Commercialisation and spin-out activities of the Institute of Biotechnology
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Keywords: biotechnology, knowledge-based economy, spin-off company, multidisciplinary science
Commercialisation and spinout activities of the Institute of Biotechnology Christopher R. Lowe Date received: 18th February, 2005
Abstract Knowledge is now recognised as a prime driver of innovation, productivity and economic growth. The new economies will require heavy investment into research and development, education and training and the development of novel flows and relationships among the key players, government, academia and industry. The higher education sector will play a key role in furnishing the novel ideas and skilled personnel to enable this transition, but will require organisational and cultural change to be effective. The Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge exemplifies a route by which the seamless exploitation of its pure science base to create knowledge-based spin-off companies may be achieved in a single organisation.
INTRODUCTION
Christopher R. Lowe Institute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QT, UK Tel: +44 (0)1223 334160 Fax: +44 (0)1223 334162 E-mail: [email protected]
It is fashionable these days to insert the prefixes e-, nano- and bio- ahead of many nouns such as medicine, society or economy to create the impression of state-of-the-art knowledge or understanding of particular advanced technology disciplines and their fulsome integration into a holistic vision of the future. These prefixes now represent a confluence of thinking which embodies the paradigm shifts from the agrarian societies of pre-history, through the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, to the information (e-), bottom-up manufacturing (nano-) and sustainable and eco-friendly biological (bio-) societies of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Over the past 20 years, these inchoate technologies have been slowly transforming the way we live, learn, work and play, and the way in which governments tax, spend and provide services to their citizens. It is not too surprising therefore that both the advanced economies of the world and many of the developing nations are becoming increasingly dependent on knowledge and information derived from
the physical, chemical and biological sciences. Knowledge is now recognised as a significant driver of innovation, productivity and economic growth and the role of these ‘prefixual’ technologies in the ‘knowledge-based economy’ and economic performance promoted.1 Businesses and consumers in the USA have been quick to take advantage of these new knowledge-based opportunities and, as a result, US businesses became much more competitive and enjoyed spectacular and unprecedented growth during the 1990s. However, what about Europe? Five years ago at the Lisbon Summit in March 2000, European heads of state and government recognised that Europe could not afford to miss out, and set a challenging new goal for the European Union, to become the most competitive knowledge-based society in the world by 2010.2 There is
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