Can the biotech industry take off in SA?
Greg Gilbert
Biotechnology may still be considered as a fledgling industry in South
Africa, and has yet to make any discernable impact on the local economy. This is
attributable to a number of reasons, among them the current nature of the
relationship between universities and entities in the sector. For the biotech
industry to flourish, sound collaborative projects that incorporate elements of
both the public and the private sectors are essential, and these must be
actively pursued.
The importance of strong academic departments in the ongoing evolution of
biotech cannot be stressed enough. Just like any other industry, universities
act as feeders for biotech. Science graduates, if they wish to remain in the
field, will often seek jobs in their area of expertise, while some will set up
businesses of their own. But the success of these ventures will depend on the
kind of training they receive at the tertiary education level.
In order for biotech to work in South Africa, there must be an active
engagement with universities and technikons so that the resources of both are
exchanged on an ongoing basis. Mining companies, for example, are a good example
of this kind of relationship. They have long pumped money into engineering
faculties and have reaped the consequent rewards: prospective employees who are
appropriately skilled, as well as high-level academic research.
Unfortunately, biotech start-ups invariably lack significant cash resources,
which forces them to solve problems in a unique way. By outsourcing research and
development to science faculties, start-up biotech companies benefit from both
the expertise and the infrastructure, thereby leveraging their start-up capital.
But this does not happen in a vacuum, and adequate government support is
indispensable to such projects. Already, a system that encourages collaborations
has been established. Through government's THRIP (Technology and Human Resources
for Industry Programme) funding initiative, the fund will match the industry's
contribution for joint projects on up to a 1:1 matching basis. This benefits all
parties concerned. Institutions can use the funding to purchase more equipment
and offer bursaries to students, while the biotech companies gain from the
research output.
This has worked well with Shimoda's subsidiary, PlatCo Technologies, which
has partnered with the University of Port Elizabeth to develop novel and
improved platinum based anti-cancer compounds. PlatCo pays for the research
while helping to generate a raft of M.Sc's and PhD's.
Nonetheless, a key stumbling block remains the ownership of the intellectual
property (IP) generated from the research, which is why many partnerships don't
get off the ground. Parties involved in research are always reluctant to
relinquish ownership of their research. This problem however, is not
insurmountable.
It may be controversial but the answer is simple. When collaborations do
happen, IP rights should be ceded to private entities, in exchange for a future
royalty or profit share. Biotechnology is inescapably about IP and for companies
to commercialise their products, they need to possess the rights to the IP.
Although it's not possible to discount the possibility of change, universities
are ill-equipped to handle IP portfolios, which are costly to manage. A typical
international patent application, for example, can cost in excess of R1 million
rand, which has resulted in potential patents not being filed or commercially
exploited.
Before partnerships are initiated, biotech companies must manage the
expectations of technology transfer officers, whose job it is to manage all IP
generated within a particular tertiary institution. Deals must be worked out
that will ensure universities are entitled to proceeds, albeit a smaller
percentage thereof. Universities and technikons, it must be remembered, are not
primarily focused on making money, but rather to act as research institutions
and to nurture young scientists.
But blame can't be attributed to any particular party. Biotechnology is still
in its infancy and has never had to forge alliances. More and more
collaborations are expected to be formed as the sector matures and there are
currently a number of collaborative deals in the pipeline. If the example of the
Western Cape - where science departments at a number of universities and
technikons have entered into private sector partnerships - is anything to go by,
the biotech sector looks set for unprecedented growth.
More information:
Greg Gilbert is the CEO of Shimoda Biotech, a Plettenberg Bay based
biotechnology company involved in the development of proprietary drug delivery
systems and therapeutic compounds.
www.shimoda-biotech.com
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