This week, Shearman & Sterling had the honor to host day one of the Nordic American Life Science conference in our New York office. Partner Bjorn Bjerke (New York-Finance) kicked-off the day with opening remarks. “The Nordic region, with its strong business sector, top notch science and high quality healthcare, is becoming an important hub of innovation that feeds into the global biotech industry, while New York is one of the world’s key financial centers. It is therefore fitting that the two come together today for this conference,” said Bjorn.

The full day of expert panels and networking sessions included discussions on digital health commercialization, the changing reimbursement landscape, partnering and licensing with U.S. Biopharma, valuation, deal structures and alliance management, raising capital in the U.S. and accelerating growth through Nordic and dual listings.

During the “Bridging the Gap: Valuations, Deal Structures and Alliance Management” panel, it was mentioned that “traditional M&A is competing more and more with licensing, royalty monetizations and other forms of alternative financing so there is more competition for the M&A dollar in the current environment.” He also noted in that context that “market M&A premiums are at a record high right now.”

On the “Accelerating Growth and Return On Investments through Nordic and Dual Listings” panel, partner and co-head of the firm’s healthcare industry group, Ilir Mujalovic, along with partner Harald Halbhuber, provided a high-level overview of the IPO process, developing a capital raising strategy and recent trends. They also shared best practices and points of consideration specifically for life science companies. Ilir advised “it’s critical to be ready as fast as you can to take advantage of any favorable market conditions.”

The evening came to a close with a networking reception hosted by the Consul General of Sweden in New York.