7 life science trends shaping 2027

We can detect diseases earlier than ever, tailor treatments to individuals and tackle conditions that were previously impossible to treat. At the same time, AI, new biological medicines and advanced technologies are transforming research and healthcare. Here are seven trends currently pushing the boundaries of life science.

Ultimately, life science is about something very tangible: helping people live longer, healthier lives.

But the field is changing rapidly. Biology and medicine are converging with AI, data and engineering. This gives researchers new ways to understand disease – and healthcare new opportunities to detect, prevent and treat it.

This development is sometimes described as bioconvergence. Boundaries between disciplines are becoming less distinct as biologists work with AI specialists, doctors with engineers, and drug developers with robotics and automation.

Gothenburg is well positioned

At the heart of the Nordic region’s broadest industrial cluster, Gothenburg is home to one of Europe’s largest university hospitals, one of AstraZeneca's global pharmaceutical research and development centres, and strong research at the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. These are surrounded by innovation environments such as AstraZeneca BioVentureHub, GoCo Health Innovation City and Sahlgrenska Science Park, alongside a wide range of international industrial companies and specialist development firms.

Open, innovative collaboration is part of everyday life here. West Sweden has around 600 life science companies and more than 10,000 people employed in the sector. In 2026, the region’s leading stakeholders came together around a shared agenda and a new council for West Swedish life science. The ambition is to make West Sweden one of Europe’s leading life science clusters.

Where biology, AI and technology are shaping the future of life science

At the same time, progress is taking place in a more uncertain world. The pandemic, wars and geopolitical tensions have exposed vulnerabilities in access to medicines, medical equipment and critical expertise. For Europe, life science is therefore also about resilience – the ability to withstand disruption and secure access to essential research, production, technology and healthcare.

Against this backdrop, we have identified seven trends that could significantly shape life science in the years ahead.

1. From precision medicine to precision health

For years, precision medicine has been about finding the right treatment for the right patient. Now the perspective is widening. By combining knowledge of individual biology with health data, new diagnostics and AI, it is becoming possible to identify risks earlier, prevent disease and tailor interventions to the individual – before a patient becomes seriously ill.

Two people with the same diagnosis can respond very differently to the same treatment. Our genes, proteins and metabolism differ, influencing both our risk of disease and how well a treatment works. In cancer care, for example, the genetic characteristics of a tumour can already determine which medicine is most likely to work.

Precision health takes this a step further. The idea is not just to choose the right treatment once someone falls ill, but to identify risks earlier – and ideally prevent disease from developing. The same shift is evident in Europe’s research agenda for personalised medicine, where prevention has become a clear part of the picture. 

West Sweden steps up its precision health ambitions

Several of these developments are coming together in Gothenburg. In 2026, the Precision Platform was launched, led by Sahlgrenska University Hospital together with the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers and Sahlgrenska Science Park. The initiative aims to make it easier for researchers, healthcare providers and businesses to develop, test and implement new approaches to personalised prevention, diagnosis and treatment. 

Prevention is also finding new arenas. GoCo Active Lab has opened at GoCo Health Innovation City, bringing research in physical activity, sports medicine and prevention together with healthcare, business and sport. Chalmers also contributes expertise in areas including AI, diagnostics, medical technology and the analysis of complex biological data. 

2. AI joins the research team

AI has long been used to analyse large datasets in life science. Now it is moving further into the research process itself. AI can propose new molecules, plan experiments, interpret results and learn from the next round of tests. The researcher’s new colleague never needs to sleep or leave the laboratory.

Developing a new medicine involves a long series of educated guesses. Which biological target should researchers pursue? Which molecule is most likely to affect it? How can that molecule be modified to work better – without causing unwanted effects?

This is where AI is particularly well suited. Models can search for patterns in vast quantities of biological and chemical information and suggest approaches that people might otherwise never have tried. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also describes how AI is becoming important throughout the medicine lifecycle – from research and manufacturing to follow-up. 

At AstraZeneca – from digital assistant to partner

AI is already used at several stages of drug development at AstraZeneca’s Gothenburg R&D site, which employs close to 3,000 people. Its Molecular AI group develops and applies machine learning, molecular simulation and data science to tasks including molecular design and predicting how new substances may behave. 

ChatInvent takes this a step further. Developed within AstraZeneca with strong links to Chalmers, it uses so-called agentic AI. Rather than simply answering a question, the system can select from different tools and work through a task in several steps. AstraZeneca uses ChatInvent, among other things, to design new molecules and plan how they can be synthesised chemically. 

