Sweden: who works on a cure
The research groups, companies and funders in Sweden working toward a cure for type 1 diabetes, and the gap between world-leading results and the industry needed to bring them to patients.
Sweden is strong where it matters most right now: protecting new cells from the immune system. The world’s clearest result came from Uppsala in 2025. What Sweden lacks is a company that turns academic stem-cell islets into a product, and large-scale production of the cells.
Research groups
| Where | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| Uppsala University and Akademiska sjukhuset | Per-Ola Carlsson | Led the UP421 study, where gene-edited islets survived 14 months without immunosuppression (NEJM 2025). Also principal investigator of NextCell’s children’s trial. |
| Karolinska Institutet | Fredrik Lanner, Per-Olof Berggren | A protocol for stem-cell islets that works across many stem-cell lines (Stem Cell Reports 2026), and the front chamber of the eye as a transplant site. |
| Lund University: Lund Stem Cell Center and LU-ATMP | Anna Falk and others | A platform for stem-cell-based therapies; LU-ATMP works on the path to the clinic. Vinnova’s IndiCell project (SEK 40 million, 2021–2026) built such a chain for Parkinson’s and macular degeneration. |
| Lund University Diabetes Centre (LUDC), Malmö | Prevention studies in young children at risk, and Sweden’s main screening research. | |
| Helmholtz Munich / LUDC | Henrik Semb | Directs Helmholtz Munich’s Institute of Translational Stem Cell Research, with a base at LUDC in Malmö. |
| KTH | My Hedhammar | Spider-silk scaffolds for cells; in lab studies, silk raised human islet survival from 36% to 79% (PLoS ONE 2015). Co-founder of Spiber Technologies. |
Companies
- NextCell Pharma tested umbilical-cord stromal cells in newly diagnosed children and young people; the trial missed its main goal in 2026, and the company now focuses on adults.
- Diamyd Medical’s GAD treatment failed in phase 3 and was discontinued in April 2026.
- Anocca develops engineered T-cell therapies, so far in cancer (first patients dosed, 2026); no diabetes program, but the technology is relevant to the immune side.
- Asgard Therapeutics, a Lund spin-out, reprograms cells into immune cells inside the body (Lund Stem Cell Center); in cancer, preclinical.
Funders
| Funder | What it funds |
|---|---|
| Barndiabetesfonden | Infrastructure and staff for the Uppsala team; a record SEK 26 million to 34 studies in March 2026. |
| Stiftelsen för typ 1-diabetesforskning | A foundation set up in 2025 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, managed by Uppsala University, supporting the Uppsala work. |
| Helmsley Charitable Trust | Funded the UP421 study (NEJM 2025). |
| Erling-Persson Foundation | Helped Carlsson’s group set up culture of insulin-producing stem cells in Sweden. |
| Rolf Luft Foundation | The 2026 Kerstin Brismar Award, SEK 500,000, to Carlsson. |
| Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation | Among the funders of Lanner’s islet work. |
| Novo Nordisk Foundation | Up to DKK 10 million (2021) for Berggren’s eye-transplant trial. |
| Mats Paulsson Foundations | Advanced therapies at Lund Stem Cell Center (2025 grants); not focused on type 1 diabetes. |
The gap
- No company is taking Karolinska’s or Lund’s stem-cell islets toward the clinic, and nothing in Sweden compares with Sana’s or Vertex’s investment in manufacturing.
- The immune-hiding technology in Uppsala’s study isn’t Swedish: it belongs to Sana, and the cells were prepared in Oslo.
- Novo Nordisk, the Nordic region’s largest player, closed its cell-therapy unit in 2025.
Sweden’s advantages are real: strong clinics, good registries and healthcare data, and one of the highest rates of type 1 diabetes in the world, which matters for recruiting trials.