Nordic Biomarker was recently named ‘Exporter of the Year 2022’ but the Umeå-based company says its journey has only just begun. The company has announced its vision to become a global force in the life science industry – with an ambitious five-year goal to reach almost a 1 billion SEK turnover and potentially employ over three hundred staff members.
When I interviewed Nordic Biomarker’s CEO Rikard Rodén in early October he was in Berlin attending the company’s annual staff conference, regarded as an important event for boosting the sense of ‘we-feeling’ in the rapidly growing business.
“This year alone we have hired 25 new people, and we now have staff in Umeå, Linköping, Nyköping and Stockholm. That’s why it’s so important to get together for some classic team building, the chance to conduct training, and the opportunity to get to know one another while at the same time getting great input into our business planning,” explains Rikard.
Being at the annual staff conference he said it is clear that the company consists of a very enthusiastic and engaged group. “What concerned us the most is how we will manage to cope with all the opportunities, projects and products that we want to develop. It is important to choose the right ones and to dare to prioritize, because there is a fine line between working hard and ensuring everyone’s wellbeing,” he said.
“In 2008 the company’s first product, Red D-Dimer, was released onto the market, and remains one of the company’s core products to this day.”
Nordic Biomarker was founded in 2007 by Dr Gunnar Pohl and Dr Göran Aronsson, who recognized the need in the market for an independent manufacturer of advanced reagents for coagulation diagnostics. In 2008 the company’s first product, Red D-Dimer, was released onto the market, and remains one of the company’s core products to this day.
Nordic Biomarker’s reagents are used, among other things, for suspected blood clots and when investigating possible cases of hemophilia. Its products are used by patients all over the world, and today more than 90 percent of sales are exported to countries such as China, Great Britain, Germany, France, Brazil and India.
Rikard Rodén, CEO, Nordic Biomarker. Photo: Malin Grönborg
Get our products out into the world
According to Rikard Rodén, the company’s success is due to a couple of interacting factors. “The first is our world-leading competence and our ability to develop leading-edge products in our field. Secondly we had the self-confidence and courage early on to dare to believe that our products were world-leading and to invest in exports. Our overriding priority has always been to get our products out into the world.”
Winning the ‘Exporter of the Year’ award from Business Sweden earlier this year was a confirmation for Nordic Biomarker of its continued progress. The news has both energized the company and created ripples around the world, with recognition from both the Swedish government-backed Business Sweden agency and embassies.
“The internal pride that was generated is undoubtedly the biggest thing about winning this award, which also confirms that we are a competent and professional company to do business with. Our overseas customers also thought it was fun, not least because I got to shake hands with the Prince of Sweden, which is considered very prestigious in many countries,” says Rikard.
Nordic Biomarker has an international office staffed by two employees based in Beijing, which it hires from Business Sweden.
“It’s a fantastic service that Business Sweden provides and I’d recommend anyone thinking about making an export investment to turn to them for help,” says Rikard, who hints that the company may open more foreign offices in the future. “We definitely have plans further down the line, and first in that line is probably India.”
H.K.H. Prince Daniel, Rikard Rodén, CEO, Nordic Biomarker, and Anna Hallberg, Minister of Foreign Trade. Photo: Frida Drake
Umeå and Linköping
Although Nordic Biomarker has the whole world as its market, its business is securely anchored in the two Swedish university cities of Umeå and Linköping, where it is located in newly-built and fully customized premises of 5,000 and 2,000 square meters respectively.
“They are both dream cities for us. Nordic Biomarker would never have been founded in Umeå if the city’s university had not existed.”
“They are both dream cities for us. Nordic Biomarker would never have been founded in Umeå if the city’s university had not existed. It meant everything to us from the outset and still means everything in terms of skills recruitment now. It’s exactly the same with Linköping. We also enjoy collaborations with the universities and hospitals in both Umeå and Linköping,” says Rikard.
The company’s head office is located in Umeå (60 percent of the company’s 85-strong workforce work there), which has a dynamic life science industry with several successful and rapidly-growing companies and a strong spirit of cooperation.
“Regarding Umeå in particular, I think a slightly more ambitious science park needs to be built around the Umeå Biotech Incubator in order to attract more companies. The city really has some work to do here, and in the long term we hope to contribute to such an initiative.”
“Our most important contribution to the development of the cities where we operate is continuing to manage our company professionally and grow as fast as we can in order to create exciting job opportunities, both in Umeå and Linköping. Regarding Umeå in particular, I think a slightly more ambitious science park needs to be built around the Umeå Biotech Incubator in order to attract more companies. The city really has some work to do here, and in the long term we hope to contribute to such an initiative,” states Rikard.
Nordic Biomarker, Umeå. Photo: Malin Grönborg
Quadruple turnover in 5 years
Nordic Biomarker has increased its turnover significantly in recent years, from 44 million SEK in 2018 to 131 million SEK in 2021, and the goal is to continue investing in growth. The company welcomed new principle shareholders this spring in the form of private equity firm Procuritas – a move that has given Nordic Biomarker a stronger financial base and greater opportunities to realize its vision. Rikard Rodén says the goal now is to quadruple turnover in the next five years.
“If we hit our turnover target we could employee 300-400 members of staff, with the overwhelming majority based in Umeå and Linköping within the foreseeable future.”
“That would mean we would be approaching a 1 billion SEK turnover company. How many employees would we have then? It’s a best guess, but if we hit our turnover target we could employee 300-400 members of staff, with the overwhelming majority based in Umeå and Linköping within the foreseeable future.”
Growing bigger means an increased need for new functions in the company. Nordic Biomarker has been very scientifically and technically ‘heavy’ but they are approaching a point where they need more, and other types of specialist functions in HR, finance and marketing. “We have, for example, recently hired our own IT manager and in the future there will be more recruitments as the company grows,” says Rikard.
The growth also means developing more reagents, i.e., the diagnostic products the company sells today, and also developing products outside this area. “We are conducting a large and exciting development project right now, so there will be a lot of news about that in the coming year – although nothing I can tell you right now,” says Rikard.
Finally, I ask Rikard how it feels to lead a company that really makes a difference?
“It is, of course, a wonderful feeling that we are contributing with products that can help several million patients who need care, or are being treated for blood clots or hemophilia. But it is also a source of great humility. We do everything we can to build a culture where we take our responsibility seriously and where we make sure that all we deliver is safe and effective, because in the end we know there is always a patient out there who relies on our products,” says Rikard Rodén.
Nordic Biomarker’s growth in turnover and employees:
2018: 44 MSEK/19 employees
2019: 67 MSEK/24 employees
2020: 109 MSEK/35 employees
2021: 131 MSEK/57 employees
2022: 151 MSEK (forecast)/85 employees (as of October 10th)
This article was originally published in NLS magazine, No 04 2022, November 2022.
