Invented in Hungary 2023-2024 Sample

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R E S E A R C H & D E V E L O P M E N T › M O B IL I T Y › HE A LT H C A R E & W E L L NE S S › C L INI C A L T R I A L S › C A S E S T U D IE S

INNOVATION:

THE GOLDEN THREAD

INVENTED IN HUNGARY

CONTENTS Introduction: Innovation: The Golden Thread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 MOBILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Cognitive Mobility: Disruptive Discipline Set to Revolutionize Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Runway to Success: ‘Putting Quality at the Heart of Every Decision’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Hungarian Firsts, Concepts Grab Attention at German Motor Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Hungarian AV Innovation Advances into the Fast Lane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 HEALTH & WELLNESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Forewarned is Forearmed: HCEMM’s Core Research Groups Work Towards Advanced Diagnostics, Better Medical Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Turning Hungary’s Healing Water Into a Hot ‘Mobile’ Commodity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 MSD Finds Hungary ‘Sweet Spot’ for Clinical Trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 CASE STUDIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Hungarian Experts Contribute to Developing Revolutionary Rail Freight Transport Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 121 Brainiacs Code #LikeABosch at Annual Hackathon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Innovative Thinking Around Mobility Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 BMW Ushers in the Future With Debrecen iFactory and Neue Klasse EV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Putting Less Burden on Heroes (Square) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 STOP PRESS: AIPM launches Patient Organization Academy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

INVENTED IN HUNGARY 2023-2024 | A BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL PUBLICATION BBJ Editor-in-chief: Robin Marshall • Editorial: Balázs Barabás, Bence Gaál, Gergely Herpai, Robin Marshall • Sales: Csilla Lengyel, Bernadette Oláh, Erika Törsök • Layout: Zsolt Pataki • Cover image: Based on an image by INAMEL/Shutterstock.com • Publisher: Business Publishing Services Kft. • Media representation: AMS Services Kft. • Address: Madách Trade Center, 1075 Budapest, Madách Imre út 13-14. • Telephone: +36 (1) 398-0344 • Fax: +36 (1) 398-0345 • ISSN 2732-1568

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INTRODUCTION INNOVATION: THE GOLDEN THREAD Welcome to the 2023-24 edition of this publication. With each issue, the cover changes; size and typography have altered over the years, too. Even the title itself has changed. We switched to “Invented in Hungary” in 2020-21; the 2019 publication had been called “Research & Development,” and back in 2015, it was simply “Innovation.”

The changes reflected a fundamental shift in the government’s approach.

Whereas the emphasis had previously been on the sheer quantity of roles (it came to power in 2010 with the stated goal of adding a million new jobs to the economy), now it was the quality of the positions. “Valueadded” became the new buzzword for employment as Hungary sought to move from a place at the workbench to one at the drawing board.

While “Innovation” may have been our first title, it remains a notion woven through all the iterations that have followed. And it permeates this publication, too. There is innovation in manufacturing, exemplified by the iFactory BMW is creating at Debrecen, the first of its kind to be purpose-built

by the Bavarian-based automaker to maximize digitization and minimize carbon emissions from the initial designs onward. The innovations here will be introduced wherever possible in BMW’s existing factories.

There is innovation in travel, whether it is new scanning technologies at Budapest Airport that aim to increase security and speed up passenger processing time, new approaches to urban travel, as pioneered by the Future Mobility Alliance, or the remote driving technologies brought to life by university spin-off DriveByCloud Kft. that enable you to drive a vehicle around the ZalaZone test track in Hungary while sat behind the wheel of a booth in Munich, or even Los Angeles.

There is innovation galore in the Hungarian healthcare and wellness sector, from the relatively humble lifeenhancing concentration of the country’s healing waters bringing spa benefits to a bathtub near you, to the life-saving pharmaceutical developments of MSD (for whom Hungary is the “sweet spot” for clinical trials) and the cutting-edge

research of the Szeged-headquartered Hungarian Center of Excellence for Molecular Medicine, which aims to unearth new means of tackling age-related diseases.

Finally, there is innovation in thinking.

It is evident in the 24-hour hackathon arranged by Bosch and CraftHub that asks high schoolers, university students and early careerists to dream up hardware or software developments that address real-world problems.

