Brussels, 15 Dec 2005
One hundred technology offers resulting from EU funded biotechnology projects are profiled in a new brochure published by the European Commission.
As highlighted by Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik in his preface, 'Europe has a reputation for being very strong in research but weak in exploiting research results.' He believes that showcasing the offers in this fashion will encourage European researchers to pursue the exploitation of their own research results.
The offers are listed under six headings: biopharmaceuticals; food biotechnology; technology; plant biotechnology; biomedical technology - therapy; and biomedical technology - diagnostic.
One example is a rapid test system for microorganisms in food, beverages and the environment. The new technology has been named FastScan, and is based on an enzyme-linked hybridisation assay with an electrical signal read-out. Its designers believe that its use will be advantageous as it is highly sensitive, flexible and considerably less time-consuming than previous technologies - analysis is reduced from several days to a few hours.
The brochure also discusses Europe's weakness in terms of exploiting results. Much of it can be explained by a low participation by industry, it says, which often has the knowledge and experience of managing intellectual property that is lacking in some academic institutions.
The brochure also notes that several different exploitation paths were discovered during the preparation of the publication. The path taken depends on a number of factors, including the entrepreneur, their personal background and knowledge, the types of organisation that they have previously worked for, country of origin, and regional policies on start-ups.
CORDIS RTD-NEWS/© European Communities, 2005
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