Penza’s new Techno-park to embrace IT and medical high tech

The first stage of the new High Technology Techno-park is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2013 in Penza, in the Volga area, a spokesperson for the Penza regional administration told Marchmont last week.

The Techno-park will reportedly cover an area of 46,000 square meters. Its residents will focus on information technologies (IT), biotechnology, and development and production of hi-tech medical equipment.

The total cost of the new infrastructure project is estimated to be around $85m, with about $38m expected to come from federal coffers.

At the Techno-park, all participants of an innovation cycle from idea to production will be present, the Penza administration said. Those are expected to include innovative manufacturing SMEs, an R&D and testing center, representatives of research and higher education institutions, consultancies, sales and marketing firms, and other services.

A list of potential Techno-park residents currently includes the following innovative SMEs:

• Penza branch of the Atlas Scientific and Engineering Center with a project aimed at developing solutions for certification inspection of technical products and data protection means, as well as data-secure telecom equipment;
  
• BioCrypt developing next gen high-reliability biometric identification and personal ID systems;
  
• Penza branch of InterSystems International Corporation with its software development project;
  
• MedEng R&D and production company making hi-tech high-quality medical items;
  
• NanoMed, a medical equipment manufacturer;
  
• Cardioplant developing medical equipment from biomaterials;
  
• MedIntell doing R&D on next gen medical equipment;
  
• Endocarbon, a dynamic implant maker;
  
• TechMed developing and manufacturing dental prosthetic devices and implants by applying to titanium a special biocompatible coating made with the use of micro-arc oxidation;
  
• Titan R&D and production center, a developer of technologies for medical equipment;
  
• MedComfort, a developer of sterile sets for dialysis and cardiosurgeries, as well as special first aid kits for victims of car accidents.

The new High Technology Techno-park is expected to further enhance the Penza region’s growing innovation ecosystem and complement the efforts of Yablochkov, an already existing techno-park launched in Penza in June 2012 to focus on high technology projects in IT, precision instrument-making, material science, and micro- and nanoelectronics.