On 10 November, ReproUnion joined leading voices in cross-border innovation at the Medicon Valley Alliance Annual Summit 2025 in Copenhagen – a day where EU competitiveness met health innovation in practice.
In her welcome address, Anette Steenberg, CEO of Medicon Valley Alliance, highlighted how the Øresund Region stands out as one of the clusters mentioned in the Draghi Report on the Future of EU Competitiveness. This recognition signals the region’s potential as a European innovation powerhouse and underlines the importance of continued collaboration between Denmark and Sweden in health and life sciences.
Representing ReproUnion, Professor Niels Jørgensen from Rigshospitalet joined the session about Preventive Health, alongside representatives from DiaUnion and Dent2Health. Together, the projects demonstrated how cross-border collaboration between universities, hospitals, and industry can drive unique collaborations that can strengthen both innovation and public health across the region.
Niels Jørgensen focused his presentation on the ReproUnion Biobank & Infertility Cohort (RUBIC) and how it combines biological samples, health data from a growing study population. The cohort is unique on a global scale and enables a long-term, multidisciplinary approach to understanding reproductive health and its links to general well-being. He emphasized that male infertility is not only a reproductive issue but also a potential biomarker for men’s broader health, including metabolic and cardiovascular risks. By integrating reproductive data into preventive health strategies, new opportunities emerge for early detection and long-term disease prevention.
The session was opened by Bogi Eliasen from the Movement Health Foundation, who posed a thought-provoking question: Do we strive for the best health system or the healthiest population? The discussion that followed reflected on how the Nordic countries can lead the way in preventive health and there was a sense of shared ambition to move from treating illness to preventing it before it starts – and to do so through partnership across borders, disciplines, and sectors.
As the Summit continued, the focus turned to future opportunities in quantum technologies and artificial intelligence, including a presentation by Henriette Svarre Nielsen on the potential of AI in women’s health.
