Strong international interest as life science development doubles in size

“Phase one has progressed incredibly well. We have attracted leading companies and actors to the area who, like us, believe in the idea of collaboration and working together to create new solutions and innovations. In terms of time, we are well ahead of our schedule, so now we look forward to starting phase two where we double both the land area and the investment,” said Jacob Torell, CEO of Next Step Group in a statement, when phase 2 of the development was presented on 22 June.

GoCo Health Innovation City is a joint venture between Next Step Group and Vectura Fastigheter. Together with founding partners such as AstraZeneca, Fujirebio Diagnostics, Wellspect HealthCare and the Sahlgrenska Academy, the ambition is to create a collaborative environment for research, medicine and health where new contexts will accelerate Swedish health innovation. 

The first ground was broken in January 2020 and since then the collaboration platform GoCo Arena, the housing investment GoCo Living and the office building GoCo House have taken shape in the new district. The area has also welcomed several companies such as Fujirebio Diagnostics, Atleva, Norlandia, Siemens Healthineers, Intelligent Implants and XVIVO Perfusion.

Kicking off the next development phase will be GoCo Active, a 12,000 sqm Excellence Center with public health, sports performance, medicine and mental illness as focus areas. 

On the same day as phase 2 was presented, construction of Mölnlycke's new head office also commenced with a ground-breaking ceremony. Announced earlier in the spring, the new office will be ready in 2024 and gather around 800 employees.  

“I strongly believe that GoCo, with its cluster of collaborating companies, will be one of the global hotspots for health innovation going forward. It will attract talent both locally and globally and be a true magnet for the entire Gothenburg region. Mölnlycke has a strong history of growth and our establishment at GoCo will strengthen our opportunities to continue that journey,” said Zlatko Rihter CEO at Mölnlycke in a statement.

Growing interest from international companies

The new district is already gaining a lot of international interest and when complete it will be a great asset for the region’s dynamic life science sector, explains Iris Öhrn, investment advisor for life science at Business Region Göteborg.  

“GoCo and everything that is being created in this area has the potential to put our region and Sweden on the map. It has all ingredients international businesses demand: large and small innovative companies, public and private players, state of the art facilities, and long-term and visionary investors,” she says. 

“And the facts speak loudly. For example, the number of international players visiting AstraZeneca and GoCo has grown exponentially during the last three or four years. The latest example was a visit from two of South Korea’s largest conglomerates who wanted to learn more and be on-site for the presentation of the project’s second phase,” says Iris Öhrn.

Read more

• Life science - one of our key sectors
• Gothenburg life science database