Current state and prospects of biotechnology in Central and Eastern European countries. Part I: Visegrad countries (CZ, H, PL, SK)

Abstract

Innovation is a key determinant of sustainable growth. Biotechnology (BT) is one such industry that has witnessed a revolution in innovative ideas leading to the founding of many new companies based on providing products, solutions and services, stretching from the food industry to environmental remediation, and new medicines. BT holds much promise for the development of national and local economies, however, this requires a strategic approach involving actors within government, industry, and academia working in concert to maximize this potential. This first article reviews the current “state of play” in the field of BT within the Central Eastern European (CEE) countries. For the purposes of this article, CEE refers to the countries of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia (the so-called Visegrad – V4 countries). We examine the components that support the creation and development of a BT sector in CEE and also highlight the barriers to these objectives. Clearly setting priorities for the countries’ policy agenda, as well as the alignment of Smart Specialization Strategy will help to focus efforts. Recent investments in R&D infrastructure within CEE have been substantial, but conditions will need to be optimized to harness these largely European investments for effective use towards SME high-tech development.

Keywords:

• Biotechnology (BT)
• Central Eastern Europe (CEE)
• Visegrad countries (V4)
• Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3)
• higher education
• public financing science
• venture capital

Acknowledgments

This paper was prepared as a follow-up of the JRC-EC–ICGEB–CEI European Workshop “Smart Specialization Strategy in the field of Biotechnologies in Europe: A Challenge for Central and Eastern Europe Countries” which was organized in Bratislava, Slovakia in September 2017 by University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovakia. Therefore, the support of international organizations, namely JRC-EC, ICGEB, and CEI to the workshop is acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Agentúra na Podporu Výskumu a Vývoja. This work was also supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency grants APVV-14–0294, APVV-14-0393, APVV-15-0111, APVV-16-0088, and APVV-17-0239.