Translating research into the marketplace

By Alison Symington, Ph.D.

FINDING A MATCH BETWEEN RESEARCH AND RECEPTOR

Much has been made over the last several years about the lack of translation from research to market in the life science sector in Canada.

The Council of Canadian Academies reported last year that Canada produces almost five per cent of the world’s most cited papers despite only having 0.5 per cent of the world’s population and a research capacity that is growing with 50 per cent more research papers published from 1999 to 2004 than the five years previous.1

Despite this wealth of scientific output, there is a general belief that this research is not being translated into an economic advantage for Canada. One reason for this apparent lack of translation is a supplydriven model of research and translation. While the research is excellent, in many cases the knowledge or product can’t be used in its current form, or industry doesn’t know it exists. New business and research models are needed to bring these discoveries into the marketplace, to sustain basic science and the discovery pipeline for these applications.

One way to address this gap in translation is to determine what industry needs and look for potential solutions in the scientific community – in essence, to assess the demand and then look at the supply. In an era of convergent technology where the life and physical sciences are coming together, life sciences can be applied in non-traditional sectors, where it may not be the obvious answer. In many cases, it is possible that solutions already exist in the lab or other sectors and could be adapted. For example, could a point-of-care microbial identification system used at a hospital bedside also be used to look for contamination within a food processing facility or water treatment plant? Currently, activated sludge is used to promote growth of biological organisms that remove organic material from waste water, but the design of such systems is considered within the realm of engineering. An understanding of the microbial makeup of the sludge could allow engineers and microbiologists to improve the current technology, maximizing the efficiency of the sludge ponds by optimizing conditions for the active microbes.

The Ontario Genomics Institute has been reaching out to a variety of non-traditional life science sectors, such as mining and water remediation, to assess whether research or technologies that could meet their needs already exist. Many of these organizations have knowledge of methods that are established within their industry and OGI’s expertise can help find new and innovative solutions to challenges companies didn’t realize could be solved through life sciences. While still early in the process, there are already indicators that this approach will be fruitful.

In the pharmaceutical sector, another successful approach brings industry together in the pre-competitive space to form public-private partnerships. In such alliances, pharma is brought in at the beginning of the research stage to provide funding and insight into projects that would benefit their business. Public funding is leveraged through this industry partnership and the potential for industrial application is increased. In return, the industrial partners define terms and sign agreements allowing them to use the technology that is developed.

Canadian examples of these types of consortia include the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) and the Québec Consortium for Drug Discovery (CQDM). In the case of the CQDM, while it appears to be a more traditional supply (academic) push, industry is a vital part of the selection process for projects that get funded and therefore demand is an important consideration. In the U.S., Enlight Biosciences out of Boston, MA has developed this model into a viable business without direct public funding. Instead, public money flows through grants that are awarded to academics doing the research. These types of arrangements are fairly new, but involving industry in the pre-competitive development process should allow for faster translation to market.

There is already a trend among granting agencies to ask for translation or commercialization opportunities when grants are submitted. Although there is some apprehension that the focus on industry demand will decrease funding for basic research, it is more likely that these new approaches will increase the flow of money to research because the public’s return on investment of this public funding can be measured in job and wealth creation in addition to scientific publications. Basic science drives innovation and Canada’s excellence in academic research can be turned into commercial success through new models of industry engagement.

REFERENCE:

1. Council of Canadian Academies

“The State of Science and Technology in Canada, 2012” [http://www. scienceadvice.ca/uploads/eng/assessments%20and%20publications%20 and%20news%20releases/sandt_ii/ stateofst2012_fullreporten.pdf]

Dr. Alison Symington is VP, Corporate Development and Communications at the Ontario Genomics Institute where she is responsible for OGI’s relationships with external stakeholders, corporate communications and educational outreach programs.

To see this story online visit http://biotechnologyfocus.ca/ translating-research-into-themarketplace