Keywords

1 Introduction

The economy of any country heavily depends on the products and services offered in its markets. The importance of innovative science and technology in this regard is increasingly appreciated in the present knowledge economy. The technology transfers ultimately contribute to the economy in the form of introduction of new products/services to the market, generation of jobs and national productivity. In developed economies, research conducted in academic institutions play a major role in contributing to industrial growth and progress and wealth. While academic institutions are normally concerned with teaching and research, their potential in contributing to industrial growth and economic development in countries like India is still evolving. The effective transfer of academic innovations to the industry is a complex process and depends on the organisational setup in academic institutions and the supportive national policies. The processes of technology transfer, the critical factors involved and the evolving Indian national policies and initiatives are presented in this chapter.

2 Academic Institutions: Changing Trends

Universities and academic institutions have their core functions in education and research. It is generally accepted that “academic freedom” allows these institutions to carry out research of their choice. The generation of new knowledge in such institutions mostly ends as research publications or might lead to a Ph.D. However, such a traditional model may not be sustainable in the coming days. The future would be for academic institutions that would carry out innovative research programs and generate technology that would contribute to the economy. This model would also sustain and provide resources to run and maintain these institutions. The current trend in developed economies is such a paradigm where university research contributes to new products and services and contributes GDP and job creation. However, all academic research need not have a commercial motive! There would always be projects that address “basic research” without any commercial motive.

In the domain of pharmaceuticals, research might mean the discovery of a new innovative drug, a new formulation or even a process to improve the product qualities like stability, etc. (see Chap. 1). The development would involve the creation of a new product or a process out of this research with a defined benefit over what is currently available in the market.

3 Building an Innovative Pipeline

How to strengthen academic research to have products and services at the core of its objectives? And how to encourage publicly funded institutions to focus on industrial applications? Technology transfers and commercialization are partnership driven and hence it is important to involve corporations and industry leaders in academic research programs right in the beginning. Palmintera et al. [1] made relevant recommendations to academicians on how to build an innovation pipeline with an industry bias. Primarily, academic institutions should build excellent research strengths with an emphasis on niche areas that are of interest to local industries. They should make efforts to get industry members involved in their research centres. Inviting corporations and entrepreneurs to build their research capacity and programs in academic institutions would enrich the academic research programs. Academic institutions should promote “entrepreneurial culture” and be aware of the benefits of promoting such activities. Academic research and its orientation with industrial bias could be promoted by various forms of corporate relationships. Industry sponsored research, sponsoring faculty/student internships, inviting industry to participate in peer review panels for research grants, creation of endowed chairs or scholarships with industry contribution, providing adjunct professorships to academically qualified persons, etc., are the ways to develop such relationships.

4 The Stages of Technology Commercialization

Technology commercialization is the process of transforming an innovative new product or a service all the way from the conceptualisation stage to a marketable product.

Let us consider an academic research program for the development of a new drug for treating Covid-19. Since there was an acute need for such a drug during the pandemic, it was reasoned that a strategy to bring a drug quickly to the market would have commercial success. Few investigational new drugs were already available for treating Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) caused by a related virus, SARS CoV-1. Since these drugs have been shown to have good safety profiles, it was easier to develop one of them as a therapy for Covid-19. Due to the genetic similarities between the two viruses, it was expected that these investigational drugs would have a high probability of activity against SARS CoV-2; one has to generate data on their anti-viral activity and choose the best among them for further development. After successfully completing initial proof-of-concept studies in the lab, efforts would be taken to identify an industry partner for carrying out further developments, applying for market registration, etc. The success of the project mainly depends on the novelty of the idea, the timely introduction of the new product, and the commercial potential that would be attractive to an industry partner.

The stages of commercialization of technology [2] are listed below:

  1. 1.

    Disclosure of the Innovation

  2. 2.

    Evaluation of the Technology

  3. 3.

    Technology Implementation

  4. 4.

    Licensing

4.1 Disclosure of the Invention

The innovation for commercialization would first be shared with the Institutional Technology Licensing Office (TLO) or similar offices of the Institution. Hence, the first step in commercializing technology is to document the innovation for review. Clear disclosure is essential to assess the market opportunity and to identify industry partners. Hence, the researcher needs to have a good system of documenting his/her observations and maintaining laboratory records. This is critical particularly when one wants to market the product. Proper documentation is also essential when one applies for patents as this data forms the basis for the patent application and it establishes priority.