It is equally there in the approach taken by the Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in launching an academy to help provide training, mentoring and professional management development to Hungarian patient organizations.

Innovation, then, is the golden thread that runs right through this edition of “Invented in Hungary.” We hope you find the stories we have highlighted inspiring and illuminating.

Robin Marshall Editor-in-chief Budapest Business Journal

MOBILITY ▶▶▶

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COGNITIVE MOBILITY: DISRUPTIVE DISCIPLINE SET TO REVOLUTIONIZE TRANSPORTATION A multi-stakeholder conference held at Bosch’s Budapest Innovation Campus explored the concept of cognitive mobility, unveiling its potential to significantly reform the transportation sector. A blend of futuristic vehicle design and AI-driven innovations was showcased through collaborations with academic and industrial entities, including the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) and MouldTech Systems Kft. for debating and decoding potential trajectories through which it might morph automotive landscapes and urban tapestries.

The ethos of the conference, being held for the second time in Budapest, was holistic, intertwining various disciplines focused on addressing pivotal challenges and finding AI solutions for more efficient and safer transport.

of experts, melding minds from academia and industry, in envisioning a technologically nurtured future of transportation.

A broad agenda saw nearly 40 presentations covering a wide spectrum of topics. Dealing with traffic congestion on the motorways of the future invited scrutiny into innovative solutions, while the dialogue on visual smog delved into its repercussions on drivers and proposed mitigation strategies. The narrative on urban parking reservation services pivoted around leveraging driving behavior data to enhance service efficiency.

Cognitive mobility, a fledgling yet potent field, endeavors to usher in a new era of vehicles and transport networks, with artificial intelligence as its linchpin.

The conference acted as a crucible

Furthermore, a nuanced discussion on the impact of seasons on cycling accidents unveiled data-driven insights, nudging towards developing adaptive safety measures. The presentations

The Mobility Lab, a joint project of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) and the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design (Mome), was presented at the Cognitive Mobility Conference, giving participants an insight into the vision of the future of transport. Bosch supports the BME-Mome project as an innovative partner. Photo by Bosch.

By Gergely Herpai The two-day conference on Oct. 19-20, 2023, hosted a series of discussions and deliberations around the emerging discipline of cognitive mobility.

The thematic essence of the event, encapsulated in its title “Cognitive Mobility: A New Field to Revolutionize Transportation,” drew a global cohort

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INVENTED IN HUNGARY | PRESENTED CONTENT

THE RUNWAY TO SUCCESS: ‘PUTTING QUALITY AT THE HEART OF EVERY DECISION’ Kam Jandu, the chief executive officer of Budapest Airport (BUD), the operator of Ferenc Liszt International Airport, discusses how innovations, alongside investments, careful planning and a determination to listen to and learn from passenger feedback, are helping propel growth for the business and, by extension, the whole country.

The foodcourt in the SkyCourt overlooking the main passenger concourse. Photo by Budapest Airport.

By Balázs Barabás Budapest Business Journal: In May, BUD announced a profitable fiscal year in 2022 after two years of nearly zero returns due to pandemic lockdowns. How are revenues in the first nine months of 2023 compared to last year?

Kam Jandu: Our revenues are in line with our expectations so far this year, mainly due to the continued growth in passenger traffic. We had a very strong summer, around 9% away from pre-COVID numbers.

The spring and, fortunately, the autumn seasons have also been in line with our forecasts. These results mean

that the company’s financial position is back to a healthy level for now.

However, as this is a capital-intensive business, strong years are few and far between. We have also had to wrestle with the impact of high inflation since 2022, as well as the introduction of the so-called “extra profit tax,”

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HUNGARIAN FIRSTS, CONCEPTS GRAB ATTENTION AT GERMAN MOTOR SHOW

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HUNGARIAN AV INNOVATION ADVANCES INTO THE FAST LANE

Technology such as intelligent pedestrian crossings will help enhance autonomous vehicle safety.

Hungary has long been known as an autonomous testing and development hub. A new university spin-off has the potential to improve that reputation further.

