Czech Republic among the new EU member states elite in biotech

29 Sep. 2009 | CzechInvest, CzechBio | EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries, and Venture Valuation, with the collaboration of CzechBio and the South Moravian Innovation Centre published a ground-breaking report “Biotech in the new EU Member States: an emerging sector”, evaluating the biotech industry across the 12 newest EU Member State, as well as Turkey and Croatia.

The report identifies 260 biotechnology companies across 14 countries; and addresses the opportunities and challenges particular to each national situation. Four countries in particular, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Estonia, report the highest numbers of biotechnology companies and were the most developed biotechnology sectors among the 14 countries analysed. One of the main challenges for the sector highlighted in the report is how to turn innovation into products when there is little guidance and support.

“Despite the political will to develop R&D as a national priority and government interest in biotechnology, concrete policies are not always put into practice.” said Patrik Frei, CEO of Venture Valuation and co-author of the report. He continued, “Setting up a coherent and consistent framework with support dedicated to the biotechnology and healthcare sectors is the key to long-term success for the industry.”

“Capacity building on intellectual property rights and patenting, as well as effective technology transfer offices are needed to stimulate commercialisation, “ said Willy De Greef, Secretary General of EuropaBio and co-author of the report. “While achievements of the sector are not yet visible in terms of products on the market, it is important to acknowledge that a solid foundation is emerging in these countries to bring about future successful developments of the biotechnology sector.”

In addition to the report, recommendations to the EU and national governments were formulated during workshops in Budapest, Prague and Vilnius, to improve the policy environment for biotechnology companies.