Pharmaceutical Technologist - January 2008 - (Page 22)

Sutton mentorship, and a gateway to a network of support functions such as seed and venture financing programmes, accounting, intellectual property and other legislative issues. As well as these national projects, Croatia is an active participant in different EU programmes including; the Sixth Framework Programme, which focuses on science, R&D and innovations; and the trans-European mobility scheme for university studies (Tempus), which was created to support the processes of higher education reform in countries in Central and Eastern Europe. • Tax and custom benefits. • Support for the opening of new workplaces. • Support for training and retraining of employees. • Grants for R&D high technology equipment. A project manger can also be assigned who will be able to offer detailed information on all aspects of Croatia’s economic and legal investment environments. 9. U.S. Commercial Service www.buyusa.gov 10.Institute of Immunology www.imz.hr 11.Varazdin Park www.varazdinpark.com 12.Business Innovation Centre of Croatia www.bicro.hr 13.Sixth Framework Programme http://ec.europa.eu 14.Trans-European mobility Scheme for University Studies http://ec.europa.eu 15.Republic of Croatia Trade and Investment Promotion Agency www.apiu.hr Potential One of the biggest challenges for pharmaceutical companies is country awareness. Many people know very little about the country and when asked about it they think of it as tourist attraction or they remember a war. The pharmaceutical market is also relatively unknown, but it continues to grow — imports have increased to more than €13.6 billion and 90% of Croatian exports enter the European market.9 The country is also rapidly modernizing and continuously expanding its highways and airlinks to improve its distribution networks. With Pliva demonstrating how successful a company based in Croatia can be, the country could well be one to keep an eye on in the next few years. PT Future growth Croatia offers numerous opportunities for investors. Biotechnology, one of the fastest growing and most profitable industries in the world, is in a process of development within the country, and there is huge potential for future growth, capacity building and the application of biotechnology in different industries. The country’s most successful economic sectors are pharmaceutical, chemical, agriculture, and food and beverage — all of which could make use of biotechnology. The pharmaceutical sector could particularly make use of red biotechnology in drug development, validation and biologics, while the country’s favourable climate, low pollution levels and 3.15 million hectares of agricultural land means there is great potential for R&D and commercialization of medical herbs. Also, the Croatian chemical and energy industries are already well-established and form a strong base for future development, and the application of biotechnology in the production of biofuels and energy. There is also potential for white biotechnology to be used in projects related to waste and water treatment. To encourage investors, the government has introduced numerous incentives that can be used by foreign and domestic companies investing at least €300000. These include: Stephanie Sutton is assistant editor of Pharmaceutical Technologist. References and Bibliography 1. “Pliva’s Values.” www.pliva.com 2. “FDA, Pharmaceutical cGMPs for the 21st Century — A Risk-Based Approach,” (2004). www.fda.gov 3. Business Monitor International, The Croatia Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Report,” (2006). www.businessmonitor.com 4. www.palexpo.ch 5. Europa, “Screening Report — Croatia,” (2006). http://ec.europa.eu 6. Belupo www.belupo.hr 7. Jadran Galenski Laboratorij www.jgl.hr 8. Republic of Croatia ministry of science, education and sports, “Science and Technology Policy of the Republic of Croatia 2006–2010.” www.hatz.hr 22 JANUARY 2008 PHARMACEUTICAL TECHNOLOGIST http://www.buyusa.gov http://www.imz.hr http://www.varazdinpark.com http://www.bicro.hr http://ec.europa.eu http://ec.europa.eu http://www.apiu.hr http://www.pliva.com http://www.fda.gov http://www.businessmonitor.com http://www.palexpo.ch http://ec.europa.eu http://www.belupo.hr http://www.jgl.hr http://www.hatz.hr

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmaceutical Technologist - January 2008

Pharmaceutical Technologist - January 2008
Contents
Editor's Comment
News
Morpheus
Market Watch
Lagging Japanese Drug R&D
Croatia’s Innovation
Integrating PAT with Biopharmaceutical Development and Manufacture
Q&A

Pharmaceutical Technologist - January 2008