Most significant Investor of the Year – Investment with the Greatest Innovation Potential

23 Jun. 2009 | CzechInvest, AFI | CPN, a member of the Contipro Group, took the top honours in the category Investment with the Greatest Innovation Potential. The company synthesises hyaluronic acid, which is used in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and produces wound-healing preparations and other products. CPN focuses on nano-biotechnological research in the medical field. The company began expansion of its laboratories in 2008.

“We will research and develop preparations for tissue engineering, wound-healing and for targeted distribution and controlled release of drugs, because that is where the future of medicine lies. Currently we employ 50 people in development; the expanded centre will need another 12 to 15 researchers,” explains Vladimír Velebný, director of CPN.

“Our core business is currently production of hyaluronic acid for the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. However, this product will eventually be discontinued and we need to have a portfolio of our own products that we can introduce to the market. And we can have our own products only if we invest in research and development,” explains Velebný.

CPN is headquartered in Dolní Dobrouč, near Ústí nad Orlicí. “I believe that it isn’t necessary to build research centres in or near big cities. In my opinion, that rather brings about complications. Firstly, it can lead to the abandonment of regional cities in the republic and, secondly, it is needlessly expensive. For what we paid to build a complete laboratory here, we practically couldn’t build anything in the Prague area,” Velebný adds.

The first Contipro company was established in 1990. “I had previously worked at the medical faculty and it rather bothered me that they compiled research reports and wrote publications, and everything ended everything ended up in a drawer somewhere gathering dust and nobody took any interest in it. And my motivation was to bring what I was researching to market in order to help people,”Velebný adds.

Second place in the category Investment with the Greatest Innovation Potential was awarded to Witte Nejdek for the expansion of its technology centre, which since the firm’s establishment has grown from the original eight designers to the current twenty. Witte Nejdek produces and develops lock and security systems for automobiles and is one of the biggest employers in its region.

Third prize in the category Investment with the Greatest Innovation Potential went to COMTES FHT, which focuses on applied materials research. The company provides detailed material analysis, numeric simulation of processes, proposal of technologies and production of prototypes. In 2008 the company decided to substantially expand its development facilities with an investment focused on, for example, equipping the electron-microscopy laboratory. COMTES FHT employs forty people.