Entrepreneur and inventor Björn Gysell and his family have donated a total of SEK 80 million to support prostate cancer research at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The funding represents one of the largest private investments in prostate cancer research in the country and will help researchers develop next-generation diagnostics and treatments using artificial intelligence, genomics, and precision medicine.
Gysell’s interest in prostate cancer research became deeply personal after he was diagnosed with localised prostate cancer. Drawing on his background as an engineer and inventor, he began studying international research developments in immunotherapy, gene therapy, AI, and advanced genetic diagnostics. His search led him to Professor Henrik Grönberg and a leading prostate cancer research group at Karolinska Institutet.
The research group at Karolinska Institutet includes around 60 researchers, doctors, statisticians, bioinformaticians, and AI specialists from 17 countries. Over the past two decades, the team has developed some of the world’s largest prostate cancer databases and biobanks and has led major international studies on early diagnosis, genetic risk assessment, and precision medicine.
The donation will allow the team to accelerate research that may otherwise have taken many years to complete. Professor Grönberg said the support gives researchers the resources needed to pursue long-term and ambitious projects with the potential to transform prostate cancer care for future generations.
A key focus of the research will be using AI and advanced genetic analysis to understand why some patients respond exceptionally well to treatment while others do not. Researchers will study patients with metastatic prostate cancer who have experienced unusually long-lasting benefits from modern drugs, with the goal of identifying biological mechanisms that could guide future precision medicine strategies.
The team will also analyse large volumes of genetic data from earlier clinical studies to identify new biological markers. These markers could help doctors choose the most suitable treatment for each individual patient, improving the chances of effective care and reducing uncertainty in treatment decisions.
Part of the SEK 80 million donation includes SEK 30 million for research led by Professor Samir EL Andaloussi and researcher Joel Nordin at Karolinska Institutet’s Department of Laboratory Medicine. Their work focuses on advanced prostate cancer therapies using target-seeking antibodies and genetically modified immune cells designed to improve treatment precision and effectiveness for patients with advanced disease.
The investment comes at a time when prostate cancer remains one of the most common cancers among men in Sweden. Around 10,000 men are diagnosed each year, and despite major progress in detection and treatment, the disease still causes about 2,000 deaths annually.
Researchers believe AI will become central to more personalised cancer care by combining genetic data, imaging, tissue analysis, and clinical information. This integrated approach could help identify which patients need more aggressive treatment, which therapies are most likely to work, and how care can be tailored more precisely to each patient’s cancer profile.
For Björn Gysell, the donation is an investment in the future of cancer care. He hopes the research will not only help him but also thousands of other men facing prostate cancer. The initiative reflects growing confidence that the combination of AI, genetics, and medical research can lead to better, more personalised, and potentially curative treatments for prostate cancer.
