“Darnitsa” took part in the Ideaton by the Ministry of Health on the creation of a biocluster in Ukraine

Pharmaceutical company “Darnitsa” took part in the Ideaton on the topic “Creation of biocluster for medical biotechnology development in Ukraine”, which was held on December 17‑18 in Kyiv Innovation Park UNIT.City. Viktor Liashko, Head of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, as well as Yulia Sokolovska, Deputy Head of the Office of the President, joined the event, which was initiated by the Ministry of Health.

The competition for ideas united representatives of government agencies, scientific institutions, pharmaceutical companies and start-ups in the field of biotechnology. Its aim was to determine whether it is possible to create the biocluster in Ukraine similar to leading foreign projects, and to formulate the main principles of its functioning.

“We want to know what is needed for the development of biotechnology, and to create an ecosystem favorable to innovation, where we can test a scientific idea, find like-minded people, conduct researches, laboratory experiments and, most importantly, launch the developments on the market,” said Viktor Liashko. – The biocluster could become a platform for research and testing, which our scientists are currently lacking.”

The establishment of bioclusters, groups of interconnected medical, pharmaceutical companies and scientific institutions engaged in the development and implementation of biotechnological innovations, is a successful international practice. Therefore, Ideaton participants held a teleconference with colleagues from Estonia, Greece and other countries in order to explore foreign experience.

“We hope that it is just the first step towards a successful dialogue between the state, business and scientists. Certainly, there are still many questions that need to be answered, but the initiative is very promising at present,” said Yevgeniy Cherkass, Chief Operating Officer of the pharmaceutical company “Darnitsa”.

As representatives of the Ministry of Health noted, the work on important diagnostic tools is currently ongoing in Ukraine. In particular, we are talking about the detection of brucellosis, antibodies to measles virus by the ELISA method, antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi in blood serum or human blood plasma, variations of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and viruses of the Orthohantavirus genus based on PCR method. Working as participants of the biocluster, domestic specialists could more effectively share experiences and more quickly meet such and similar needs of the Ukrainian healthcare system. It would also greatly facilitate the process of finding solutions to global problems, such as the development of effective and safe means of fighting the new “Omicron" strain of coronavirus.

Reference

PJSC Pharmaceutical Company “Darnitsa” was founded in 1930. Since 1998, “Darnitsa” has been Ukraine’s leader in the production of medicines in volume terms. The strategic areas of portfolio development are cardiology, neurology and pain management. During 2015-2020, “Darnitsa” has launched 50 pharmaceutical brands on the market.