“The resources remain in the territory” – Corriere di Siena
“There will be important resources for our territory, this is good news. I hope they go in the right direction ”. Emanuele Montomoli, university professor, founder of Vismederi and one of the leading experts at national level for dealing with the current difficult period linked to the pandemic, comments on the news of the approval, by the Senate Budget Commission, of the amendment leading to the establishment of the Biotecnopolo di Siena. Now there is no go-ahead from the Chamber of Deputies, but it is little more than a formal step to provide the trappings of officialdom.
In practical terms, it is a 37 million loan for the first three years (9 in the first, 12 in the second and 16 in the third), then the Foundation will receive 16 million a year from the Government. The aim is to promote applied research and innovation in the field of life sciences, favoring “also in networks with other national subjects – reads the amendment to the budget bill thanks to which the project has gained consistency, – the implementation of programs for research, innovation and technology transfer to the production system in the context of biotechnological applications focused on human health “. Founding members of the important reality are the Ministry of Economy and Finance, that of Health and that of University and Research, together with the University of Siena, the CNR, the Toscana life sciences Foundation, the Region of Tuscany and the local authorities of the province , who is responsible for supervising the Foundation.
“All of this – adds Montomoli – it must help and guarantee the development of our territory in the coming years, but we must be very careful because the opportunity could be tempting for power games even unrelated to Siena. In my opinion there are two crucial points: the first is the protection of those who create employment by investing, the second is innovation, which does not mean only biotechnology“.
If the university teacher indicates the way to follow (and what must be avoided), the reaction to the news from Eugenio Giani, the president of the Region, is totally enthusiastic. “A heartfelt thanks – he comments – to the deputy Enrico Letta for taking the initiative and for working with this important result. The Biotecnopolo will make a very important contribution to the functions it will carry out, joining a path that has matured significant results within an area that is already a reference point for biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and more generally, for the life sciences “.