By BBJ Staff The visitors just loved it. The simulator looked like a race car from a highend arcade, only here, a real auto was being maneuvered from the comfort of the official Hungarian booth at

the International Motor Show or IAA Mobility, the world’s largest mobility event in Munich. (Editor’s note: For more on IAA, see pages 18-21.) The remotely controlled vehicle was moving around on the ZalaZone proving ground, Hungary’s trademark testing hub for autonomous vehicles (AVs), and fair visitors apparently loved the ride.

It was not the first time developer DriveByCloud Kft. has pulled off such demonstrations of this 21stcentury sorcery. Founded in May 2023, the company is a spin-off from the Automated Drive department of Budapest University of Economics and Technology (BME), and it strives to showcase the technology at major international gatherings. It has

even presented at the Los Angeles edition of the ITS World Congress, where a 10,000-km distance had to be bridged in real time.

DriveByCloud CEO Zsolt Vincze is aware of the challenge posed, but he doesn’t look worried one bit when he talks about latency, that is, the relay time it takes for the control signal to arrive at the vehicle and the camera signal to return from it.

“We are talking 170 milliseconds here.

A blink of an eye.” It is a time span that, fortunately, is of no safety concern.

His laid-back approach makes more sense once you discover there is a safety driver in the actual car who can

HEALTH & WELLNESS ▶▶▶

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INVENTED IN HUNGARY | PRESENTED CONTENT

FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED: HCEMM’S CORE RESEARCH GROUPS WORK TOWARDS ADVANCED DIAGNOSTICS, BETTER MEDICAL RESEARCH No person dies from simply being old. Of the 65 million people who die worldwide annually, more than 40 million succumb to cardiovascular or neurodegenerative diseases, cancer or respiratory infections. Each of these medical conditions has a disproportionately severe impact on people of advanced age.

By BBJ Staff Those who die of old age almost always die from one of the above conditions, which is why we call them, along with several other medical problems, agerelated diseases. Individually, they have been studied intensively in the past, but more recently, how they arise from the systematic issues associated with age and how they relate to one another has been the focus of attention.

Research groups at the Hungarian Center of Excellence for Molecular Medicine seek to tackle age-related diseases. Some of these groups come from affiliated institutions, such as Semmelweis University, the University of Szeged, or the Szeged Biological Research Center, but the institution also has its own research groups that work in the laboratories of its Szeged-based headquarters. Each group is focused

on a major aspect of age-related illness: infectious diseases, cancer, or neurodegenerative diseases.

CIRCULATING NUCLEIC ACID BIOMARKER CORE GROUP: DR. CHRISTOPH W. SENSEN COVID-19 rocked the world, which had not faced a rapidly spreading global pandemic with cases in the hundreds of millions since the Spanish Flu. The race to limit its spread and adapt to its impact on society strained even the most resilient countries. Older people were hit much harder than most: in the United States, for example, 95% of the people killed by COVID-19 by the end of 2020 were older than 50.

It must be expected that coronaviruslike pandemics will occur again in the future; therefore, now is the time to learn from this pandemic and develop additional tools that will make the handling of future pandemics more

efficient, thus preventing the sort of economic damage that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. One way to do this is to stratify the patients into those who need hospitalization versus those who can recover from infections at home.

The Sensen group is trying to identify blood-based molecular markers, which allow a prediction of the disease progress and the ultimate outcome using a low-cost PCR test as soon as the patients present at a doctor for the first time. If successful, these stress markers, which the patient’s body produces, can be utilized to lower the impact on the healthcare provision and allow a more targeted management of future pandemics.

By identifying double-stranded DNA molecules, which circulate in the bloodstream of patients, Sensen’s group is developing early detection diagnostics for various types of infection, from bacterial and fungal to viral. The new

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TURNING HUNGARY’S HEALING WATER INTO A HOT ‘MOBILE’ COMMODITY Have you booked your next stay at a popular Hungarian spa yet? Don’t worry if not, because a Hungarian invention could soon replicate the unique effect of healing water in the form of an essence that can be then used anywhere you happen to be.

