Lithuanian minister, in US, to discuss expansion plans with Moderna founder

VILNIUS – Lithuanian Economy and Innovation Minister Ausrine Armonaite, who is visiting the United States this week, is meeting with top executives from the biotechnology giant Thermo Fisher Scientific and the COVID-19 vaccine developer Moderna in Boston on Tuesday, the ministry has said. 

In Boston, Armonaite "will meet with potential US investors to discuss business and investment attraction conditions, and present Lithuania's innovation ecosystem and life science achievements," it said in a press release. 

She will also congratulate Teodoro Forcht Dagi on his appointment as Lithuania's honorary consul in Massachusetts and the Lithuanian-owned biotechnology company Northway Biotech on the launch of operations in the US.

The US is a priority market for Lithuanian biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Lithuania's biotech sector contributes around 2.5 percent of the country's GDP, several times the EU average, and the aim is to reach 5 percent of GDP by 2030.

It is also important for Lithuania to use its competitive advantage in scientific lasers. Lithuanian companies operating in the field of medical equipment, diagnostics, and optoelectronics have export potential to the US, according to the ministry.

Armonaite will invite Massachusetts-based companies to participate in the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and Bioeconomy (EFIB) in Vilnius in October, and the Life Science Baltic 2023 conference to be hosted by the Lithuanian capital in September 2023.