AI moves into the laboratory

The next step is to connect AI to the experiments themselves. At AstraZeneca’s iLab in Gothenburg, AI, robotics and automated laboratories are combined. Systems can propose experiments, carry them out, analyse the results and use the findings to plan the next round. 

This creates a feedback loop in which models learn not only from historical data but also from new experiments.

3. Humans become the model

Medicines and treatments must be tested before they are used in people. But traditional animal models do not always reflect how the human body works. That is why a new generation of models is emerging – organoids, organ-on-chip systems, advanced simulations and digital twins – designed to mimic humans more closely.

Miniature models of human organs can be grown from cells. On microchips, cells can be exposed to flows, forces and chemical environments that mimic conditions in the body. Meanwhile, computer models can simulate how medicines move through the body or how a treatment affects a particular patient.

The goal is not simply to replace animal testing. Better human models could also help researchers rule out drug candidates that are unlikely to work – and understand which treatments have the best chance of helping a particular patient.

From the average human to your own body

The next step is even more interesting. Models can increasingly be tailored to individual patients. This connects with precision health, our first trend. Medical images, biological data and information about a patient’s anatomy can be used to create a model of that particular person. Doctors can then, in some cases, explore different options digitally before treatment takes place.

Gothenburg has unusually deep roots in medical simulation. Surgical Science and Mentice, both founded in 1999, have developed simulators that allow doctors to practise surgical and endovascular procedures respectively without putting patients at risk. Their systems are now used internationally for education and training. 

But the focus is shifting from general training towards increasingly patient-specific simulation. Mentice develops solutions that use medical images from an actual patient to plan and simulate an upcoming procedure.

Gothenburg-based Navari Surgical brings the same idea into the operating theatre. Using the patient’s medical images, it creates a three-dimensional digital model of structures including the liver, blood vessels and tumours. During surgery, the model can be aligned with images of the actual patient to help surgeons navigate and remove tumours more precisely.

Miniature models of the human body

Gothenburg-based Cellink, a subsidiary of BICO, is a world leader in 3D bioprinting for medical research. Put simply, it involves “printing” human-like tissue, layer by layer, using living cells and so-called bioink.

The technology is used to recreate human biology in advanced 3D models. These models can give researchers deeper insights into diseases, accelerate the development of new treatments and help reduce reliance on animal testing.

Mölndal is also home to Cellectricon, which uses advanced in vitro models of human neurobiology for research and drug development in neurological diseases. 

4. More ways than ever to build medicines

For much of the pharmaceutical industry’s history, medicines have primarily consisted of relatively small chemical molecules. They remain enormously important. But the toolbox is now expanding rapidly. Antibodies, RNA, cells, genes and radioactive isotopes make it possible to tackle disease in entirely new ways.

A conventional medicine is a small molecule that can enter the body and affect a protein or biological process. Biological medicines, such as antibodies, then made it possible to target much more specific mechanisms.

Now the number of so-called modalities is growing – essentially different ways of constructing a medicine and tackling disease. An RNA medicine can, for example, switch off production of a harmful protein. Other treatments use cells or genes as the medicine itself. Radiopharmaceuticals, meanwhile, can deliver radiation directly to cancer cells.

Deloitte’s global Life Sciences Outlook identifies biological medicines, cell, gene and RNA therapies, and antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) among important growth areas. 

RNA opens new doors

Ribocure Pharmaceuticals is a clear example in Gothenburg. The company develops siRNA therapies that switch off the production of disease-driving proteins by acting between genes and proteins. The technology offers a new way to treat disease, with effects that may last for months rather than requiring daily medication. 

Ribocure runs several clinical programmes, primarily in cardiovascular disease. It has also built its own capacity to conduct clinical trials in Gothenburg. 

A broader West Swedish ecosystem is also developing around ribonucleic acid (RNA) and other oligonucleotides – small molecules built from the same building blocks as our genetic material. OligoNova brings together expertise from organisations including the University of Gothenburg and AstraZeneca to develop therapeutic oligonucleotides. 

Radiation with pinpoint precision

A very different example is Gothenburg-based Atley Solutions. The company develops technology that makes it possible to produce and use the radioactive isotope astatine-211 in new cancer treatments. 

The principle is to attach a radioactive isotope to a molecule that seeks out cancer cells. Radiation can then be delivered very locally within the body. Astatine-211 emits alpha radiation with a very short range, opening up possibilities to target tumour cells while sparing surrounding tissue.

