Doctor Simon Pålsson is a specialist surgeon at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital. During the pandemic he has temporarily lent his expertise to a more urgent area; the development and handling of covid-19 tests. Today, Simon Pålsson is the CEO of iLab which in turn is a subsidiary of the Gothenburg-based company Gynius Plus, experts in women’s healthcare, and Svea Vaccin, Sweden’s largest Vaccine Administration Company.
The birth of ILAB
Early on in 2020 Dr Pålsson saw the need for efficient and safe testing of potential covid-19 patients. Initially, the tests covered active infections. However, as the Swedish public health authority released information that it is possible to develop a certain amount of immunity after receiving covid-19, the demand for so-called antibody tests increased as well.
“The development was swift, and in a matter of weeks we were able to present a solution and carry out tests and analysis for covid-19 antibodies. iLab had by then already introduced and carried out the very first tests for active infections of covid-19 in Sweden, and through partnership with Svea Vaccin we are now able to further develop our entire testing facility here in Gothenburg”, Dr Simon Pålsson explains.
The road from here
People are being vaccinated but we are not out of the woods yet. The world is still in the middle of combating a pandemic that has struck hard and continues to flare up in many parts of the world. The road from here is to develop more molecular and clinical testing facilities at iLab.
“Our goal is to help combat covid-19 through our offer of adequate, safe and reliable testing facilities, plus our extensive patient test data handling and analysis. Not to mention our role in considering the future opportunities of studying large amounts of accumulated patient data which can possibly be the very means of inventing a cure. We are a key part of this development”, says Dr Pålsson.
The future journey
iLab was established to address the urgent need for covid-19 testing. Further, iLab is currently also developing and carrying out genetic testing.
“Our goal is for iLab to be both research-oriented and to actively develop new tests, and at the same time through our partners perform the tests and analyse the results. iLab will be instrumental in monitoring patient groups to analyse the side effects and consequences of covid-19 for a long time to come. In parallel, we will develop genetic analyses in other areas as well”, concludes Dr Simon Pålsson.