Dr. Boyko Takov, CEO of the Executive Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (ASME) and Acad. Julian Revalski, President of BAS,  in an interview for Business Start, March 9, 2021

Business community should view the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) as an R&D center. Therefore, our task is to provide an opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises in Bulgaria, which cannot afford funding their own research and development programs, to use BAS as such a center, Dr. Boyko Takov, CEO of the Executive Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (ASME) and Acad. Julian Revalski, President of BAS, said for the "Business Start" talk show hosted by Hristo Nikolov.

According to Dr. Boyko Takov, Bulgarian business should be able to use this infrastructure to keep abreast with the world in scientific developments.

"Innovations are the future. Without them, our country definitely cannot move forward, and we will only be doomed to catch up with the events that are happening abroad."

According to Acad. Julian Revalski the connection between the Academy and the business in Bulgaria has been broken over the last 20-30 years, as large international companies that have subsidiaries in Bulgaria prefer to make their scientific developments in their home countries.

"Small and medium-sized enterprises are the ones that have great interest in such activities in Bulgaria, and since they do not have sufficient funds, we at BAS are ready to help with our funding to support this process".

In connection with the upcoming and long-awaited event "Science for Business" forum, the guests said that many pilot projects will be presented that are ready for business use, as well as those that have already found application.

"Among the recent developments are industrial task technology optimization, a network of microcontrollers for smart buildings and factories, a prototype vaccine against Covid-19, a portable device for dry-mist disinfection system clearing air from viruses and bacteria, and many others," said Dr. Boyko Takov.

Talking about the Bulgarian prototype vaccine against Covid-19,Acad. Julian Revalski added that the drug is currently in the testing stage, with initial results positive.

"So far, only one Bulgarian state-owned company has the necessary experience to start line production under this project. But above all, this will be a difficult task, both financially and organisationally, as clinical trials require participation of 30-40,000 people".

"In any case, the development of this vaccine is financially supported by the Pasteur Institute," Acad. Revalski said, adding that the vaccine‘s efficacy rates will be reported at the Science for Business forum.