Lipetsk announces biotech cluster development

The Lipetsk region in Central Russia has announced plans to use a number of local companies as the core for its prospective biotech production cluster.

The Lipetsk region in Central Russia has plans to use a number of local companies as the core for its prospective biotech production cluster, the Abireg business information agency reported last week, citing Vladimir Lavrentyev, the regional minister of innovation and industrial policy. The select ones to form the nucleus of the future cluster reportedly include Dankovskiye Pallety, a local fuel pellet maker; Rapharma, a Russo-Czech JV manufacturing antibiotics and antitumor drugs; and East Agro Don. The latter?s new factory to produce inulin, fruit saccharides and earth apple (helianthus tuberosus) based fruit syrups has not broken ground yet; however, the region expects it to come fully on-line by the end of next year already. ?We will link these companies up to regional science and academia for a continuous flow of new skilled specialists,? Mr...