바이오인

 

 

This year’s “BioSpain08” conference in Granada exposed the Spanish biotech industry for what it is-an industry that began way behind the ing line, but is showing evidence of growing and flourishing. Genoma Espana (the Spanish Foundation for the Development of Genomic and Proteomic Research) estimates that Spain is the fourth largest country in the EU-15.

 

According to Cristina Garmendia, the minister for science and innovation, Spain is enjoying growth of over 25% a year in the biotech sector in terms of job creation, attracting investment, and increase in sales and exports.

 

This increase in activity is due largely to Spanish government investments via its Ministry of Education and Science and Ministry of Health and Consumers.

 

By increasing subsidies for R&D and scientific infrastructure by over 200% from 2000?2006 and spending more than one billion euros a year since 2006, many biotech companies have been encouraged to spin off from government institutions and large Spanish pharma companies.

 

To sustain this growth, the Spanish government has put in place the Ingenio 2010 Program, an initiative involving government departments, universities, and other research agencies to ensure that by 2010, Spain is spending 3% of its GDP on R&D, which will indirectly benefit its biotech industry.

 

The investment in infrastructure in the past decade has resulted in a number of bioparks springing up all over the country, with some of Spain’s most promising biotechs being housed at the Parc Cientific de Barcelona, Parc de Recerca Biomedica de Barcelona, or Parque Tecnologico Madrid. There are also good networking groups such as BioMadrid, (the Association of Biotechnology Companies of the region of Madrid), and Biocat (BioRegio de Catalunya) serving companies in Barcelona and the Catalonia region...계속