Innovation Under Pressure: The Life Sciences Landscape in Denmark
In 2026, the Danish Life Sciences ecosystem stands at a critical juncture. Denmark is widely recognized as a European leader in life sciences, with a strong cluster spanning pharmaceuticals, biotech, MedTech, and health technology. At the same time, the market is shifting as rapid innovation collides with heightened regulatory complexity, manufacturing scale-up and supply-capacity constraints, and geopolitical uncertainty. Digitalization is accelerating across the value chain - while expectations around data, sustainability, and compliance increasingly sit at board level, not just within specialist functions.
In Denmark, growth is supported by a strong public–private ecosystem and continued national ambitions to expand life science exports and strengthen talent and infrastructure. For leadership teams, this translates into a sharper focus on scale-up discipline, regulatory confidence, and cross-functional execution, where advantage increasingly comes from converting innovation into predictable delivery.
With Kristine Cholewa, Amrop Denmark.
A: I have more than 25 years of experience in executive search. Earlier in my search career, I worked mostly with pharmaceutical companies. In recent years, my assignments have increasingly focused on advisory and consulting profiles within life sciences, as well as leadership roles in MedTech and biotech companies. That mix gives a practical view of how regulated reality, commercial priorities, and talent decisions come together - especially when organizations are scaling, transforming, or preparing for the next phase of growth.
Q: What describes the current climate of the Life Sciences and MedTech sector in Denmark?
A: Denmark continues to have a very strong life-science sector - companies like Lundbeck, LEO Pharma, and Novo Nordisk remain major players. Developments in weight management therapies have had significant market impact, including capacity pressure and intensified competition. This reinforces a broader shift: organizations are tightening the link between innovation and commercial strategy - projects increasingly need a clear path to value, not only scientific merit. Regulation remains a defining factor. For MedTech and diagnostics, MDR/IVDR requirements have increased the cost and complexity of lifecycle management and approvals - driving a stronger focus on QA/RA capabilities and evidence generation. At the same time, emerging technologies such as AI are changing how companies manage data and create value from it.
Q: What other key trends have you seen?
A: The Danish life science market is highly innovative, but also sensitive to external shocks. In 2026, successful companies are those that can bridge the gap between technology and regulation - and attract leaders who thrive in an environment of constant change and uncertainty.
One of the strongest trends is convergence across pharma, MedTech, and digital health. “Connected health” is increasingly becoming a core business strategy for many companies, and combination approaches, where therapies are paired with devices and digital services, are gaining momentum. Data has become a strategic asset, and the ability to integrate data from devices with treatment outcomes is increasingly a competitive differentiator. For example, there are smart drug-delivery ecosystems that can share dosing/adherence data and hearing solutions controlled via smartphone apps, as seen across Danish hearing-tech leaders. Care decentralization, often referred to as “Hospital at Home”, is accelerating across selected pathways. With shortages of healthcare professionals and capacity constraints, more monitoring and treatment are moving closer to the patient. Companies that can provide reliable home-based monitoring and decision support are gaining traction. Finally, sustainability has moved from “nice-to-have” to “must-have.” ESG expectations are increasingly commercial, and there is growing focus on sustainable production methods, green chemistry, and circular design principles, aligned with investor expectations and evolving procurement requirements.
Q: Does AI play an integral role in the Life Sciences industry?
A: Yes - AI is increasingly integrated across discovery, development, diagnostics, and manufacturing, accelerating R&D and improving operational efficiency. But the leadership challenge is governance: ensuring accountability, validation, and compliance as requirements mature.
Technology is moving faster than regulation can be operationalized. This creates complexity and temporary guidance gaps, especially for AI-enabled medical devices. In a European context, staged implementation of AI requirements - interacting with MDR/IVDR - continues through 2026–2027, which is why many companies are investing early in compliance-by-design, evidence generation, and data governance.
Q: How about the geopolitical landscape: does the industry feel the impact of a less predictable global environment?
A: Yes, particularly because the US remains a critical market for many Danish life sciences companies. What we increasingly see and hear is that changes in US conditions can have immediate ripple effects on valuation, investment decisions, launch sequencing, and manufacturing and supply-chain planning. Beyond trade policy uncertainty, there is growing sensitivity to shifts in US regulatory capacity and expectations - especially around review timelines, evidence requirements, and post-market obligations. When the US is a priority launch market, even modest fluctuations in approval-system capacity or policy interpretation can materially affect time-to-market and commercial forecasting. At the same time, the US commercial environment continues to evolve. Pricing pressure and reimbursement dynamics mean market access planning and real-world evidence strategies often need to be built earlier and integrated more tightly with clinical development. As a result, many leadership teams are strengthening scenario planning across regulatory pathways, market access, and supply resilience - balancing speed with risk in a way that is increasingly central to competitiveness.
Q: In your view, what are the essential qualities for leadership roles within the Life Sciences & Healthcare sector?
A: It depends on the company’s stage and situation. In some cases, organizations need leaders who can restore performance with a strong commercial mindset and execution discipline. In other cases, they need leaders who can inspire teams, build confidence, and create momentum in complex change. Across the board, leaders increasingly need to operate across boundaries, regulatory, digital, data, and commercial, because strategy and execution are more interdependent than ever. The leaders who succeed are those who translate innovation into sustainable growth while navigating regulation, stakeholders, and uncertainty.
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Kristine Cholewa is a Partner at Amrop Denmark and a member of our Global Practices for Professional Services, Digital & Technology and Life Sciences. She focuses on executive search for CEO, Director, and Board appointments, as well as strategic leadership roles across functions and industries. Kristine has worked with large global organizations as well as local and PE-owned companies.