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Biotech in the New EU Member States: An Emerging Sector

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Until now, biotechnology data gathering initiatives in Europe have tended to focus on the most developed biotechnology industries, with limited attention given to life science companies in the 12 new Member States and 2 candidate countries. The 14allbio (InDeCS-H) report aims to fill that information gap.

Tools to Asses Biotechnology Development

The goal of this report was to measure the development of biotechnology in the new Member States and candidate countries. This was achieved through establishment and calculation of a Development Capacity Index (DCI). The Index uses both quantitative factors, such as the number of biotechnology companies present and the number of products in the pipeline, and qualitative parameters, such as the level of government support and infrastructure development. Along with calculation of the DCI, reports containing a more thorough analysis were produced for all countries, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the industry. The national reports focus on the wide range of economic situations, industry infrastructures, regulatory frameworks, and government involvement in R&D and biotechnology.

Policy Recommendations Document

For the purpose of policy recommendation at the national and EU level, countries were divided into four groups based on the level of development determined from the collected data. Focus points included the existing skill and knowledge base, presence of support structures for biotechnology and SMEs, available funding opportunities as well as intellectual property and technology transfer development. Recommendations were discussed and reviewed during the workshops that took place in Budapest, Vilnius, Prague and Brussels in
September 2009 and a separate document was issued.

State of the Biotechnology Industry in the 14 New Member States and Candidate Countries

This study identified 260 biotechnology companies currently operating in the 14 new Member States and candidate countries. The biotechnology sector in these 14 countries is smaller and less developed than that of their Western European neighbours; however, some countries such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, followed closely by Estonia, are leading the group and are already on par with some Western European countries. These 4 countries report the highest numbers of biotechnology companies and the most developed
biotechnology sectors among the 14 countries analysed.

Key Features

A moderately developed biotechnology sector, with well balanced support structures and political programmes for SMEs and biotechnology, already exists in several countries with a relatively high number of active companies.  The development of R&D and the biotechnology sector has been declared as a national priority by most of the countries but this has not always been put into practice. The financial crisis, among other reasons, has resulted in a shift of political focus away from biotechnology. There is an overall lack of awareness and information on available resources both at EU and national levels, and in some cases funding opportunities are rather scarce. Although there is a strong research base, the majority of R&D is conducted at universities and institutes and collaboration with industry is often rather limited. One of the main challenges for the biotechnology sector is to turn innovation into products as the environment for product commercialization is not always favourable.
Awareness of, and interest in, IP protection rights and the patenting process is often low and education and effective technology transfer offices are needed to stimulate commercialization of ideas.

Around 70% of the biotech companies in the 14 Member States and candidate countries operate as services firms with a large portion performing contract research and manufacturing. Whilst product development achievements are currently not very visible, many of the countries are at various phases of establishing the framework and infrastructure necessary for the future successful development of the biotechnology sector.

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