Romania – A Biotech Hub of Central and Eastern Europe by 2020

Romania could hold a favorable ecosystem for research – development (R&D) in biotechnology, based on a predictable investment framework.

“This can be possible by offering tax breaks for investors in this field by encouraging start-ups using the amounts granted from the Fund for Innovation and by developing ‘Biotech Hubs’ in major academic centers that can become innovation accelerators. These were the conclusions following the first annual biotechnology conference in Romania “RoBio 2020. Romania – A Biotech Hub of Central and Eastern Europe by 2020”, a press release informs, organized recently by InvestRomania and Local American Working Group (LAWG).

On this occasion, State Secretary InvestRomania, Manuel Costescu (photo), noted that Romania has turned from a country sought by investors for cheap work force, into a suitable destination for strategic investments in innovation in various fields.

“Students, the future employees, are well-trained. Romania is in the top 10 countries with the best results in maths or IT competitions. 90 percent of students are fluent in English, 26 percent – in French, 17 percent – in Spanish. Romania offers investors a highly developed IT infrastructure, collects lower fees compared to other European countries and also offers state aids to encourage investment. Romania needs innovation in IT, in medicine, and it’s important to unite all our forces to proactively draw foreign investment in all these areas,” Costescu stated.

In his turn, Gábor Sztaniszláv, board member of LAWG and CEO Amgen Romania, stressed that companies see in Romania an emerging market and want to invest in IT in medicine.

“It’s essential that the business environment to become a transparent one, favorable to such investments. There are imposed to pharmaceutical companies, in particular, several regulations on pricing policy, clawback, slowing patients’ access to medical innovation, things which discourage investment. The authorities must help create a transparent and predictable business environment that will attract long-term investment and will lead to the development of the Romanian market,” Sztaniszláv commented.

The conference is part of a series of events organized within InvestRomania’s “The month and the industry” project aiming at promoting and increasing the visibility of priority industries for this year: ICT, automotive, aerospace, bio-economy, agriculture and creative industries. June is dedicated to bio-economy.