Open Innovation in Biomedical Research

FL CURED supports the goals of open innovation, but it will require resources beyond those currently available through FL CURED to achieve it. FL CURED will continue working cooperatively with Science Commons and with other organizations in Florida interested in advancing biomedical research, to implement one or more open innovation projects in Florida.

The tremendous advances in biomedical research over the past few decades (e.g. decoding of the entire human genome) has led to an exponential increase in the amount of biomedical data available and our understanding of the molecular basis for many diseases. However, this also has meant an exponential increase in both the complexity and costs of biomedical research. In fact, despite these incredible advances, the reality is that new drugs and other "cures" for human disease have not come nearly as fast as many scientists would have expected. For example, according to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of American 2009 Annual Report, it takes, on average, 10-15 years and $1.2-$1.3 billion to get a new drug from the lab to the clinic. (www.pharma.org)

Several years ago, a group of scientists, information technology experts, and policy analysts began studying the scientific research process and identified many legal, economic and technical barriers that were substantially retarding the advancement of science. Among the leaders of this research is Science Commons, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Boston, MA.(www.sciencecommons.org) Science Commons embarked on an innovative and bold effort to try to reduce some of the economic, legal, and technical barriers to scientific research. In 2008, FL CURED joined with Science Commons for the FL CURED Annual Summit with a theme of "Open Innovation in Biomedical Research." As well documented in the 2008 FL CURED Annual Report, the conference generated much interest and enthusiasm among the participants for taking advantage of the open innovation concept to give Florida a strategic advantage over other regions in biomedical research. One of the recommendations from the 2008 Annual Report states: To meet the fundamental goals of open innovation, Florida could design and adopt a systematic approach to managing and exploiting the physical and intellectual property generated at research institutes in Florida through methods that:

1. maximize low transaction cost access for "research purposes" (as opposed to "make" purposes),
2. facilitate value-added collaboration, and
3. promote economic development.

As discussed in the 2009 FL CURED Annual Report , we continue to enthusiastically support this goal. However, as also noted in the 2008 Report: Open innovation represents a paradigm shift made possible by communications technology, a bold change to the discovery process that many believe is inevitable, but requires a supportive culture and infrastructure investments. While FL CURED supports the goals of open innovation, it will require resources beyond those currently available through FL CURED to achieve it. FL CURED will continue working cooperatively with Science Commons and with other organizations in Florida interested in advancing biomedical research, to promote open innovation in Florida.