New kids on the bloc

Abstract

Since 1990, countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have seen tremendous geopolitical changes. After the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the Soviet bloc, there have been democratic changes in most of the former Communist countries. Many of these countries have walked the long accession to becoming full member states of the European Union (EU). Other CEE countries have made great strides to establish themselves as part of the international democratic community. With the expansion of democracy eastwards, there has been a natural process of extending businesses into these newly emerged territories. This holds true for the pharmaceutical industry in general, and more specifically for biopharmaceutical research.