures, Lombard Odier & Cie, Novo A/S, Baker/Tisch Investments, Alta Partners, and Dansk Innovationsinvestering are among the investors.

Read more at http://www.7tmpharma.com/.