In 2014, the government led by Juha Sipilä presented the growth strategy for the Finnish healthcare sector. This was a recognition of a sector that has invested significantly in health research and has risen to the absolute top of health research in many sectors globally. Finland offers a tremendous functioning ecosystem for medical research.
Now, in 2021, we already have a third government that has continued to commit to this strategy, at the very least. However, the recent uproar over funding cuts in science did not increase confidence in the current government’s desire to improve public funding for biomedical research in Finland. The key pillars of the growth strategy include the National Cancer Centre, the Genome Center and the Finnish Biobank Cooperative FINBB. They are still waiting for the necessary government start-up grants. Despite the lack of promised government aid, projects have progressed, although no decision has yet been taken, for example, on the funding of a national drug development centre.
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