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10 Questions

with Zbyněk Prokop
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By Paul Voosen
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 1st, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Enantis Executive Manager Zbyněk Prokop talks of his firm's development of enzyme-based technologies that counter mustard gas.
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THE PROKOP FILE

Job title: Executive manager, Enantis; senior research specialist, Masaryk University
Age: 33
Nationality: Czech
Education: Ph.D. in Environmental Chemistry, Masaryk University
Family: Single

Over the past few years, the universities of Brno, south Moravia — once the home of Gregor Mendel, the father of modern genetics — have been working to position the country’s second city as a leader in biotechnology. As part of this, universities are spinning off small private firms that seek commercial applications for academic research. One of these firms, Enantis, has been particularly successful in applying its work in enzymes, proteins that cause and accelerate chemical reactions. Enantis’ executive manager, Zbyněk Prokop, talks to The Prague Post about neutralizing mustard gas, the need to educate managers about the life sciences and the future of the country’s R&D industry.
➊ Biotech is a sprawling, growing field. Where does Enantis specialize?
We develop enzyme technologies and engineer proteins for biomedical, environmental, agrochemical and military applications. We were established in close collaboration with the Loschmidt Laboratories at Masaryk University in Brno. Loschmidt is supported by Alfred Bader, a chemist of Czech descent who founded the Sigma-Aldrich Chemical Company, a worldwide supplier of chemicals for scientific use.
➋ Why was it necessary to found a company separate from the labs?
A year and a half ago, we decided to push for practical applications of the technologies we’ve developed at Masaryk University. Because product development is so far removed from academic research, we needed to set up a spin-off company, which would oversee the commercial aspects. We also wanted to work closer with industry to find new challenges in biotech and strategies to inspire our own academic research.
➌ Can you give specific examples of projects you’ve worked on and partners you’ve collaborated with?
In 2005, we entered into a multiyear collaboration with the Brno branch of VOP Šternberk and focused on developing enzyme-based technologies for decontaminating military devices. Šternberk is a state-owned company established by the Defense Ministry, and it conducts R&D, testing and specialist training for NATO, the Czech Army, the Interior Ministry and the Industry and Trade Ministry. Its specialties include defense against nuclear, biological and chemical attacks, electronic warfare and camouflage. Together we work on enzyme-based technology for neutralizing chemical weapons.
Last year, we announced an agreement to produce recombinant proteins and develop novel, biologically active molecules for Contipro, a producer of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. They’re involved in a rapidly developing field that combines nanotechnology with biopharmaceuticals, focusing on tissue engineering, wound healing, gene therapy and targeted drug distribution.
For example, Contipro produces substances used for manufacturing products like anti-aging and wrinkle creams.
➍ Can you tell me a bit more about your work for NATO, where you developed enzymes that counteract mustard gas?
Mustard gas is an oily, volatile liquid that causes severe and, in higher doses, fatal respiratory damage. It was used as a chemical weapon in World War I and caused heavy casualties. Since 1925, its use has been banned by the Geneva Protocol. But there are still large stockpiles of it that need to be destroyed. And since it can easily be prepared from accessible precursor chemicals, it could be adopted by terrorists.
Our technology uses enzymes to neutralize mustard gas. The project was assigned by NATO and funded by the Defense Ministry. We’re continuing to work on a final product that will quickly decontaminate military and civilian equipment and eliminate stockpiles. We’re also working on protection for personnel, all based on our enzyme.
➎ Where are you hoping to take your research in the future?
You can divide it into two areas: pure science and commercial applications. Scientifically, we’re looking at the fundamental principles of how enzymes serve as catalysts, how we can evolve new enzymatic activities, develop new tools for protein engineering and construct novel enzymes.
What applications could this lead to? New enzymes for decontamination technologies, for synthesizing chemicals useful for pharmaceuticals or for biosensors used to monitor pollutants in the environment.
➏ How difficult is it for you, as a scientist, to fashion yourself as an entrepreneur?
Developing technology is different from research work, of course. But, when an inventor wants to see practical outcomes from his research, development follows naturally. And then commercial companies push those technologies even farther forward. That’s the model we learned at our partner universities in Europe and applied here.
The problem is that these spin-offs are often established by scientists with little experience in business administration. Enantis is fortunate enough to have the South Moravian Innovation Center, which provides great support for innovative new companies, including housing, services and consulting work. Thanks to them, we have more time for R&D activities.
➐ How well is the country doing to foster firms like Enantis?
We’ve been lucky enough to have support from the innovation center, but such centers aren’t common. It’s not enough to foster entrepreneurship. Conditions in the country are not favorable for starting companies, especially those working in high-risk and high-cost fields like biotech.
The role of the state will be important here. The country should keep investing into research and education, establish institutions like innovation or transfer-technology centers, operate technological incubators for small companies and provide consulting and administrative support.
Only a small percentage of these new companies will survive and become established on the European and world markets. But their competitiveness can be increased by various tools, such as educating managers about the life sciences, networking inventors with investors or clustering existing research facilities in each region. It’s critical that we get near continuous interaction between small businesses and research institutions. What we have is far from sufficient.
➑ So what future does biotech have in the Czech Republic?
We see a number of strong points that make us believe the Czech biotech sector will continue to grow. But first it’s good to keep in mind the factors that slow down this development: There’s brain drain, losing researchers to the West. There’s no tradition of spin-offs. Funding is difficult to secure through the bureaucracy. There’s a lack of private venture capital.
Our progress will naturally depend on how much we can benefit from our traditions and current position, but also how we deal with these problems as more direct investment pours into the biotech sector, with foreign companies looking to benefit from our skilled and cheap manpower. Whether or not these investors will use the country’s R&D resources will depend on the research institutions of each region, and the quality of education we provide.
➒ Is the situation at universities improving?
We’re optimistic that it is improving. The quality of research will continue to increase with better working conditions, new infrastructure and specialized instrumentation, the return of some of our skilled post-doctoral fellows from abroad and the introduction of better evaluation systems in academia. There are long-term national funding programs of five to seven years in length — with money from the EU, national and international agencies — that are operating on a competitive basis, creating an environment for scientific ideas to flourish. Then they can be patented and applied. Many Czech research teams are joining EU research projects and benefiting from those international collaborations and experience.
➓ What more can be done to improve our science faculties?
Our universities have good facilities, which are going to continue improving. But they still need to transform their organizations and their style of work to become more open and international. Only when you provide young scientists with independence and freedom to explore can you attract the best talent.
Want your top manager to answer our 10 Questions? Send a message to Paul Voosen at pvoosen@praguepost.com


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