THE STATE OF GEORGIA IS ACTIVELY PROMOTING ITS BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CAPABILITIES GLOBALLY WITH STATE AND BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES TRAVELING BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD TO SPREAD RECOGNITION OF THE RESOURCES OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC), EMORY UNIVERSITY, GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, THE MEDICAL COLLEGE OF GEORGIA, THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY, AND OTHER RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS.
BUT DESPITE THESE EFFORTS, R. ERIC GREENE, THE FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE GEORGIA BIOMEDICAL PARTNERSHIP, INC. AND CURRENTLY THE DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AT THE CDC, STILL SEES A NEED FOR MORE WORKING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS AND PRIVATE COMPANIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIOMED INDUSTRY.
WE HAVE NOT YET DEVELOPED A SOPHISTICATED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO SPIN BUSINESSES OFF, HE TOLD THE BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE IN ATLANTA LAST WEEK. I THINK THAT WE HAVE FOCUSED TOO MUCH ON LICENSING THE TECHNOLOGY OUT, AND THAT WE HAVE NOT FOCUSED ENOUGH ON IDENTIFYING THOSE NUGGETS OF TECHNOLOGY AROUND WHICH BUSINESSES CAN DEVELOP.
NEVERTHELESS, MR. GREENE IS TAKING AN UPBEAT APPROACH. IF WE DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT MENTALITY, LET’S SEE IF WE CAN DEVELOP IT, HE ADDED, POINTING TO SUCCESSES SUCH AS CYTRX, A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY ENGAGED IN THE RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURING, DISTRIBUTION AND SALE OF HIGH-VALUE THERAPEUTICS FOR CRITICAL CARE PATIENTS, WHICH GREW OUT OF RESEARCH CONDUCTED AT EMORY UNIVERSITY.
WITHIN OUR STATE THE BIOMEDICAL INDUSTRY IS NOT AS WELL REPRESENTED AS WE MIGHT THINK, HE SAID. WE HAVE A GOOD CORE GROUP OF COMPANIES, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT A SCATTERGRAM OF THE INDUSTRY NATIONWIDE, THERE ARE MANY MORE DOTS IN CALIFORNIA, PENNSYLVANIA, NEW JERSEY, MASSACHUSETTS AND A FEW OTHERS. WE SHOULD HAVE MORE OF THOSE DOTS.
THE REASON THAT THESE OTHER STATES ALREADY HAVE MORE BUSINESSES, HE SAID, IS THAT THE RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS IN THOSE AREAS BENEFITED FROM FEDERAL FUNDS WHILE ACQUIRING THE ABILITY TO SPIN OFF PRIVATE ENTERPRISES ONCE NEW DISCOVERIES WERE MADE. SHOULD MORE ATLANTA-BASED SPINOFFS OCCUR, HE ADDED THAT THEY WOULD FIND AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF SUPPORTING SERVICES INCLUDING ACCOUNTING AND LAW FIRMS TO HELP THEM EXPAND.
MEANWHILE, THE CDC, AN INTERNATIONAL CENTER OF EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND LABORATORY RESEARCH WHICH HAS A BILLION DOLLAR ANNUAL BUDGET, IS ACCESSIBLE TO INDUSTRY AND UNIVERSITIES, AND THROUGH MR. GREENE’S EFFORTS IS ACTIVELY SEEKING TECH TRANSFER ARRANGEMENTS INTERNATIONALLY.
MR. GREENE RECENTLY TOURED SOUTHERN FRANCE WITH CARLOS MARTEL, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF THE GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY, TOURISM AND TRADE, ON A TRADE MISSION. THERE ARE A LOT OF BIOMEDICAL COMPANIES IN EUROPE THAT HAVE NOT PENETRATED THE AMERICAN MARKET, HE SAID, AND THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROVIDING SERVICING NEEDS ACROSS THE BOARD SUCH AS DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING.
ACCORDING TO MR. GREEN, CDC ACTIVELY SUPPORTS THE OBJECTIVE OF THE FEDERAL TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ACT OF 1986 FOR FEDERAL LABORATORIES, SUCH AS THE CDC, TO ASSIST UNIVERSITIES AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN BROADENING OUR NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY BASE BY MOVING NEW KNOWLEDGE FROM THE RESEARCH LABORATORY INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES.
ALTHOUGH A CONGRESSIONAL SUBCOMMITTEE HAS INVESTIGATED AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE AND SANDOZ PHARMACEUTICAL CORP., A SWISS-BASED COMPANY, MR. GREENE SAID THAT HE THINKS THE CASE WOULD NOT HINDER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS OVER THE LONG TERM. THE SCRIPPS-SANDOZ AGREEMENT SPARKED CONCERN WITH THE SALE OF FEDERALLY FUNDED MEDICAL RESEARCH TO A FOREIGN CORPORATION. SCRIPPS RECEIVES ABOUT $100 MILLION PER YEAR OF ITS FUNDING FROM GOVERNMENT SOURCES, AND SANDOZ HAS AGREED TO PAY $300 MILLION FOR THE COMMERCIAL RIGHTS TO SCRIPPS’ DISCOVERIES FOR A DECADE BEGINNING IN 1997.
SANDOZ, A FOREIGN COMPANY, COULD REALIZE HUGE PROFITS FROM RETAIL SALES AND CONGRESSIONAL CONCERNS WERE RAISED BECAUSE U.S. TAXPAYERS COULD PAY TWICE FOR SOME OF THESE PRODUCTS – ONCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE AND AGAIN AS CONSUMERS.
MR. GREENE SAID THAT THIS CONGRESSIONAL BACKLASH, AGAINST ANY FOREIGN COMPANY ACQUIRING THE RIGHTS TO NEW PRODUCTS DEVELOPED WITH U.S. TAXPAYER FUNDS, COULD HURT THE FREEDOM, FLEXIBILITY AND RIGHTS OF UNIVERSITIES TO DEVELOP TECHNOLOGY AND DAMPEN THEIR ENTHUSIASM FOR RESEARCH. BUT HE ADDED THAT HE FELT THAT THE ADVANTAGES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PRODUCTS ARE SO GREAT THAT A COMPROMISE SOLUTION OF SOME SORT WOULD BE WORKED OUT.