BIO4 Campus – a new biomedical hub in Europe

Global development of biomedical technology and its potential in Serbia

The World Economic Forum's report on health in the Fourth Industrial Revolution identifies three
major trends: the digitalization of health care, the rapid evolution of science and medicine, and the
unsustainable growth of costs. This report also predicted that by 2020, the total amount of medical
knowledge will double every 73 days, which requires significant changes in the health system in
order to adapt.
The same report identified the areas of precision medicine, immunotherapy, microbiology, genetic
engineering, and regenerative medicine as the most important areas of technological progress. The
global biotechnology market also includes nano-biotechnology, DNA sequencing, fermentation,
PCR technology, cell-based tests, chromatography, tissue engineering, regeneration, synthetic
biology, and more.
Based on a patient's individual genetics and evidence, genomic medicine enables the precise
definition of treatment protocols, determination of disease risk, and prediction of drug reactions,
which is the basis for forming strategies of prevention, treatment, and monitoring of patients. These
technologies are all supported by artificial intelligence, machine learning, processing and analysis
of large amounts of data, virtual and augmented reality, nanotechnologies and modern machines
such as robots, sensors, 3D printing, and even drones.
These areas are of special interest to the Republic of Serbia, and technological progress is
fundamentally changing the current approach to health.
In addition, it is important to acknowledge that biotechnologies have the potential to significantly
affect other major areas of life, such as nutrition (e.g., personalized diets and dietary supplements)
and ecology (e.g., bacteria that process fossil fuel residues).
All this represents, in addition to raising the quality of life of our population, a significant
opportunity for the economic development of our country.
Serbia's potential for active participation in creating value in these areas lies in its traditional quality
of education in the field of natural sciences, its scientific institutes capable of modern research and
development, its centres of excellence at the global level in bioinformatics and biotechnology, its
great wealth of biodiversity, its excellent cooperation with Eastern countries and the West, its
efficient state and strong scientific diaspora, its science and technology parks capable of developing
start-ups and national investments in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence, and its
development of ecosystems attractive for innovation, academia and industry cooperation, and
commercialization.

BIO4 Campus – concentration of people, knowledge and infrastructure for accelerated

development
Following the successful construction of two mass testing laboratories for SARS-COV-2 in 2020,
a modern SARS-COV Mutation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Centre will be established at the
Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering (IMGGE) in the Fall of 2021, which will
focus on tracking SARS-COV-2 mutations, non-invasive prenatal testing based on sequencing,
diagnosis of hereditary, rare and oncological diseases. The centre will work in close cooperation
with the newly established Institute for the Development of Artificial Intelligence as well as with
other relevant institutes and faculties in the country and abroad. Additionally, IMGGE will
continue to develop cooperation in other fields with the largest domestic and global companies in
the fields of pharmacy and biology.
The Centre for Sequencing and Bioinformatics represents the beginning of large investments of the
Republic of Serbia in biosciences and bioeconomics, which continue through the announced
investment of EUR 38 million in the modernization of the Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Sera
"Torlak" and its equipment for vaccine production.
Nevertheless, the crown of these investments is the formation of a unique and nationally significant
BIO4 Campus in the wider region.
BIO4 areas consist of biomedicine, bioinformatics,
biotechnology and biodiversity. The BIO4 Campus,
encompassing a unique spatial unit, will be the centre
of these areas in the wider region because it will
include from the very beginning:
Two faculties: The Faculty of Biology and Faculty of
Pharmacy of the University of Belgrade, and
Five scientific institutes: The Institute for Molecular
Genetics and Genetic Engineering, the Centre for
Sustainable Management of Bioresources and
Natural Products of the Institute for Biological
Research "Sinisa Stankovic", the Institute for
Medical Research, the Institute for Multidisciplinary
Research, and part of the Institute for the
Development of Artificial Intelligence.
The campus will be located in the immediate vicinity of the Institute for Virology, Vaccines and
Sera "Torlak" and the new headquarters of the Agency for Drugs and Medical Devices, with which
it will form a single biomedical unit.
In addition to the higher education and scientific institutions mentioned, an extension of the Science
and Technology Park Belgrade will be built for the development of start-ups in the BIO4 areas,
which will include the Centre for Ideas – a gathering place for researchers and students of different
expertise.
The conceptualized ecosystem will include, as an important component, the Centre for Industry
Development Departments, which will significantly increase the presence of pharmaceutical,
biomedical and biotechnology companies from the country and the world.
The announcement of the public competition for the architectural-urban solution of the “A”
phase of the BIO4 Campus in September 2021 represents the beginning of the construction
of the Campus, which will be developed in the years to come.
Some of the relevant role models from around the world are Imperial College London White City
Campus, Skolkovo Biological and Medical Technologies Cluster, Lausanne EPFL Innovation
Park, Biotech Geneva Campus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge and Oxford,
Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, The Hadassah Medical Centre Hebrew University
Biotechnology Park (JBP), Biopolis Singapore, and others.
Ambition and future perspective
The ambition is for the BIO4 Campus to become the first such campus in the wider region and a
recognized point on the global development map in its areas of focus.
The concentration of resources and infrastructure, intensification of communication and exchange
of knowledge among people in the fields of biomedicine, biotechnology, bioinformatics, and
biodiversity will eventually attract more and more partners from the economy. It will also enable
a faster and better transition of the health system towards modern, innovative diagnostics and
treatment based on data and the latest scientific knowledge. The BIO4 Campus will be home to a
whole range of modern diagnostic tools, which are an important segment of any research. For
example, many modern diagnostic tests will be performed in country, and no longer abroad, which
will achieve significant savings and generate potential income for the country. Increasingly, the
present of medicine is defined by the so-called 4Ps: predictive, preventive, personalized, and
participatory – and the BIO4 Campus will help the citizens of Serbia become part of this global
trend.
In addition, within the BIO4 Campus, national databases of genetic resources (biobanks) will be
formed, as well as BIG DATA (from microorganisms, plants, and animals to humans), which is
already a vital state resource. With the development of new modern directions in science such as
synthetic biology, the BIO4 Campus will become a place where curious and talented researchers
shape the future of our society through innovative ideas, discoveries, and applications of
multidisciplinary technology in health, environment, industry, and economy – all with the goal of
creating a better life for all.
From the economic point of view, the BIO4 market alone will be globally worth more than a trillion
US dollars in a few years, and Serbia wants to be an active participant in that market.
A good example of the potential attractiveness of the BIO4 Campus is the fact that AstraZeneca
relocated its headquarters from London to within the Cambridge Campus in 2014, to gain easier
access to researchers and other resources concentrated there. This is part of a broader trend in which
pharmaceutical companies are shifting huge resources from bureaucratized internal research and
development departments to innovation hubs that create ecosystems that include both start-ups and
academia. Other examples of this trend are JNJ Labs and Takeda iPark in Yokohama.
A similar trend of attracting companies can be expected from the BIO4 Campus, and initial interest
is already visible.