Our research project aims to examine the direct and indirect costs that patenting of foundational CRISPR discoveries by academic institutions may have imposed on the translation of CRISPR technology into commercial applications. We are using CRISPR as a case study to help understand some of the disadvantages of early academic patenting in new areas of biomedical research for commercial entities.
We are seeking participants from organizations involved in commercializing biomedical research (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research organizations, venture capital investors, technology transfer offices, incubators, accelerators, etc.) who can speak to their organization's experiences in trying to adopt or apply CRISPR technology in a commercial setting (e.g. via licensing), both initially and on an ongoing basis.
Participation in our study involves being virtually interviewed by a project researcher. This interview will take approximately one hour of your time. All participant information will be kept strictly confidential and all responses will be anonymized. This study has received research ethics approval from the University of Toronto. More details will be provided to interested participants.
The SGC (Structural Genomics Consortium) is a public-private partnership whose mission is to accelerate the discovery of new medicines using open science. SGC’s core research operations are funded by pharmaceutical companies, governments, and foundations who act as research partners and participate in the governance of the SGC.
If you have any questions, please contact our study PI, Aled Edwards (aled.edwards@utoronto.ca).