F-16 Deal Lifts Polish Science.

On 19 April, 2003 the Polish government signed a final deal worth $3.5 billion with Lockheed Martin Corp. to purchase 48 new F-16 fighter jets to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-made MiGs. By Polish law, military purchases from foreign companies must be “offset” by a package of investments put together by the seller worth at least as much as the purchase price. Final contracts with investment partners are to be signed in the coming weeks as of April 25 2003, including Bioton, a Poznan biotechnology company that produces recombinant insulin, and a business and technology center in Lodz, Poland's second largest city. The science ministry solicited proposals from scientists and received more than 700, but about half were written as grants instead of business plans, says Polish science minister Michal Kleiber, who was appointed head of the offset negotiating team early this year.