–I can say, ”I took part in developing almost all these drugs!”

The Stockholm-Uppsala region has always been important in protein research. In fact, the term ‘protein’ itself was coined by one of the region’s most renowned scientists, Jöns Jacob Berzelius, in the 1830s! Almost 100 years later, in 1926, Theodor Svedberg from Uppsala University was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his invention of the analytical ultracentrifuge, an instrument that could both separate proteins and determine their size.

One of Svedberg’s students, Arne Tiselius, received the same honour in 1948 for developing the technology of electrophoresis. These two gentlemen’s interest in protein research has inspired many other researchers since, including Jerker Porath and Per Flodin, who both worked in the two Nobel laureates’ laboratory. Porath and Flodin were attempting to separate proteins by using cross-linked dextran for column electrophoresis. To their great surprise, they found that the cross-linked dextran could separate proteins without using electricity, a discovery that led to a well-cited publication in the June 1959 issue of Nature and to the development of the Pharmacia product Sephadex™, the first chromatography medium for gel filtration of biomolecules.

This first product laid the foundation for a range of vital developments. Since these early days, further generations of chromatography media have been developed; Sepharose™, MabSelect™ and Capto™ families, for example, as well as systems and equipment for purifying proteins from the lab bench to the production hall.

This story could tell us many things; that good science attracts good scientists, and vice-versa, and that multi-disciplinary scientists gathered in one lab lead not only to good science, but also potentially good products. It will be very interesting to see what the recently formed Science for Life Laboratory, a multi-disciplinary consortium involving all the region’s universities, will produce in the future!

Moreover, the story teaches us never to underestimate serendipity, i.e. having quite a bit of luck and being smart enough to realise it!

Other classical examples from the region include the development of Protein A for purifying antibodies by The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Pharmacia Biotech (now GE Healthcare), and ELISA (Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay), probably the most widespread and frequently used protein research technology of all, developed by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann at Stockholm University in 1971. Who amongst us has not used this simple yet ingenious method?

This list of seminal work could easily be expanded, and looking at the number of excellent academic groups and entrepreneurial biotech firms in the region, I am absolutely confident that many more examples of this type will emerge in the future.

Looking at the pharmaceutical industry reveals a tremendous growth in the development of new biotherapeutics (e.g. therapeutic proteins, monoclonal antibodies and antibody fragments) as many companies diversify their product position by expanding into this exciting field of therapy. This has led to an increase in protein purification plus the need for very thorough characterisation, a trend that will probably continue for some time. Furthermore, small molecule drugs still dominate the market and will always have a strong place in addressing diseases, and a good understanding of their protein targets is equally important for this discipline.

As Head of Protein Analysis R&D at GE Healthcare in Uppsala, I have the privilege of working not only with well-known products such as Biacore™, MicroCal™, ECL™, Typhoon™, CyDyes™, etc., but also with the research and development of future applications and instrument platforms that will help research scientists around the world achieve better results and ultimately create better health for more people. One of my personal dreams when working with drug discovery was taking my kids to the pharmacy, pointing at some particular canister, and proudly announcing “I took part in developing that drug!” Now, as was remarked to me when I started working at GE Healthcare, I can say, “I took part in developing almost all these drugs!”

So what is in the crystal ball for the future of protein research in this dynamic part of the world? Although protein research has changed significantly over the decades, one particular paradigm still holds true; the importance of good qualitative data for protein research, and the constant pressure on our time; make it faster, better and cheaper!

And never forget, technology can generate data, but only people can make science.