As other sources dry up, revenue from
research commercialization is becoming increasingly important for
American universities. Attracting that revenue, however, is a complex
process.
In 2008, infants in China began exhibiting mysterious kidney problems.
That fall, news broke that several companies had added melamine, a dangerous industrial chemical, to milk to boost its apparent protein content. By the end of the year, six children had died, and nearly 300,000 fell ill.
The World Health Organization called on researchers to develop a rapid test for melamine. As it turned out, an enzyme able to detect the substance had been sitting in Larry Wackett’s lab at the University of Minnesota for years.
Wackett and the University sold the enzyme to Bioo Scientific Corp., a solution Wackett called “win-win” for a technology previously of no use to the general public.
The idea to commercialize research breakthroughs from American universities is hardly new; quite the opposite, it’s been statutorily mandated for 30 years.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Technology commercialization: from research to revenue | mndaily.com - Serving the University of Minnesota Community Since 1900
Author: Austin Cumblad
