Abstract

This review presents an overview of the current status of the biotechnology sector in the Czech Republic (CR), its future trends and main challenges. CR is the country that laid down the principal laws of heredity, introduced the contact lens to the world and successfully developed the compounds on which current anti-AIDS drugs are based. The history of Czech biotechnology is strongly associated with typical local industries such as beer and wine production. Research institutions focus traditionally on the plant and animal biotechnologies. Recently, biotechnology-related achievements have been oriented preferentially towards nanotechnology, pure biotechnology and human healthcare. The public biotech sector includes, above all, EU programmes. Since 2007, there has been a major investment in large EU-funded research infrastructures outside the Prague region to equalize the competitivness in other regions (Brno, Olomouc) and to complement the existing research institutes. The private sector includes some global companies - Teva Pharmaceutical, Sanofi, Lonza Biotec and Gilead Sciences, among others. The local structure consists almost exclusively of small companies and only several middle-sized companies with a quite high orientation on the inland market. Recently, some clusters were established as platforms for exchanging information on the development of science and technology, identifying synergies and possible collaborations to address critical issues covering the full value chain from R&D to production in the fields of Czech biotech. The big chance for CR biotechnology is the technical crossover with biotech and other sciences, as a possible boost of bioinformatics-driven R&D&I due to very strong ICT in CR.

摘要

这篇综述概述了捷克共和国（CR）生物技术行业的现状，未来趋势和主要挑战。CR是制定了主要遗传法则，向世界介绍隐形眼镜并成功开发出目前抗艾滋病药物所基于的化合物的国家。捷克生物技术的历史与典型的当地工业（如啤酒和葡萄酒生产）紧密相关。传统上，研究机构专注于动植物生物技术。近来，与生物技术有关的成就已优先针对纳米技术，纯生物技术和人类保健。公共生物技术部门首先包括欧盟计划。自2007年以来，在布拉格地区以外，由欧盟资助的大型研究基础设施已经进行了重大投资，以平衡其他地区（布尔诺，奥洛穆克）的竞争力，并补充现有的研究机构。私营部门包括一些全球性公司-Teva Pharmaceutical，Sanofi，Lonza Biotec和Gilead Sciences等。本地结构几乎完全由小型公司组成，只有几个对内陆市场有较高定位的中型公司。最近，建立了一些集群作为平台，以交流有关科学和技术发展的信息，确定协同作用和可能的合作，以解决覆盖捷克生物技术领域从研发​​到生产的整个价值链的关键问题。