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OVERVIEW: BIOTECHNOLOGY IN ESTONIA INTERVIEW: A NEW HIV VACCINE HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN CLINICAL TRIALS ECONOMY: SKILLS IMPROVE MORE QUICKLY THAN THE COST OF LABOR C 0 N T E N T S BIOTECHNOLOGY ECONOMY THE WELLCOME TRUST: ESTONIAN SKILLS IMPROVE MORE QUICKLY 4 RESEARCHERS ARE SUCCESSFUL 17THAN THE COST OF LABOR Three questions for Mary Phillips, The Wellcome Trust The Elcoteq Tallinn electronics factory was the prize-winner Scientific Programme manager. Four Estonian scientists in the first Estonian quality competition in 2002. were awarded senior research fellowships. ESTONIAN PROGRAMMERS OVERVIEW: BIOTECHNOLOGY 18 OFFER SERVICES ALL OVER EUROPE 6 IN ESTONIA By Rain Eensaar Estonia takes second place in the world in internet banking developments and eighth place in practical application of e-services. SCANDINAVIAN QUALITY 20 AT A LOW BALTIC PRICE The UPM- Kymmene sells plywood produced at Otepää under WISA trademark troughout Europe. FOREIGN INVESTORS 20 SECOND ROUND IN ESTONIA Interview with Andrus Viirg, the head of the state agency responsible for attracting foreign investments. Stories by Taivo Paju PHENOMENA GRAND PIANO ESTONIA 22 SALES HIT IN USA More than 80 % of production of Estonia Piano Factory is INTERVIEW exported to the US. By Andres Aarma A NEW HIV VACCINE HAS BEEN 14 SUCCESSFUL IN CLINICAL TRIALS CULTURE The vaccine is based on a new concept. 900 OLD Interview with the creator of the new vaccine, 24 BELIEVERS Professor Mart Ustav. By Õnne Pärl PRESERVE THEIR TRADITIONS AND CULTURE ESTONIAS GENE DATABASE The biggest concentration 8 A “CRAZY IDEA” BECOMES A REALITY of Russian Old Believers is to Project for the future – the objective of the Estonian Genome be found in Peipsiääre Project is to establish a database of health and genetic data district, Estonia. By Hannes of the people of Estonia. By Õnne Pärl Tamme QUATTROMED AND ASPER BIOTECH 12 Success stories of two Estonian CONTACT biotechnology companies. By Tiit Efert ESTONIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY 26 COMPANIES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTES Estonian biotechnology companies need foreign investments The development of Estonian biotechnology companies has been remarkable for its speed. This success, however, is based on decades of top quality research, performed in Tartu and KAAREL TAMRE Tallinn. It seems that we are cashing in on those oil dollars that during the Soviet period were lavishly invested in molecular Population biology, the basis of biotechnology. However, I am developing a suspicion that our possibilities in the Baltic Sea ESTONIA AS could be limited in the current paradigm. I do not expect to INFORMATION SOCIETY see rapid growth in the number of new biotechnology ven- Region ESTONIAN TELEPHONE COMPANY 2003: tures, at least not in the near future, and I also cannot foresee * 45% of population rapid growth in turnover. use Internet & Internet This, of course, can be explained by the global economic Main facts: banking recession and scarcity of venture capital. On the other hand, Population: 1 356 000 (01.01.2003) * 35% of population Capital: Tallinn (435 000) have a computer at being such a small country and, as we like to think, smart, we home (69% of home Area: 45 000 sq. km (i.e. 1521 islands) should try and introduce a novel approach in order to reach a computers connected to Independence Day: February 24 higher, more refined level. the Internet) Currency: kroon (EEK) * 65% of the popula- In my vision there are two ways to do it. The first is to Currency peg: 1EUR = 15.65 EEK tion are mobile phone increase the government’s role. At present, biotechnology Public order: Parliamentary Democracy subscribers represents only a minuscule portion of the GDP. Its contribu- * All schools are con- GDP per capita: 5080 EUR (2002) nected to Internet tion should be exponentially larger. Unfortunately, the state GDP growth: 6,0% (2002) * Digital Signature budget does not grow exponentially, as we all well know. Act in force Another possibility would be to attract top-level foreign * Income Tax state- ments submitted by biotechnology companies. It could be done in partnership History: Internet with the government. To this end, in the longer perspective, 1202–1918 – Estonia invaded by Germans, * e-billing by major the government should specially promote biotechnology- Danes, Swedes, Poles and Russians companies 1918 – The Republic of Estonia was founded * Parking payments importing companies. 