바이오인

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY 4

VISION 10

1. INTRODUCTION 11

2. STRATEGY OBJECTIVES 14

3. GLOBAL TRENDS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY 17

4. ESTONIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY SITUATION 21

  4.1. AREAS ASSOCIATED WITH BIOTECHNOLOGY 29
  MATERIALS SCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY 29
  IT 30
  MEDICINE 30
  FOOD INDUSTRY AND AGRICULTURE 31
  ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 32
 

  4.2. QUALITY OF RESEARCH AND HUMAN RESOURCES IN ESTONIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY
  SECTOR 33
  PROBLEMS 37
  MEASURES 38
 

  4.3. ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN ESTONIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTOR 40
  PROBLEMS 47
  MEASURES 47
 

 4.4. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND REGULATIONS 49
  INFRASTRUCTURE 49
  LEGAL REGULATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN ESTONIA 49
  POLICY ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMO) 50
  ETHICS COMMITTEES 51
  PROBLEMS 55
  MEASURES 55
 

 4.5. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS 57
  REFERENCES 66
  ANNEX 1 68
  ANNEX 2 69
  ANNEX 3 70

 

 

Biotechnology is the fastest growing industry in the world. By the year 2005, more than 4100 companies of the industry employed over 5 million people, marketed more than 100 genetically engineered drugs, the annual turnover growth of the sector had been at  the level of 15% for several years, and the expenditures on research and development exceeded 34% of the total turnover of the sector. Biotechnology as a separate business area has been eveloped by such multinational corporations as AmGen, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, etc (Ernst & Young, 2006; Burrill & Co, 2006).

Estonia’s level of investment in biotechnology could never compete with that of the USA, the leading Western-European nations or the Nordic countries. Furthermore, Estonia’s biotechnology sector is still in an incubation phase and it will take, on average, 20 years for a sector to grow into a fully developed state. Therefore, as a rule, we will not be able to compete with the large countries in terms of development of fundamental technologies or creating new branches of industry. However, Estonia is able and needs to become an active user of the biotechnologies developed elsewhere, thereby participating in the development of biotechnology, and sharing in the resulting economic benefits in much the same way as it did with the information technology during the last decade.

The Estonian Research and Development and Innovation Strategy ‘Knowledge-based Estonia 2007-2013’, which was approved by the parliament on 7th February 2007, envisages establishment of public research and development programs in key technology sectors, including the creation of a biotechnology development program. The ultimate purpose of this strategy is to provide input for that program, serving as an advisory document for the Estonian parliament, government and the local municipalities on how they could efficiently support the Estonian biotechnology sector and how the sector itself could contribute to the future development.

Our vision is that by the year 2013, Estonian biotechnology will have passed the incubation phase and will have become Estonia’s fastest-growing sector with an annual turnover of at least 1.3bn Estonian kroons. The development of the biotechnology sector and the broad utilisation of its results in traditional branches of economy will help to increase the global competitive position of the entire Baltic Sea region. As the region is at the forefront of biotechnology development, international companies will direct tncreasing flows of investment to the Nordic countries, including Estonia.