Pharmaceuticals, Food, And Chemicals Industries Generate Most Inventions in Ukraine

To invent a perpetual engine does not necessarily mean to earn a profit. Even though Ukrainian scientist generate countless interesting inventions, according to the report by the Economic Intelligence Unit analytical bureau, which appears on the Web site wahprofile.org, Ukraine ranks 38th among 100 nations in terms of the innovation index. The innovation index characterizes the level of cooperation between science and business and the time it takes to introduce inventions into the economy. This list is topped by the US, Taiwan, Finland, Sweden, and Japan. Leaders among the post-Soviet nations are Latvia in 26th place and Russia in 34th place.

Japan is an undisputed leader when is comes to patents, with 124,000 patents issued in 2001, followed by the US with 83,000 patents and South Korea with 34,000 patents. According to the State Department for Intellectual Property, since 1992 Ukraine has registered a mere 129,000 so-called right protection documents, 72,855 of which were repeat registrations of inventor’s certificates, 3,026 utility patents, and 9,376 industrial patents. Traditionally, Ukraine’s most innovation-intensive sectors are pharmaceuticals, food, and chemicals industries.

Not surprisingly, Ukrainian science cannot develop for lack of funding. Sweden, for example, allocates 3.6% of its GDP for science, Finland 3.4%, Iceland 3.1%, while Ukraine a mere 1.7%. “In the nearest future the world will be divided into those who can develop science and those who cannot afford to do so,” says Vitaly Kordium, academician and doctor of biology, adding: “The latter will survive, but will only smelt steel or grow grain.” To quote Kordium, investing in science is a long-term process, while Ukrainians want, so to speak, to invest money in the morning and reap a profit in the evening. For our science to yield a profit we must have a developed infrastructure. “If, for example, you want to manufacture a new pharmaceutical product, you need to find a company to market it. But so far nobody in Ukraine is interested in such business, as we have many other opportunities to earn a quick buck,” says Kordium.

The financial aspect is directly linked with the problem of personnel, i.e., the infamous brain drain. Talented Ukrainian scientists are tempted by paying jobs overseas. Yet not many of them accept such proposals, but instead decide against joining the grab for dollars, and work for the benefit of their homeland. Meanwhile, it is much more difficult to put up with the absence of necessary equipment. “I know many scientists who were reluctant to leave, but were forced to do so,” Kordium says. New equipment is needed to create conditions for work, while new equipment comes at a price. Western scientists sometimes try to send their Ukrainian colleagues hand-me-down equipment that is considered obsolete in the West. But even this proves hard to accomplish, as clearing such equipment through the customs requires the payment of taxes and masses of paperwork. Another problem is the lack of certificates. Even if our scientists decide to buy equipment overseas, they will have to go through a long and costly certification procedure.

Scientists believe that the problem of funding stems from the fact that Ukrainian society tends to ignore science. It’s an open secret that Ukrainians are more inclined to believe witch doctors and healers than qualified conventional doctors, despite the fact that Ukraine boasts a significant scientific potential in medicine. According to Leonid Rosenfeld, Vice President of the Ukrainian Academy of Medical Sciences, this potential will suffice to bring our medicine to a higher level. Between 1993 and 1999 Ukraine’s medical science was very active in terms of innovations, with 602 inventions patented in the system of the Medical Sciences Academy alone, while as many as 887 patents were issued between 2000 and 2003. Among the patented inventions is a system of diagnosing the earliest stages of precancer of the bladder. Another project that received lively interest from the international community is the research of the interaction between mineral and organic tissues. This is an achievement of space biology. During long stays in space, bones become demineralized, which poses a health hazard. Even NASA has shown interest in ways to prevent this condition, let alone Ukraine’s National Space Agency.

In a word, we can assume that Ukraine’s science is still alive and kicking. Meanwhile, experts claim that Ukrainian scientists are among the world’s most talented and have enough scientific potential to ensure the country’s development. Now it only remains to increase funding. Incidentally, the 2005 draft budget provides for 40% higher allocations for science.