1940–91 – the Soviet occupation and bus tickets by mobile phone 1991 – Estonia declares its independence Toivo Maimets 2003 – The member states of NATO signed the Accession Minister of Education and Research Protocol of Estonia PhD (Molecular Biology) 2003 – Estonia signed the Treaty of Accession with the European Union The Estonian Biotech magazine is Estonian Genome Foundation Riia 23, Director Mustamäe tee 5, Tallinn 10616, published in cooperation with the Estonian Tartu 51010, Estonia, tel. +372 56 469 494 Estonia, tel. +372 6 259494 Genome Foundation and the Director Coordinator: Rain Eensaar management magazine. [email protected] Editor: Õnne Pärl [email protected] Financed by Enterprise Estonia Designer: Andres Rõhu Cover illustration by Lauri Järvlepp ISSN 1736-0609 Copyright © Estonian Genome Foundation, 2003. Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. Additional information is available on the Internet (http://www.genomics.ee) BIOTECHNOLOGY The Wellcome Trust: Estonian researchers are successful Four Estonian scientists awarded senior research fellowships in biomedical science in 2003-2007 Three questions for Mary Phillips financing agencies. They are not lacking in good The Wellcome Trust Scientific Programme people. What is needed is infrastructure to be Manager of International Programmes able to help those people. >> What is the level of biotechnology in >> What are the decisive criteria in awarding Eastern Europe compared to the rest of the a senior research fellowship? world? The most important aspect is the quality of Speaking about Poland, Hungary, Estonia and science, the quality of the scientific proposal that the Czech Republic – all four of these countries applicants put forward. are very strong in biomedical sciences. There is scientific strength but obviously infrastructure >> Initially it was planned to award senior and financing, which are required to maintain and research fellowships in biomedical science to expand scientific strength, need to be supported. scientists in Poland, Hungary and the Czech There are very talented individual scientists, but Republic. What was the reason for including they need the support of their government and scientists from Estonia? My husband works as an academic chemist. We visited Estonia in 1998. I was here only as a visitor, to accompany my husband. I was highly impressed with the quality of biomedical science in the country. I proposed including Estonia in the award scheme. It has been a very successful inclusion. We awarded the first grants last year and out of ten or eleven awards, four were awarded to Estonian scientists. So when compared to the size of the population more grants per capita were awarded to Estonia than any other country in the world. It is a very powerful concentration of senior research fellowships in Estonia. We are really pleased with the performance of Estonian scientists. ■ The Wellcome Trust representatives Mary Phillips and Hans The Wellcome Trust ‘blue skies’ research and applied clinical Through the International Programmes Hagen meet with The Wellcome Trust is an independent research. It also encourages the exploi- the Trust supports biomedical research Estonian scientist Priit Kogerman (on research-funding charity, established under tation of research findings for medical outside the UK. The programmes support the right) in June the will of Sir Henry Wellcome in 1936. It is benefit. research into the major diseases affecting 2003 in Tallinn. funded from a private endowment. The Wellcome Trust is one of the larg- the developing and restructuring world, Its mission is ‘to foster and promote est supporters of biomedical research in as well as the basic biomedical sciences research with the aim of improving human the world. The value of its asset base is now underpinning their causes. and animal health.’ To this end, it supports valued at £10 billion. ■ 4 BIOTECH ESTONIA BIOTECHNOLOGY Pärt Peterson Born in 1966, a graduate of the University of Tartu, In order to avoid the development of autoimmune reac- PhD from Tampere University, work experience from the Finnish tions, the T lymphocytes that are able to react with the Academy of Sciences, Tampere University, FIT Biotech. body’s own proteins are singled out. An essential part in Estonian this selection process is played by the AIRE (AutoImmune The objective of the four-member research team, led by REgulator) gene. This “master gene” coordinates the work Biotechnology Pärt Peterson, is to gain better insight into how the immune of other genes and is to a large extent responsible for the system prevents the onset of autoimmune diseases. prevention of autoimmune diseases. Association The immune system protects us against microbes The research, launched at the University of Tartu, will by special cells, T lymphocytes. Some of them are able to focus on the AIRE gene’s functions and regulations. For Pärt In February 2003, sixteen react with the body’s own proteins, thereby causing autoim- Peterson, one of the discoverers of the AIRE gene in 1997, Estonian biotechnology-related mune diseases (e.g. multiple sclerosis,

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