Pathways to Bioeconomy and Bioconvergence Perspectives from Serbia and Israel 2025

1.3 Building the ecosystem for a bioeconomy in Serbia Infrastructure –National Data Center –National AI Platform –Innovation District in Kragujevac –Genetic and Biomedical Data RegistryPolicy and data governance –Law on Health Documentation and Records –Bylaw on the secondary use of health and genetic data –Artificial Intelligence Development Strategy (2025-2030)Pillars of the bioeconomy ecosystem in Serbia BOX 2Serbia is actively building a robust bioeconomy ecosystem through investments in advanced infrastructure, forward-thinking strategies, regulatory frameworks and international collaborations. Below is an overview exemplifying key components of this interdisciplinary ecosystem. Partnerships –Biotech Future Forum –Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) –Expo 2027Education –Masters 4.0 Bioinformatics –Workshops with Regeneron –BIO4 go-to-market strategy workshops Infrastructure 1. National Data Center in Kragujevac: Managed by the Office for Information Technology and e-Government, the centre is Serbia’s most advanced data facility and a key driver of ICT and innovation. Opened in December 2023, it spans 4 ha, encompasses two buildings and complies with Tier 4 reliability standards (99.995% uptime). It supports state institutions, local governments, private companies, scientific parks and start-ups. Major global players like IBM and Huawei are already collaborating with the centre.43 2. National Platform for Artificial Intelligence: The Government of Serbia has established this national supercomputing infrastructure, which supports the development and application of AI technologies across the public sector, scientific research and industry (including start-ups).44 3. Innovation District in Kragujevac (opening in 2026): Spanning 85 km², the district will include zones dedicated to bioinformatics, bioengineering, smart cities, AI, ICT and cybersecurity. It will host research laboratories, co-working spaces, training centres and conference facilities, becoming a hub for innovation and cross-sector collaboration.45 4. Genetic and Biomedical Data Registry: This centralized registry will securely store all human genetic data generated in Serbia, link it to health data and enable secondary use of anonymized and pseudonymized genetic and health data for research. Access will be granted with ethical oversight, ensuring alignment with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Serbia’s Data Protection Law.46 Policy and data governance 1. Law on Health Documentation and Records: This legislation governs the creation, management and integration of medical data within the National Integrated Health Information System. It defines data requirements for local health information systems and establishes centralized registries, including the centralized Electronic Health Record and the Genetic and Biomedical Data Registry.47 2. Bylaw on the secondary use of health and genetic data: This regulation sets protocols for responsible reuse of sensitive data, supporting innovation while ensuring data security and patient privacy.48 Serbia is building a robust bioeconomy ecosystem through advanced national infrastructure, forward-thinking strategies and international collaboration. Pathways to Bioeconomy and Bioconvergence 15