Ernő Duda

Ernő Duda jr. (born 27 August 1968) is a Hungarian entrepreneur, a prominent figure of the country's innovation and startup ecosystem, with the introduction of several well known brands into Hungary linked to his name, including the local branch of Copy General and the largest online store of second hand books, Antikvarium.hu.

His most successful business venture is the founding of Solvo Biotechnology, a company that has since developed into a leading provider of drug membrane transport services and products.

He is also the founder and President of the Hungarian Biotechnology Association, associate professor at the University of Szeged, co-founder of Szikra School, as well as a member and former vice-president of the Hungarian Skeptic Society. He teaches at several Hungarian higher education institutions and with four talks to date he is the country's speaker with the highest number of appearances at TEDx conferences.

Personal life and education He was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1968 to molecular biologist Ernő Duda, and neurochemist Anna Borsodi. He graduated high school in 1986 at Miklós Radnóti High School, after which he initially intended to pursue a career in scientific research. He had wanted to study Biology, but ended up enrolling on a Chemistry course at the Attila József University (currently called University of Szeged), but after two years, he dropped out because of a personal conflict with a professor. In the following years he took part in the launching and leading of several business ventures. In the meantime he also enrolled on a management course at The Open University where he graduated at the early 2000s, followed by a leadership course at the Singularity University, but he also took part in the "2016 Boston Edition of the European Entrepreneurship Colloquium", a joint programme of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

His wife is an MD and they have 6 children. and in 1999 he founded Solvo Biotechnology, which is his most successful business venture so far, as he has developed it into a company of international acclaim. From a small startup of 3 people it has grown into a firm that has 200 employees in Szeged and Budapest and is a market leader in research and development in the field of pharmaceutical membrane transport solutions. Solvo was acquired by Citoxlab, a French CRO in 2018, which was further acquired by Charles River Laboratories in 2019, with Ernő Duda remaining the CEO of the company he had created.

Duda was one of the founders of Medipredict, a company launched in 2015 that provides complex disease prediction and prevention solutions for individuals, based on comprehensive examinations with the use of state-of-the-art diagnostic tools.

In 2016, he was a co-founder of Aquincum Technology Incubator, the main goal of which is to help start-ups develop into successful companies, ready for the challenging international markets as well as potential future investments. He is a regular speaker at public events, including TEDxDanubia and TEDxSzeged, where he has given talks on healthcare and education related issues. With four appearances overall, he is the person with the highest number of talks in the history of TEDx in Hungary. He also provides leadership and entrepreneurship courses at the Aquincum Institute of Technology.

Skeptic Duda has played an active role in the fight against pseudoscience and quackery in Hungary. He was one of the participants of the Hungarian actions on 5 February 2011 as part of the global "1023 Homeopathy - Nothing in it" campaign, when activist attempted to 'overdose' on homeopathic products. He is also one of the members of the Hungarian Skeptic Society, to which he served as vice president until June 2013.

School founder He has been a long-time advocate of education reform, claiming that schools should focus on preparing children for an unforeseeable future, thus the main focus should be adaptability and life-long learning.

Disseminator of science During the COVID-19 pandemic he was often featured on television and in print as an expert when it came to topics like the development of vaccines. He has been an advocate for vaccinations, reminding everyone of the advantages of being immunized.

Awards and recognitions In 2004 Solvo Biotechnology was awarded the Hungarian Grand Prize of Innovation by the Hungarian Innovation Association for their ABC transporter test array product family that they developed. In 2012 he was awarded the Dénes Gábor Prize "for his outstanding professional, public and managerial activities for the development of domestic biotechnology, the creation and successful management of several market-leading creative and innovative enterprises, for his decisive management role in the establishment, development and operation of a European biotechnology company that creates jobs and is a global market leader, and for his work in organizing successful innovation."