The Czech Republic Presents the Unique ICRC Project at the Bio 2007 Trade Fair

16 May. 2007 | CzechInvest | The International Clinical Research Centre Brno (ICRC) project, which was presented by Czech specialists in collaboration with their colleagues from Mayo Clinic in the United States, attracted the attention of the expert public and industry at the recent BIO 2007 conference and exhibition in Boston.

Also the National Public Radio (NPR), one of the largest US radio-broadcasters, reported on the presentation.

This year, more than 20,000 people attended BIO 2007, the world’s largest biotechnology exhibition. With the support of the Czech government and its institutions, 13 leading biotechnology firms from the Czech Republic participated in the event. The star attraction, however, was the ICRC project, which is to become the first international centre in the area of medical and biotechnology research. The ICRC is currently the largest European Union's initiatives for 21st-century oriented biotechnology and medical research. The initiative will be based predominantly on collaboration between Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota, USA) and the Czech and European specialists.

Tomas Kara, Executive Director of the International Clinical Research Centre, and Virend Somers, Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester and ICRC Brno International Director, familiarized the public with these plans. The novel concept of the ICRC will accelerate the entire research process up to 50 percent and will also increase the efficiency and cost/benefit ratio of research projects. Simultaneously, the ICRC platform may join intellectual and financial sources of the US and the European Union allowing to design and perform research projects in global scale. The high flexibility of the ICRC concept supports the establishment of close collaboration between academic institutions and industry by respecting the highest safety criteria as required by the US and EU regulatory agencies.

Part of presentation at BIO 2007 also focused on introduction of the largest European Union biotech cluster that will be established in Brno, Czech Republic in close collaboration with the new Basic Sciences Laboratory Center of Masaryk University, new Animal Research Center located at School of Veterinary Medicine in Brno, the ICRC and the Central European Technological Institute which will also be based in Brno. The total budget for this new Brno biotech cluster is almost USD 1 billion.

“I consider the positive acceptance of the ICRC project by the experts from industry and academic sphere, which confirms its clear growth potential, as a great success. The ICRC will have a positive impact on the development of biotechnologies throughout the Czech Republic,” says Radomil Novak, Director, U.S. Operations-West, CzechInvest.

There are approximately 70 biotech and pharmaceutical companies operating in the Czech Republic, with prevailing interest in the field of medicine. A substantial number of these companies cooperate closely with significant pharmaceutical firms that are conveniently positioned in the Czech market. Several biotechnology companies in the Czech Republic offer environmental protection services and specialize in waste management, decontamination, sanitation and re-cultivation of land and water.