Norway gives medtech innovators a fast track to clinical trials
Page date: published 17 September 2026; 5 min read (as rendered).
The article describes NorTrials as a public-private network established following Norway’s 2021 National Action Plan for Clinical Trials. It provides one entry point for companies seeking clinical testing in Norwegian hospitals, matches them with suitable clinical research groups and facilitates initial contact. The site says its medical-device centre has received over 100 inquiries since 2022. Six centres are hosted at university hospitals: five for drug studies in cancer, gastrointestinal disease, inflammation, cardiovascular disease and brain health, plus a medical-device centre at St. Olav’s Hospital in Trondheim. The article says trials follow relevant EU medical-device and clinical-trial regulations and international standards.
Examples include a student drone project that began transporting blood samples between hospitals in 2022 and grew into a transport company; Trondheim’s longstanding ultrasound and surgical-navigation collaboration among St. Olav’s, NTNU and SINTEF; and NorTrials-supported work with Medtronic. A feasibility portal routes company inquiries to candidate centres and clinical teams. The article also describes neurosurgical infrastructure at St. Olav’s and Oslo University Hospital’s Intervention Centre, including intraoperative imaging and interconnected operating rooms.
NorTrials staff describe the matching process as finding both a clinic with the right patient group and a clinician interested in the technology. The article emphasizes that approval requires documentation of device performance, standards compliance and acceptable risk. It presents Norway’s health registries, hospitals and clinician network as advantages for trials. These are descriptions and claims from the source page, not independent assessments.
Contact: Rasmus Malmborg, Investment Manager, Health and life science, Oslo; rasmus.malmborg@innovasjonnorge.no (phone available through the page’s reveal control). Related link: Health and life science.