The full disclosure also helps in devising strategies for intellectual property protection to take full commercial advantage of the product. If the innovation has been already published or presented elsewhere, that should be disclosed. If there had been any sponsor for the research or was supported by a grant, and if any contract/agreement has already been executed with the sponsor, that should be made explicit in the disclosures. It would be essential to show with examples, how this new invention or technology has applications. Complete disclosure will enable the industry partner to develop a marketing strategy to commercialise this technology. That would also facilitate applying for legal protection of the invention.

The Technology Licensing Office (TLO) shall have a “Technology Disclosure Form” for this purpose so that no essential information is missed out.

4.2 Evaluation of the Technology

The technology commercialization involves evaluation and implementation phases. The experts in the TLO and the research team collaborate in these evaluations. The activities and milestones achieved in these two phases would vary depending on the nature of the innovation.

Firstly the technology is evaluated for innovative elements of the technology and how this translates into competitive advantages and market opportunities. If it is encouraging, the next step would be to draw strategies to establish a competitive market advantage. The technology is also assessed for possible barriers to market entry and the presence of any technology risks. At this stage, it is also necessary to assess the market size to justify the required investments to be made to market the product. The patentability is assessed followed by necessary patent applications. If prospective industry partners are also involved, a “Non-disclosure Agreement” shall be executed. This is an essential step to protect intellectual property rights (see Chap. 57).

4.3 Technology Implementation

On successful completion of the assessment to confirm the market potential, industry funding sources are explored. Several industry partners may be approached for the same; and the TLO plays an important role in this activity. The investors need to be convinced of the viability of the commercialization of the product. The industry funding sought shall be based on milestone achievements while developing a marketable product. A business model is drawn taking into account all the processes involved and the projection of costs to bring the product to market. These would include a thorough analysis and estimate of the cost of the product development, clinical evaluation and registration of the product for marketing, etc. At this stage, based on the technology, appropriate intellectual property protection in the form of patent filing shall be initiated. In the commercialization process, the last step is the transfer of intellectual property rights to a commercial partner. This ultimately takes the technology from the laboratory to the market. Appropriate licensing is central to this transfer and is granted to an existing company or a startup created for this purpose.

While academic institutions and their faculty may be proficient in educational and research activities, they may not have the wherewithal to manage intellectual property, fiscal evaluations, negotiate and manage the licensing process and agreements with industry. All these aspects are managed by the commercial expertise available with the TLO and related offices.

4.4 Licensing

Licensing agreements would need discussions and negotiations with the industry partners regarding contract terms and conditions, the fee that would be charged, a memorandum of understanding, etc. The kind of licensing would depend on the nature of the technology. The exclusive license shall be drawn when the technology is licensed to an external agency or company. With the non-exclusive license, the university has the option of transferring its technology to more than one company or different geographic regions or from time to time, as and when needed. Each project/technology is unique and the licensing arrangement is drawn to give maximum benefit to both parties concerned. The licensing officer might also like to explore if there are other companies with an interest in the technology to evaluate the full commercial value of the license. One of the routes the commercialisation may take shall be as a Startup Company. It could be either by individual efforts of the inventor and his associates or with the support of a business incubator of the institution. When forming a startup company is the most suitable way for the technology transfer, the original research team itself becomes its founder. To attract investors, a startup must be of interest to its customer - the customers in this case for a startup is the public and private markets and the company’s potential acquirers. The evolving startup company shall convince prospective investors at appropriate times and bring them in at various stages of the growth of the Startup. The product life cycle and the investment needed at various stages by the startups have been elaborated by Jordan [3].

5 Attributes of a Successful University in Technology Commercialization

Several factors have been identified to be of critical importance in the process of commercialization of technology in academic institutions. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is one of the most successful institutions in the US in carrying out innovative research and commercialization of technology including the generation of several spinoff organizations. In a critical analysis of MIT, O’Shea et al. [4] identified and highlighted several features that had contributed to its success. Some of these are:

  • Emphasis on interdisciplinary research

  • Networking between government, industry and academia to facilitate entrepreneurship

  • Organisational structures like Technology Licensing Office to guide and support industrial licensing and “deal” making

  • Policies and practices to encourage startups

  • The positive attitude of academics toward commercializing technology

It was recognized that attracting research funding from the industry plays an important role in the generation and conduct of industry-related research with a high chance for commercialization. Even basic research conducted with industry collaboration has high relevance to the needs of the industry. Another critical factor in innovation and technology transfer was the quality of human resources. Faculty with a keen eye for identifying and pursuing areas of research with potential for commercialisation and the ability to attract motivated students create an environment for research and innovation. The organisational structure also permits the recruitment and retention of highly accomplished and motivated faculty. For example, the MIT faculty were leaders in their own chosen areas of research and some of them even pioneered unexplored fields of research with high potential for spinoffs.

