Commercialization of federally funded

Federal Policy Concerns Regarding Commercialization of Federally Funded R D... 

This paper focuses on research approaches and methods used to assess the effectiveness of government programs that are Intended to achieve these objectives. The overriding purpose of this paper is to discuss the research methods that have been or might be used to best advantage in assessing policy issues associated with the commercialization of Federally funded R D. This paper begins by... 

Policy Issues in the Commercialization of Federally Funded Developments... 

In order to obtain current thinking, experience, and comments relating to the commercialization of federally funded R D, the Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry of the American Chemical Society sponsored a symposium on this topic The Commercialization of Federally Funded R D during the National meeting held in Miami Beach, Florida. 

The participants in this symposium were selected because they represented either government or nongovernment organizations, and because they were involved directly in the problem of commercialization of federally funded R D. 

There are many different molecular mechanics force fields available. Many of them were originally developed in academic laboratories to solve specific problems. For example, some were designed to handle small molecules while others were developed to deal with protein structures. Today, the original demarcation between macromolcules and small molecules has become blurred, and they now are commercially available. Initially, many molecular mechanics programs were distributed at nominal costs, but due to the lack of federal funding for most molecular mechanics... 

David Mowery Many of the points you suggest are among the drivers. Federal funding for biomedical research has increased in real terms at a rate of about 7 percent per year for approximately the past 30 years. That cannot be said about many other areas of federal funding for academic research. But there are major scientific advances that, as you suggest, have revolutionized the field and, very importantly, this is an area in which the scientific frontier is arguably closer to commercially attractive applications than many other areas of research. 

David Schetter, University of California, Irvine Dr. Mowery, is it not the case that, prior to the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980, the universities were not allowed to own the results of federally funded research, and that a primary impetus of Bayh-Dole was to create an incentive for universities to commercialize federally funded research Second, if that is the basis of Bayh-Dole, do you have any data to determine whether or not it has achieved its goal ... 

The unique nature of federally funded R D, in addition to its size, makes this a special topic in its own right. A number of problems for commercialization and, therefore, innovation are similar to industrially supported research. However, a great many more problems are not related, including ownership of patent rights, goal-oriented programs not related to the commercial market, lack of incentives, questions as to the extent of government involvement, etc. 

In the late 1980s, the DOE shifted to the development of advanced higher temperature fuel cell technologies, especially molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cell systems. Federal funding for these technologies resulted in private commercial manufacturing facilities and commercial sales. 

Acknowledgement. This project has been financed in part with Federal funds from the Environmental Protection Agency under grant number 801311. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of EPA, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. The authors would like to thank Ms. Joan Vereen for technical assistance and Dr. Robert J. Beaver for statistical analysis. 

This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, under Contract NOI-CO-I2400. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organization imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This research was supported in part by the Developmental Therapeutics Program in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis of the National Cancer Institute. 

Suggested Approach For Negotiations. When confronted with a demand by a university licensor for a minimum performance guaranty, bear in mind that part of the motivation may be the University s concern with exercise of march in rights in a federally funded invention (and consequential loss of the revenue stream provided by the patent). Try to create an arrangement that will allow both to show that concrete steps are being taken to advance the licensed invention to a commercial product that will afford some benefit to the public. 

Our purpose in preparing this paper and participating in this symposium is to increase productivity in federally funded R D programs and resultant commercialization. We feel that as the result of pointing out the problems and describing examples, the situation will be better understood by everyone and that existing practices will be modified. There are two major points that we would like to make. 

It is the third type of relationship — the joint venture mode if I may so call it — that seems to me to be the most promising for commercializing federally-funded R D and for stimulating industrial innovation. 

The technology of liquid hydrogen production was significantly developed, refined, and practiced as a result of federal needs and the associated federal funding. Such development would not have occurred in the same time frame with only commercial markets as the incentive. 

Stokes s scheme is particularly interesting, because much of contemporary science is firmly in Pasteur s quadrant. As stated by Guston and Keniston, much of the federal funding for science is based on the expectation that research will provide useful products and processes. Increasingly, research proposals are judged on the potential applicability of the results and university scientists are encouraged to apply for patents and start small companies to commercialize their discoveries. Many of the ethical tensions in contemporary science are a result of the emphasis on doing research in Pasteur s quadrant. 

The CBDP relies upon a laboratory network and test ranges to provide RDT E and produce products critical to the chemical and biological defense of the nation. The network consists of DoD owned and operated laboratories (e.g., USAMRIID, ECBC, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), NSRDEC, and Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Dahlgren), DOE national laboratories (e.g. LANL, SNL, LLNL, Pacific Northwestern National Laboratory (PNNL)), FFRDCs (Federally Funded Research and Development Centers), non-profit entities (e.g., Battelle). for-profit commercial laboratories, and universities. At many of the facilities the committee visited, the recent construction of new buildings will provide new capacity for RDT E, adding both additional space and additional technical functionality. 

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