EdiLabs at Kuopio Health Insights 2025: The Future of Drug Development
On 20–21 August 2025, EdiLabs joined health professionals, companies, researchers, and investors at Kuopio Health Insights (KHI) 2025, held at the Kuopio Music Centre, Kuopio, Finland. This two-day event connected science, industry, and investment, with a programme designed to show how collaboration fuels innovation and creates positive health outcomes worldwide.
A Thriving Health Ecosystem
Kuopio is home to more than 1,100 companies in the health sector, alongside Kuopio University Hospital (KUH) and the University of Eastern Finland. Together, they form one of Europe’s most dynamic healthcare ecosystems. Kuopio Health brings these organisations together, creating opportunities for partnership and growth, and we are excited to be joining the Kuopio Health network to become part of this collaboration.
Highlights for EdiLabs
For us, Kuopio’s strength in neurosciences is particularly important. The city has been a centre for Alzheimer’s and memory disorder research for decades, and every Alzheimer’s drug currently used in Finland has been studied here.
We were also pleased to connect in person with our preclinical partner Charles River Laboratories.
After his insightful talk on the evolving drug development landscape and CRL’s innovations to reduce animal use in trials, we had a valuable discussion with General Manager Antti Nurmi about EdiLabs’ project and how we will be working together in the next stages of preclinical development.
Another key moment was the presentation by Ville Kainu from Pfizer, who highlighted the role of real-world evidence (RWE) in prevention and vaccine development, noting:
Vaccines remain one of the most impactful medical interventions.
Greater uptake requires systemic change, particularly across the Nordics.
RWE can accelerate access for patient groups and support faster adoption.
Finland stands out for strong data access and fast uptake, making it ideal for clinical trials.
Europe lags the US in trial approvals, which slows innovation.
Looking Forward
KHI 2025, with its new Pitch & Match programme, showcased how bringing startups, investors, and healthcare leaders together can spark meaningful partnerships. For EdiLabs, the event was an excellent step toward deepening our collaboration with Kuopio Health network, members and advancing our platform in an ecosystem known for world-class neuroscience and innovation.