This brings together drug development, nuclear physics and advanced engineering – another example of the bioconvergence shaping life science.

5. Advanced therapies move from breakthroughs to industry

Cell and gene therapies have opened up possibilities to treat – and in some cases potentially cure – diseases that previously lacked effective treatments. But the more advanced the therapy, the greater the next challenge: manufacturing it safely and consistently, at scale and at a cost that makes it accessible to more patients.

Producing a tablet millions of times with exactly the same contents is one thing. Producing a treatment made from living cells, genetic material or biological tissue is something else entirely.

For some advanced therapies, manufacturing begins with the patient. Cells are taken out, modified or grown, and then returned to the same person. Every step has to work – and work the same way next time.

That is one of the industry’s major challenges. Scientific breakthroughs must be turned into safe treatments that can be manufactured on a larger scale. The EU’s life science strategy also identifies the ability to bring innovations from research to market more quickly as a central European challenge. 

Gothenburg builds new manufacturing capacity

This is an area where Gothenburg is making significant progress. CCRM Nordic aims to help researchers and companies turn early-stage cell and gene therapies into treatments that can be tested in patients and eventually manufactured commercially. 

In 2026, it is opening a new facility at GoCo Health Innovation City with around 1,000 square metres of GMP-compliant space – meaning manufacturing that meets the stringent quality requirements for medicines. Advanced cell and viral therapies will be developed and manufactured here for clinical use.

Sahlgrenska University Hospital also has an ATMP centre that brings together expertise in clinical testing of advanced therapies and their introduction into healthcare. Together, these environments connect research, process development, manufacturing and clinical use.

A new vein – made from the patient’s own cells

Gothenburg-based Verigraft shows why this chain is needed. The company develops a personalised blood vessel for patients with severe chronic venous disease. 

The starting point is biological tissue from which the donor’s cells have been removed. The structure is then repopulated with cells from the patient. The result is a biological blood vessel tailored to the person who will receive it.

The treatment has progressed from early research and its first clinical study into a larger clinical development phase. But it also illustrates the industrialisation challenge: the blood vessel must not only work biologically, but also be manufactured in a controlled and reproducible way for each patient.

From bioanalysis to bioreactors

Other parts of the drug development infrastructure are also being strengthened. Thermo Fisher Scientific has established its first bioanalytical laboratory in Europe at GoCo Health Innovation City. The laboratory will support pharmaceutical and biotech companies through different development stages and can analyse everything from small molecules and biological medicines to biomarkers and new drug modalities.

Bioanalysis is an essential part of drug development – including measuring how a treatment is absorbed by the body, whether it reaches its target and how the patient responds. The establishment means that another important link in the development chain is now available in Gothenburg, with expected international significance.

Gothenburg-based Getinge is also active in biopharma. Through Applikon, the company develops bioreactors and other process technologies for biological medicines, vaccines and advanced therapies – from laboratory-scale research to GMP-compliant production. 

Examples of smaller companies in the field include:

Nyctea Technologies has technology designed to make the purification of biological medicines more efficient.

VentriLabs develops technology for the gentle handling of sensitive liquids such as cell cultures and blood.

6. Prevention is the weapon against resistant infections

As antibiotics lose their effectiveness, preventing infections from occurring in the first place becomes increasingly important. Antibiotic resistance is therefore driving greater emphasis on prevention – from better wound care and hygiene to new materials, diagnostics and treatments that can stop infections without conventional antibiotics.

The WHO estimates that around one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections worldwide is already resistant to antibiotic treatment, and resistance is increasing across many combinations of bacteria and antibiotics.

The search for new antibiotics continues. But another strategy is at least as important: reducing the need for them. The WHO’s global work on antimicrobial resistance therefore highlights infection prevention as a central part of the solution – from hygiene and vaccination to better wound care and technologies that prevent infections from taking hold. 

Gothenburg has built industrial strength

The Gothenburg region has an unusually strong industrial base in infection prevention.

Mölnlycke Health Care is headquartered in Gothenburg and is one of the world’s larger players in advanced wound care. In 2027, the company will split into two. Its surgical solutions and gloves business will become Mölnlycke Surgical, while Mölnlycke will focus on wound care and antiseptics.

Getinge, also globally headquartered in Gothenburg, approaches the challenge from another direction, with a broad product portfolio covering sterilisation, disinfection and technology for safe operating and healthcare environments. The US is Getinge’s largest market. 

Essity also has a strong position in wound care, compression and hygiene, among other fields, with significant R&D operations in Gothenburg. 

