Deepak Barot began his presentation by introducing the Athens LifeTech Park, Greece's largest biotech park, located near the International Airport and the 11th largest data centre of Microsoft. He emphasised the park's mission to become a global catalyst for life science innovation, with a focus on advancing early-stage drug discovery and development. The park aimed to support start-ups from concept to clinical stage, providing mentorship, infrastructure, technical support, and funding.
The park's facilities include a wet lab infrastructure, core facilities with omics capabilities, and preclinical and translational research services. Barot highlighted the park's alignment with clinical sites in Greece to support advanced-stage products and the availability of funding from venture capitalists and the European Union. He also mentioned the centralised supply and logistics support system and the collaboration with universities to hire top talent.
Barot detailed the park's preclinical capabilities, including experience with swine and mini pig models, in vitro and in vivo studies, and a certified biomedical team. He noted that the park operated as a non-profit and offered affordable services. The park also hosts innovative research projects and collaborations, such as the Genesis project, which aims to characterise the diversity of the HLA genome region.
Barot concluded by addressing the question of why Greece was chosen for this initiative. He cited competitive operational costs, a highly skilled talent pool, regulatory compliance with EMEA, and geographical advantages. He shared that the park was 80% complete and expected to be fully operational by Q1 2026. Barot thanked the audience and invited strategic collaborations and innovative start-ups to join the park.
