On Monday, the celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Lithuanian biopharmaceutical industry and science were crowned by the opening of the Lithuanian Museum of Biotechnology in the Trakai district, in the village of Savatiškii. The museum's founder, Professor Vladas Algirdas Bumelis, has accumulated a collection of unique devices and equipment over 50 years of activity, reflecting the development of life sciences in Lithuania.
"In 40 years, Lithuanian biopharmaceuticals have come an impressive way, and the most important thing is that they actively joined the world scientific community and became an active innovator. We were able to combine fundamental scientific research and private business, create high added value and bring together a talent community. The Biotechnology Museum shows how far ambitious goals can take you. It also reveals how enormous the potential of the biopharmaceutical industry is in today's world, where more and more technologies interact, and artificial intelligence makes it possible to achieve results that seemed impossible even a year ago. Let the museum at the same time be an inspiration to move forward, to create progress and value", said academician prof. skilled Dr. Vladas Algirdas Bumelis.
Prof. is considered to be the pioneer of genetic engineering pharmacy in Lithuania. Before the opening of the museum, VA Bumelis invited the Lithuanian scientific community to academic readings on the topic "40th anniversary of Lithuanian biopharmaceutical industry and science". Event was held in the big conference hall of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius. The professor's fourth book "My DNA" was also presented there.
Prof. The author's passion for science and innovation conveyed in VA Bumel's book was also convinced by the first visitors of the Lithuanian Museum of Biotechnology, who saw up close the equipment that the scientist used to develop drug production technologies based on genetic engineering methods, which laid the foundations of the Lithuanian biopharmaceutical industry.
In the halls of the museum, over the years, prof. Equipment collected by VA Bumelis. The collection consists of unique devices that have opened up new opportunities for the development of technologies for the production of recombinant human growth hormone, insulin and other recombinant proteins. These devices were used in the most important biopharmaceutical laboratories, forming the foundations of modern Lithuanian biotechnology.
Although some of the devices on display are more than half a century old, they still work perfectly. Therefore, looking at fermenters, chromatographs or spectrophotometers is like traveling back in time.
The devices on display at the Biotechnology Museum reflect the technological progress of biotechnology over several decades. The exhibits clearly reveal the evolution of technology from older, analog devices to newer, digital or automated systems. In the private museum, established in the homestead of the Bumeliai family, the equipment produced is exhibited JAV, in Sweden, Japan, France, Germany and other countries, which Lithuanian biopharmaceutical scientific and industrial companies used to create the highest quality biopharmaceutical products. Prof. can get acquainted with the modern, latest generation biopharmaceutical equipment. In Northway Biotech and Celltechna companies in Lithuania and the USA led by VA Bumelis.