From tuberculosis medicine to next-generation vaccines

How can a resistant bacterium be identified faster? And how can we see where it is spreading? These are among the questions addressed by CARe, the Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research in Gothenburg. It brings together the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers and Sahlgrenska in research spanning diagnostics, the spread of infection, new treatments and biomaterials. 

There is also a long historical tradition. At Sahlgrenska in the 1940s, Jörgen Lehmann discovered PAS, the first effective medicine against tuberculosis. A few decades later, Jan Holmgren’s research group at the University of Gothenburg developed Dukoral, the world’s first effective oral cholera vaccine. 

That vaccine research now continues with DuoChol, a new heat-stable cholera vaccine being developed to be easier and cheaper to use in countries where cholera remains a major health problem – affecting up to four million people annually. A first clinical study is planned for 2027. 

7. Bioconvergence – where biology meets engineering

The boundary between humans and technology is becoming less distinct. Organs can be kept alive and treated outside the body, implants can fuse with bone, and electrical signals can be used to influence biological processes. When medicine, biology and engineering come together, new possibilities emerge to repair and replace functions in the human body.

Medical technology is nothing new, of course. What is new is how deeply technology is beginning to integrate with biology. Materials are designed to interact with the body’s tissues, sensors can monitor what happens inside the body, and electrical signals can stimulate healing. Meanwhile, robotics, advanced imaging and digital models make it possible to perform procedures with ever greater precision.

The OECD and many others describe this trend as bioconvergence: biology and medicine increasingly merging with physics, materials science, electronics and engineering.

Treating the organ before the patient

Gothenburg has a strong international position in transplantation. Sahlgrenska University Hospital is the only hospital in the Nordic region that transplants all types of organs.

Research carried out here also led to the world’s first birth following a uterus transplant in 2014. The breakthrough combined transplant surgery and reproductive medicine.

Gothenburg-based XVIVO illustrates another aspect of this development. The company develops technology to preserve, evaluate and treat donated organs outside the body before transplantation.

Instead of simply cooling a donated organ, fluid can be circulated through it under controlled conditions, a process known as perfusion. Doctors can then keep the organ functioning, assess its quality and, in some cases, improve its condition before deciding on transplantation. The company is a spin-off from Vitrolife, a world-leading Gothenburg company in IVF and assisted reproduction. 

This changes how we think about donated organs. Rather than something that must be transported as quickly as possible from one person to another, an organ becomes living tissue that can be monitored and treated outside the body. The technology also helps make more donated organs usable.

One discovery – from teeth to new limbs

One of Gothenburg’s most important medical technology breakthroughs began with an unexpected discovery. Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark found that living bone can fuse with titanium – a process known as osseointegration.

The first patients received dental implants in the 1960s. But the discovery would have an impact far beyond dentistry.

In 1977, the first patient in Gothenburg received a bone-anchored hearing implant. The technology was further developed with researchers at Chalmers and became Baha, which transmits sound through the skull bone directly to the inner ear. Today, Cochlear has its global centre for bone-conduction hearing in the Gothenburg area, developing both Baha and the newer Osia technology. Oticon is another Gothenburg company in bone-conducted hearing.

The same biological principle has since been applied to limb prostheses. Gothenburg-based Integrum has developed the OPRA system, in which an arm or leg prosthesis is anchored directly to the skeleton. More than 1,000 patients have been treated with the system, which is also the only FDA-approved bone-anchored implant system in the US developed specifically for people with amputations. 

Now the boundaries are moving further still. Electrodes can be connected to muscles and nerves so that users control a prosthesis with their body’s own signals and receive sensory feedback – in other words, a sense of touch. In the US, researchers are testing Integrum’s new prosthetic system in patients. By implanting sensors and connecting nerves to muscles, users can control the prosthesis more naturally through their thoughts. 

In just over half a century, the same biological principle has therefore moved from teeth to hearing and on to advanced limb prostheses and neural interfaces.

The operating theatre – an advanced technical system

The same trend is transforming the operating theatre itself. Sahlgrenska has taken a major step forward with its Imaging and Intervention Centre (BOIC). 

One of Europe’s largest centres of its kind, it performs more than 10,000 image-guided and minimally invasive procedures a year. Here, operating theatres meet advanced imaging technology. Doctors can use images during procedures while developing new methods together with researchers and engineers.

Companies around the hospital are also developing the next generation of surgery. Surgical Science and Mentice have helped make Gothenburg an international hub for medical simulation.