Polish biotechnology at an important moment

"Projects from the Vistula River Valley are beginning to be recognized in the world, and the driving force behind this interest is the growing demand for innovative drugs and therapies.

The Polish biotechnology market is worth nearly PLN 15 billion. It is forecasted that by 2027 it will reach a value of over PLN 21.5 billion, which means an average annual dynamics of 9%.

The portfolio of research and development projects carried out by Polish companies is systematically growing. - Until recently, Poland was known as a producer of generic drugs (equivalent to original products, the patent protection of which has already expired or has not been applied for - red). However, now in our country, very promising, innovative projects are being carried out on a global scale - emphasizes Marta Winiarska, president of the Polish Association of Innovative Medical Biotechnology Companies BioInMed. He adds that they relate to such serious diseases as acute myeloid leukemia, gliomas, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and depression.

 On the other hand, Poland suffers from the fact that the domestic innovation support system is largely focused on import, and not export, as is the case with innovation leaders. As a result, we perpetuate the state in which the characteristic of Polish innovation is its reconstruction character. 

Domestic enterprises rather adapt innovative solutions developed in other countries than they are their authors.

- Today, for example, we are witnessing a discussion about an attempt to allocate funds dedicated to innovation for the production of generic drugs, i.e. technologies from 15 years ago - indicates the head of BioInMed. She adds that in order to build a strong economy and international position, the innovation policy should support the development of areas in which Polish companies will be able to gain strategic advantages not only on the local but also on the global market. Such a field is medical biotechnology.

- If we wisely invest in this sector, in the near future we can see the first Polish companies that will offer patients original drugs, thanks to which we will be able to treat incurable diseases. Polish biotechnology is beginning to be noticed in the world. It would be a pity for us to waste this opportunity, sums up Winiarska.

Opportunities and challenges

Biotechnology is a specific industry: difficult and requires a lot of patience. The process of creating drugs takes several or even several dozens years. That is why obtaining financing is such a big challenge. More and more biotechnology companies reach for funds from investors and go public. In Warsaw, we have a total of over twenty representatives of this industry listed, and their total market value is in the order of several billion zlotys. This group includes "veterans" such as the insulin producer Bioton, but also new debutants working on innovative therapies. An example is PolTreg, dealing with autoimmune diseases and being a world pioneer of therapies based on the so-called T-regulatory cells. There is also Captor Therapeutics, specializing in the technology of targeted protein degradation, which is an opportunity for people suffering from diseases (e.g. liver cancer) for which there are currently no effective drugs.

Among the important players in the Polish biotechnology industry we also have, inter alia, Celon Pharma, Ryvu, Mabion, Molecure, Pure Biologics or Selvita.

Investing in biotechnology companies is difficult. You can count on an above-average rate of return, but on the other hand, you have a high risk. A small percentage of the drug candidates tested are reaching the commercialization stage. As a rule, before they reach the market, they go through several phases of research: after the first one, the percentage of successful projects is only 8-10%.

Investments in biotechnology arouse great emotions. This is well illustrated by the valuations on global stock exchanges. Following the pandemic rebound in the markets in spring 2020, valuations of many in the industry soared. There is no trace of this euphoria now."