PerspectivesAre you interested in submitting a Perspective Article? Be sure to read The Science Advisory Board's Editorial Guides for Perspective Articles. Click here. From Bench to the Market by Jessy John Alexander, Ph.D. Discovery is very exciting no matter what the field -- whether it is biomedical research to discover possibilities that save or enrich people's lives, microchips that will increase the speed of the tasks that are performed today by computers, or telecommunication and transportation that make the world smaller and more closely interlinked. To achieve discovery in a rapid fashion there should be open collaboration and communication between academics and their industrial counterparts. Once an open collaboration is begun between companies and universities, there will be a faster flow of information that will result in increased innovation. Earlier research conducted at universities resulted in information that was openly published. This information was then used by companies to design and produce applications that are currently being used in day-to-day life. Quite often companies do not or rarely publish, which results in the imprisonment of data until patents are obtained, and the inhibition of the constant flow of information. Even today universities have cheap, motivated and expert labor. The university research programs contain graduate students and post doctoral fellows that are underpaid and highly trained, and they go into companies as scientists, company managers and designers. The companies get trained personnel while the incumbent sees greener financial pastures. But today, there is vast amount of research being carried out in companies, although they still have the benefit of obtaining trained personnel from the universities. As an example, genomics and proteomics research today requires large capital. Each firm was initially trying to develop a chip that everybody could use in order to lock customers into their line of products. Today, the attempt is to supply academic groups with chips that are within the financial constraints of their budgets to keep up with cutting edge research. Further, there is a supply and demand market for the software necessary to mine the large amounts of data that are being speeled out from the chips. With the marriage of the academic and industrial communities, there will a successful patnership where the objectives of both parties are adhered to and a greater exchange of information occurs, accelerating the pace of discovery. There is a tremendous focus on biomedical research, and government funding of research, especially through the NIH, has become increasingly skewed in the direction of the life sciences, especially biomedical research. The innovative process begins with basic research from the bench, followed by applied research, then on to development, and finally the marketing of a product by the company. Only then is the process successfully completed. The resources placed at the disposal of the researcher and the speed of information flow are the two factors that strongly influence the pace of innovation. Together, scientific and technical research are connected with the success of the end product. University-industry relationships will change the traditional norm of open scientific communication. A company's philosophy differs from that of the academician in that it is controlled by financial gain and therefore the company will tend to suppress research results to preserve or enhance its competitive edge. There will be a focus on holding onto data until patents are obtained, applying for patents on features such as sequences and the speed of reaching the market will be apriori as compared to methodical and systematic discoveries. The academic community will face issues such as publication delays, censorship and nondisclosure agreements causing professional and ethical dilemmas. The increasing pressures of secrecy and ownership can alter the openess and intrinsic values of academic research. There will be a change in the attitude and outlook of academic researchers from the pure enjoyment of research to the profit from research. Alternatively, by collaborating with private organizations the financial pressures can be lifted from the academic community resulting in increased focus on research. These types of collaborations will facilitate quicker discoveries and the faster translation of these discoveries into products -- especially in biomedical research -- that can improve the quality of life. NIH and other federal science agencies have to take into account and establish rules that will protect the academic community from patent and censorship issues. In an ideal world, the open exchange of ideas and information should become the basic norm for research. Universities should be allowed to obtain patents, but should not be allowed to turn their intellectual property into a profit center or business operation. Universities tend to use federal funding as their financial foundation, which they augment with the funding obtained from industrial sources by collaborations. This structure has and will continue to develop a group of researchers that are able to overcome the stresses of obtaining financial support from government sources and avidly publish, thereby becoming respected not only among their academic peers but also by the firms that have similar areas of interest. A vast amount of knowledge is being accumulated in fields like genomics and proteomics by universities these days. They should not be allowed to sit on it, which is what the non-disclosure agreement tries to do, or else important information is kept hidden seeking the best buyer and may even get lost. With an increase in regulated collaborations, there will be a greater dissipation of data obtained, enabling quicker development of life-enhancing or saving products with no loss of quality in the research undertakings and endeavors. We should be able to capitalize on academic research in an efficient and sensible manner that benefits the university and supports further innovation. ### Jessy John Alexander, Ph.D. University of Chicago A Science Advisory Board Steering Committee Member ### << Previous Next >> [ View All Perspectives ] |
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