Cecilia Bröms-Thell has joined UIC as business developer life science. Cecilia has a solid background in life science with a focus on business and will be a key person for the life science companies at UIC. She describes herself as a person who loves to network and is one of the initiators of the business network VILDA for female CEOs and board members in life science. In the role of business developer at UIC, she wants to give back what she learned on her journey to growth companies in the Uppsala region.
Hi Cecilia, welcome to the UIC team. Tell us a little about your background.
– I trained as a physiotherapist and worked in healthcare for a few years before slipping into a role as a product specialist at what was then Pharmacia, Cecilia says and continues:
– After that followed 20 years at large global companies such as Pfizer, Shire, Genzyme and Sanofi in various commercial leadership roles. Most recently, I come from a smaller Swedish pharmaceutical company where I was the CEO.
What will you do in your new role?
– UIC is a business incubator that spans many industries and with the investment in life science, UIC will be able to offer specially targeted support for these companies, says Cecilia. She also says that the plan is to launch special modules for life science companies in different stages of their development in the autumn.
What are the biggest challenges for life science startups?
– Developing products that need to be tested under highly controlled conditions in order to be assessed as safe and effective takes a long time and requires a lot of capital, notes Cecilia and goes on to say:
– It requires an understanding of which regulatory framework governs the product and how these need to be taken into account when making long-term strategic decisions for the product. All of this combined makes it a complex environment to start a company in, and therefore we want to support the companies to provide the best possible conditions for future life science companies in the region.
Which companies/ideas do you hope to come into contact with?
– The dream would be to make up a small part in the next big revolutionary medical innovation, says Cecilia, to find that little straw in the haystack would be magical.
Finally, what do you like to do when you have a day off?
– I’m a bit addicted to physical exercise, so one part of the day is definitely dedicated to some form of training, almost exclusively outdoors. Preferably by bike. Otherwise, I get a lot of energy from being with my family of three teenage sons and my husband, meeting friends, maybe doing some work in the greenhouse. I also like listening to podcasts and audiobooks, concludes Cecilia.