 | Box 2
Nature Biotechnology
20, 437 - 440 (2002)
doi:10.1038/nbt0502-437
Finnish biotechnology—built on solid foundationsRiku Lähteenmäki | | | 
| Finland's biotechnology clusters
Helsinki: Genes and molecular biology
The University of Helsinki is the largest in Finland and has a long
tradition of research in the natural sciences, in particular cancer biology,
molecular neuroscience, plant molecular biology, and structural virology. The
University is now the epicenter of a burgeoning biotech cluster.
In 1995, a new Biocenter building was built just outside the city to
facilitate biomedical research. Next to the Biocenter buildings is a
4,000-square-meter business incubator administrated by the Helsinki Science
Park, and a new 13,000-square-meter incubator building is under construction.
Kai Falck, managing director of the Helsinki Science Park, says: "We had
four companies in the science park in 1996, and there are now 40. Thirty of
them originated from the University of Helsinki." The companies employ
around 300 people, and there are 2,000 researchers and technical staff in
neighboring institutions. According to Falck, the incubator buildings are owned
by both public institutions and private investors. Helsinki Science Park also
provides assistance in patenting and licensing, business management,
international marketing, finance, and training in entrepreneurship. There is an
emphasis on education about the development of GMP (Good Manufacturing
Processes) and GLP (Good Laboratory Processes) laboratory quality systems for
researchers commercializing biotechnology innovations.
Tampere: Health technology
Biotechnology in the Tampere region is concentrated in the Finn-Medi
Technology Center, which encompasses the Faculty of Medicine of Tampere
University, the Institute of Medical Technology (IMT), biomedical research
units of the Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Clinical Trial Centre,
and several other medical research and education institutions.
More than 1,000 of the 12,000 people who work in the Finn-Medi
Technology Centre specialize in biotechnology and medical technology. The
Technology Center has facilitated the launch of around 40 health technology and
biotechnology companies, including Bionx Implants and FIT Biotech. Tampere's
strength has been to combine different biomedical disciplines to develop, for
example, novel bioactive implants, says Matti Eskola, managing director of
Finn-Medi Research. Eskola expects new biomaterials companies to emerge in the
near future.
On the Finn-Medi site, an 8,000-square-meter premises is under
construction, with private investors' money, in addition to the existing
25,000-square-meter science park. Other plans for the development of Finn-Medi
include establishing a hospital for fitting prosthesis, a tissue bank, a
laboratory for motion research, and a center for tissue engineering. In 2001,
IMT, Tampere University of Technology and the Faculty of Medicine jointly
launched a new master of sciences program in biomedical research and
biotechnology, which focuses on bioinformatics and tissue engineering.
Kuopio: Agricultural biotechnology and pharmaceutical
development
The development of the Kuopio region arose out of the University of
Kuopio's expertise in human health and the environment. Research at the A.I.
Virtanen Institute—named after Artturi Virtanen, who won a Nobel prize
for his animal fodder preservation technology—has gained worldwide
recognition in the fields of animal and plant biotechnology, molecular
medicine, neurosciences, drug design, and food biotechnology.
When healthcare technology is included, the Kuopio region can boast
of 58 life science companies, employing 800 people out of the 3,000 in the
region working in biomedical fields.
The 15,000-square-meter Bioteknia buildings house biotechnology
companies, research units, and a state-of-the-art biotechnology production unit
with GMP-grade animal cell and microbial bioreactor laboratories. Mediteknia is
a new 8,000-square-meter research center, which will be financed mainly by the
government, the European Union, and the city of Kuopio at a cost of  14
million. The Center will comprise a Drug Research and Development Centre, a
Clinical Research Centre, and a Food and Health Research Centre. Mediteknia is
projected to increase collaboration between the university drug research groups
and the pharmaceutical industry and to transfer new products and technologies
to the private sector. Kuopio's objective is to combine R&D on human
health, nutrition, and the environment, covering the entire food chain from
"farm to fork," as well as the drug development process from target
identification to clinical research.
Oulu: Molecular and cellular biology
Founded in 1986, Biocenter Oulu was Finland's first biotechnology
research institute. The Biocenter is a virtual organization, networking the
bioscience, medicine, and process technology faculties of the University of
Oulu. Biocenter Oulu has been used as a model unit for the Finnish Centre of
Excellence Programme, and has spun out more than ten biotechnology companies,
many originating from local collagen research. According to Saara Lampelo, CEO
of the local biomedical business incubator Medipolis, the Biocenter's strength
is its infrastructure—a pilot manufacturing plant built to GLP standards
by the city of Oulu for around 10 million—which allows researchers
to painlessly move research into production. Next to the pilot factory is Oulu
University Hospital, and the Medipolis incubator building, currently hosting
some 40 companies. Despite its northern location, Oulu has been able to draw
international experts—as a result, Lampelo claims, of its active
recruitment policy.
Turku: Pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and biomaterials
Around half of Finland's pharmaceutical and diagnostics companies
are located in Turku, and around 300 patented inventions in pharmaceuticals and
diagnostics have originated from the Turku region. The BioTurku community
consists of three universities, a polytechnic, some 30 biotechnology companies,
and more than 600 bioscience researchers. The BioCity and PharmaCity buildings,
which are located close to the university campuses and the Turku University
Hospital, have a total 55,000 square meters of floor space and house, in
addition to the biotechnology companies, the Centre for Biotechnology, Centre
for Biomaterials, the pharmaceutical biotechnology unit of the Technical
Research Centre of Finland, the Functional Foods Forum, a business incubator,
and other service organizations. According to Tapio Hurme, manager of the
incubator, the aim is to launch 50 new biotechnology companies by the year
2010. The city of Turku has invested 14 million and has zoned 113,000
square meters to permit the construction of biotechnology production facilities
in the nearby Turku BioValley area. RL
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