eKapija | RETROSPECTIVE 2011 - Investments in field of HEALTH CARE that drew greatest attention of eKapija's users in 2011

eKapija`s investment team has recently done an analysis and formed the rank list of investments and investment ideas that drew the greatest attention of eKapija`s users in 2011. The results are very interesting, some are expected, but there is a plenty of surprises, so that we`ve decided to share this information with you.

Projects are classified into 12 categories and this time we are presenting the most interesting investments in the category of HEALTH CARE.

Health care has been drawing people's attention since ancient times, but it seems that they have never been so eager to learn about new and relevant trends and achievements in the area of medicine as they are today. Until few years ago, not many people in Serbia knew what stem cells were, while today most of them can even name some diseases these cells could cure as well as say that samples of stem cells are kept in specialized banks.

The list of the most popular stories in the field of health care on eKapija confirms people's huge interest in these cells. The attention of eKapija's readers was drawn by stories about the first Stem Cell Center in Kragujevac, as well as by the research that puts some unexpected medical areas in the focus of attention attracted by stem cells. During four years of operations in Serbia, the private stem cell bank Cryo Save has collected over 2,000 samples of stem cells. What is surprising, however, is the fact that the announcement of the opening of the first public stem cell bank in Belgrade in late 2012 failed to make it to our list. Unlike private stem cell banks, a public bank does not charge people for storing a sample, and donors have no control over the stored sample, which can be used by any person in need.

There are also some other issues that drew our readers' attention last year. Artificial insemination has become many people's only hope to form a family, while those with heart conditions, who wait for a surgery for almost a year, find every new day a gift. These are the reasons why the opening of each new center or clinic where such interventions are possible is more than significant.

Two new pharmaceutical plants in Serbia have also made it to our list for the year 2011, and the attention was also drawn by the use of solar energy by several hospitals in our country.

However, most attention was attracted by the announcement of the arrival of a foreign health center in Serbia, so that the first-ranked on this list is Turkey's Acibadem, which is known to the public for its agreement with the Republic Health Insurance Fund of Serbia to perform heart surgeries on patients from Serbia in Turkey. People in Belgrade also talked about another two announcements involving this Turkish company: the first is the construction of a cardiac surgery and radiotherapy clinic in Bezanijska Kosa, which was supposed to employ domestic doctors and cost Acibadem between 20 and 40 million euros, and the second is that the Turkish clinic is among the most serious candidates for the acquisition of Belgrade-based KBC hospital. Acibadem also became a new friend and sponsor of the football club Crvena Zvezda in summer 2011.

The second place belongs to the construction of the first Stem Cell Center within the Medical Faculty in Kragujevac. The opening of this center was first announced for spring 2012, and then an information came that the work would commence in spring and take almost a year to complete. This center will be unique in the region because it will comprise a stem cell bank, and to store a sample will cost EUR 1,000, which is much less than abroad. This will be the main science and research center where new methods of treatment will be studied and tested before they are applied in clinics in Serbia and the region.

The third on this list is Zrenjanin-based Pharma S, which will start producing generic drugs in the second quarter of 2012. In the new section of the factory, which is under construction in Bagljas Industrial Zone, over 15m packs of generic drugs for cardiovascular, gastroenterological and psychiatric diseases will be produced annually. In addition to a contemporary production facility, a laboratory for testing the quality of drugs and a warehouse will also be built in Bagljas and employ 20 workers.

The fourth-ranked on the list are investments by Serbian hospitals that decided to use solar energy to heat water. A machinery that uses solar power to heat water has already been put in operation in the General Hospital in Pozarevac, and similar machinery will also be soon in operation in the General Hospital in Vrbas. Jagodina-based hospital plans to install sollar collectors to reduce its current energy consumption by 30 to 40 percent, and a similar trend is also followed by the hospital in Arandjelovac.

Take a look at the complete rank list of investments in the category of HEALTH CARE and compare it with your own opinions, expectations and assessments.

RETROSPECTIVE 2011 - Investments in field of HEALTH CARE that drew greatest attention of eKapija's users in 2011

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