The value of collaboration for translating research innovations into commercially viable products

UQ School of Medicine researcher Dr Janet Davies has been kicking goals in allergy research, leading the way in Queensland by utilizing the benefits of collaboration to speed up research outcomes. In this blog entry, written for the National Foundation for Medical Research and Innovation, Dr Davies talks about the path to commercially viable products and outcomes for allergy sufferers. 

> Click here for the full blog entry

My basic research has shown that in people suffering from allergic conditions such as hay fever and asthma, the immune system can respond differently to pollen allergens from subtropical and temperate grasses, depending on which grass they are most exposed to (see Channel 7 story). With new grass pollen allergy vaccine tablets for temperate grasses having just received regulatory approval as drugs in Australia and the US, my new research aims to fill the market need for an improved allergen immunotherapy vaccine targeting subtropical grass pollens. This project, supported by NFMRI, aims to develop tools necessary for future development of subtropical grass pollen allergy vaccines that will meet the growing needs of patients in subtropical regions of Australia, Asia, Africa and America.

The NFMRI aims to enable research to advance beyond the initial discovery phase, addressing the need for funding to move innovations closer to readiness for engagement of a commercial partner, i.e. one more step further across the so-called valley of death. The portfolio 2 grant awarded by the NFMRI will not only allow me to achieve specific developmental research objectives, but importantly, it opens up an opportunity to acquire necessary skills in the process of pre-commercial development.

At some stage in the lifespan of a project, researchers may reach a point where they realise they don’t have all the necessary skills in their own laboratory. Scientists are very resourceful, capable of rapid uptake of new information and able to adopt new skills quickly, but sometimes the best place to accomplish certain tasks might be within a specialist core facility. Collaboration between researchers from different fields provides access to new thought processes, equipment, systems and skills not available to each party.   An effective collaboration is mutually beneficial and productive, not just in a financial sense, but as an opportunity for exchange of knowledge and experience.

> Click here to continue reading