Concentrated essences from different Hungarian medical water springs

By BBJ Staff “When I told a colleague that a friend spends HUF 2.5 million a year on his dog, she wasn’t shocked at all. In fact, she said, ‘Well, that’s not that much.’ It turned out she spends even more, given she doesn’t have kids, unlike my colleague.” This snapshot clearly describes

a situation where pets play an increasingly significant and costly role in our lives and fuel constant market demand for an everbroader range of products and services.

The example is given by Róbert Révész, co-owner of Aqua Koncentrátum Kft., who is eager to point out the

immense potential in the pet business.

The reason he sheds light on the matter is because this could be one of the areas where a new Hungarian invention could offer notable solutions.

Révész has teamed up with Zsolt Szebeni to market an essence

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INVENTED IN HUNGARY | PRESENTED CONTENT

MSD FINDS HUNGARY ‘SWEET SPOT’ FOR CLINICAL TRIALS If you spend any time thinking about clinical trials of new drugs, you probably conjure up images of a large-scale operation in an affluent country like the United States, where there are plenty of cutting-edge pharmaceutical companies. While that vision is not wrong, you might be surprised to learn how many trials are conducted in Hungary.

By Robin Marshall “Hungary is one of the top 20 countries globally, based on the number of trials and number of patients we recruit in clinical trials,” explains Dr. Szabolcs Barótfi, clinical research director for MSD Hungary.

MSD is part of the U.S.-based giant Merck & Co., which Barótfi describes as “one of the leading innovative pharma companies globally.” Can he benchmark that?

“In the software industry, they spend around 10% of revenue in R&D;

Clinical trials are a type of medical research that studies treatments or devices and evaluates their effects on human health outcomes. They are carefully designed, reviewed and completed, and must be approved before starting. All clinical trials should comply with Good Clinical Practice, a unified global standard that protects the rights, safety and wellbeing of trial subjects.

There are several reasons for Hungary being considered by the industry “as the sweet spot for clinical trials,” as Barótfi puts it, but a couple stand out. Under the communist Comecon system (the Soviet Union’s answer to the OECD), individual states were encouraged to focus on specific industry spheres. In the case of Hungary, that meant pharmaceuticals and biotech, among other things.

This was an unusually prescient move for a command economy but may not have been entirely random.

Hungary already had decades-long experience in the field through several pharmaceutical companies founded in the early 20th century.

in automotive, it is around six; pharmaceuticals and biotech companies spend approximately 15% on average.

MSD spent 23% in 2022.” That is spread around MSD’s global footprint. Still, a fair chunk of it comes to Hungary, says Barótfi, who is also responsible for the much smaller markets in Serbia and Croatia.

The other advantage Hungary has is a lot of potential patients to join trials.

This is a sad reflection of the general health in a country where the average life expectancy at birth was 75.84 years in 2022, according to Hungary’s Central Statistical Office. That figure has been rising steadily since 1990, when it was 69.33, but is still some way below the EU average, which was put at 80.1 years in 2021 by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical body.

“We have more than 100 people working in Hungarian operations in clinical trials; we have one of the largest clinical trial operations in the country. As we speak, we have 78 clinical trials ongoing,” he notes.

“We have a lot of patients in certain disease areas. In lung cancer, for example, one of the top burdens in Hungarian society, we have a lot of patients from which to recruit,” Barótfi confirms.

“We have more than 35 investigational products on the bench, and we have almost 1,100 active patients in clinical trials in Hungary,” says the director. Is that active patient number typical? I ask.

HIGHLY MOTIVATED Other advantages include a highly centralized healthcare system, which makes organization much more straightforward. Hungarian physicians and clinicians are not just well educated and trained; they are also motivated to run trials because it is an easy route into international circulation, while patients get an early opportunity to use potentially life-saving drugs that otherwise might not be available in Hungary for years, possibly decades. All of this also brings benefits to Hungary.

INCREASING NUMBERS “If you had interviewed me a year ago, I would have said it was 800-850. That is not to say that it keeps increasing constantly, because it depends on the types of trials we run. In cardiovascular trials, we need a lot of patients; in oncology, we need fewer. So, it depends on the composition of our portfolio, but currently, over the last two years, it has been increasing.”

“We approximate MSD’s financial contribution to the economy is around

CASE STUDIES ▶▶▶