General information

• Contipro has been systematically building up research and development facilities almost since it came into existence.  The company set up its first laboratory in 1991, and now almost half the people working for the holding are scientists, researchers and developers. Research and development is a key area of activity for Contipro Group, as demonstrated by the unusually high investments that have helped Contipro become a synonym for cutting-edge basic and applied research.
  
• Throughout the world, the laboratories of the subsidiary CPN have earned a reputation as one of the most advanced centres in the field of hyaluronan-related chemistry and biology.  In its native, original and modified form, hyaluronan is the basis for the overwhelming majority of applications covered by the laboratories. The most promising product for the holding’s future is Hyiodine, supporting the healing of severe skin defects; the group holds a global patent for this product.
  
• The laboratories currently use the latest technology and methods for research and development in the fields of fermentation technology, molecular biology, genetics, and the physical chemistry of biopolymer solutions. Opportunities are sought to apply research results in tissue engineering, wound healing, gene therapy and targeted drug distribution, thanks to which patients can be administered lower doses of pharmaceuticals while ensuring that the effect is the same as, or higher than, with the systemic administering of drugs.
  
• In many respects, hyaluronic acid is the ideal drug carrier. Although the holding is the leading hyaluronan producer on the European market, the company management has set its sights even higher. ‘We could make a major profit and then leave the market after a few years and live off royalties. That’s not the right path to take. So we are making large-scale investments in research and development to secure the company’s future,’ says the co-owner, Vladimír Velebný, as he discusses the connection between business success and Contipro Group’s scientific activities.
  

The laboratories themselves are split into three levels:

  - technological development
    • development of raw materials
    • optimization of current production processes
    • chemical modifications
    • equipment facilitating the immediate switch from research to production
 
 - application laboratories
   • development of new applications for the following areas - dermatology, opthalmology, tissue engineering, drug distribution
 
 - efficacy-testing laboratories
   • processing of raw materials
   • processing of final products (pharmaceutical and cosmetic)
   • in vitro testing (testing on cells)
   • in vivo testing (testing on volunteers)

• Contipro Group also promotes research activities outside its laboratories. It cooperates closely with a number of universities and research institutions in the Czech Republic and abroad (e.g. in France, Slovakia and the United Kingdom). The total list covers around 20 cooperating centres, to which the holding awards research grants for specific projects.
  The results of the holding’s research and development are published in prestigious magazines; the holding also regularly attends conferences and scientific symposia around the world.