Even the most accomplished and innovative faculty would need organisational structure and support to commercialise the technology developed by them. Typically, an office (TLO) dealing with matters related to patents, copyright, and licensing provides this support. The TLO works closely with the scientists/faculty and evaluates the inventions from a commercial perspective and proactively looks for licensing opportunities. Such offices play a critical role in interacting with venture capitalists to explore interests in the innovations and technologies ongoing in the University.

Institutional policies that are supportive of commercialization are also relevant. The policies are designed to handle conflicts of interests that are likely to arise. For example, the Faculty may not hold equity in a company that sponsors research at the Institution. Similarly, a faculty may not have any consulting activities without the knowledge of the University. It also makes it mandatory that discussions with out-side agencies are always preceded by Non-disclosure Agreements (NDA). In addition to TLO, Institutional entrepreneurial support is also provided for a spinoff in the form of grants and advice for promising innovations.

The mission of the University, in addition to promoting education in science and technology, should have an emphasis on addressing real-world problems. Encouraging entrepreneurship should be one of its thrust areas. The academic culture in addition to aiming for a high level of academic achievement should also have the mindset for interaction with the industry. Only such culture and attitudes help develop innovative research with an industry focus.

6 Indian Academic Innovation and Commercialization

Patenting and technology commercialization activities in Indian universities are getting more emphasis in recent times. However, the achievements at the national level are far from satisfactory, particularly considering the various initiatives and policies introduced from time to time. The Indian Patent Act which was introduced as early as 1970 supported the concept of “reverse engineering”. This had a positive impact, particularly on the chemicals and pharmaceutical industry. Later in 1988 the Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) under the Department of Science and Technology was established to encourage the development of R & D infrastructure and technology commercialization. Beyond the IPR issues, the Ministry of Science and Technology took steps to promote entrepreneur generation. For this purpose, the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) was created in 2009. Under the aegis of the NSTEDB, Technology Business Incubators (TBI) were created at Indian Institute of Technology- Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai and Chennai and at Banaras Hindu University and Delhi University [5].

The New Millennium India Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) is one of the largest public-private partnership efforts in the R & D domain in the country, financed by the government of India. Its objective is to synergise the best competencies of publicly funded R & D institutions, academia and private industry. It has so far evolved about 60 largely networked projects in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Finally, to support the technical institutions of the country and foster research innovation and entrepreneurship through training in various emerging areas, the All India Council for Technical Education Training and Learning academy was started in 2018. As of today, there are eleven such academies have been established [6].

In spite of all these initiatives, successful industry-academy collaborations have been few and far between. However, there had been a few shining examples. In the mid-50s the Government of India asked the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) at Lucknow to develop a safe contraceptive for its National Family Planning Program. Steroidal contraceptives available at that time were associated with a variety of side-effects such as nausea, cramps, headaches and breakthrough bleeding, etc. Hence the CDRI scientists wanted to design a contraceptive without these side effects that would be more acceptable to women. Their strategy was to design a molecule that would selectively bind to oestrogen receptors of reproductive tissues. Their innovation worked and the result was a successful contraceptive, Centchroman® (INN: Ormeloxifene). The CDRI licensed centchroman to a private company HLL in 1991 for development and marketing. It was launched as “Saheli” and under the National Program, the contraceptive is available free of cost in all primary healthcare centres [7]. This is really a remarkable story.

In spite of all these developments and advances, Indian universities and academic institutions have a long way to go in innovation and technology transfer. Based on a study of patent activities and revenue generated in 40 Indian Universities/Institutes from 2013 to 2018, Ravi and Janodia [5] concluded that the practice of IP generation and Technology Transfer is underdeveloped in the country. They suggested the following to remedy this: (a) Universities and Institutes should leverage their expertise in specific domains and pursue interdisciplinary research to attain high value through knowledge commercialization, (b) focus on commercially viable research programs and (c) identify mechanisms to reach out to and collaborate with the industry through exhibitions, conferences and research partnerships.

7 Concluding Remarks

Technology commercialization from publicly funded academic institutions is an important component contributing to the economy. The stages of technology commercialization and the factors influencing them have been presented. The quality of innovative research programs and commercialization of technology though gaining momentum in the country needs to progress to a much larger extent. The government by its innovative policies and their efficient implementation should bring in necessary changes in the days to come.