Biotech research to start at ČKD Prague in august

From September this year reagents for biotechnology research will be produced by A2Z Bio, the Czech subsidiary of the British firm Yorkshire Bioscience, at the ČKD Prague Technological Innovation Centre. A2Z Bio specialises in the production of reagents necessary for research in the areas of immunology and molecular biology. The company’s clients are private and academic laboratories involved in diagnosing genetic disorders, DNA cloning, gene sequencing, etc. “In addition, we will also offer our clients the opportunity to outsource their research or parts of their research to us in the case that they do not have the necessary technologies, time or expertise,” explains Slava Pavlovets, director of A2Z Bio.

“A2Z Bio is a young firm that cannot allow its expansion to continental Europe to fail. We are thus very pleased that it has chosen the Czech Republic. This illustrates the strong position we are building for ourselves in this sector on the global level,” says Alexandra Rudyšarová, acting CEO of CzechInvest. “Biotechnology has a very promising future in the Czech Republic. The sector will be shaped primarily by smaller firms that nevertheless can offer leading technologies and unique know-how.”

A2Z Bio plans to employ five or six researchers this year plus a few administrative workers and is preparing to invest approximately EUR 100,000 in the launch of its Czech operation. The company expects its income in the first year to be two and a half times this investment. “This is not just a one-off investment; our expansion to the Czech Republic is a long-term undertaking that is absolutely necessary for our firm. As such, we will invest much more in the Czech Republic,” adds Pavlovets.

A2Z Bio had good reasons to select the Czech Republic. “We are a biotechnology firm and in this sector it often happens that a customer calls one day and expects to have the ordered reagents the next, so we needed an efficient connection to the whole of Europe. Our choices came down to southern Germany and the Czech Republic. In the end we decided for the Czech Republic because we will get much higher quality here for the same price,” explain Pavlovets.

Interestingly, the current global economic downturn was one of the reasons for the company’s expansion to the Czech Republic. “When our customers find out that we are based in Great Britain, they immediately assume that we are overpriced and call our competitors just to see if their assumption was right. Of course, they are looking for a more affordable solution and particularly among our clients in Central and Eastern Europe, Great Britain is an invisible yet strong barrier. From Prague we will be able to reach a much broader range of customers,” adds Pavlovets.

Last year CzechInvest mediated nine biotechnology and pharmaceutical projects worth a total CZK 1.5 billion, including the modernisation of drugs production at the Opava-based firm IVAX at a cost of CZK 1 billion, making it the fourth largest investment of 2008.

More about A2Z Bio

A2Z Bio is the Czech subsidiary of the British company Yorkshire Bioscience, which was established in 2003. Headquartered at the York Science and Technology Park, the company specialises in producing and supplying reagents used in research and also conducts research for customers in the biotechnology sector in the UK and throughout the world. Yorkshire Bioscience cooperates intensively with universities and helps students gain work experience. More information is available at www.york-bio.com.