A Good Policy for the Protection of Patents, the Key to a Successful Transfer of Technology

PAMPLONA, Spain, October 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- "It is increasingly difficult to receive financing and the financial crisis is weakening investment in R&D+i," said Conny Bogentoft, Chief Scientific Officer at Karolinska Development AB, during the third and last plenary session of the 5th International Meeting on Biotechnology, BioSpain 2010, organised by the Spanish Association of Biocompanies (ASEBIO) and the Government of Navarre through SODENA. This expert described the model of the unit she runs, focused mainly on "building bridges between the academic world and the pharmaceutical industry." Karolinska Development AB has six projects in phase II, six in phase I and over 20 potential first-in-class components. In this context, the expert pointed out the need for a good patent protection policy.

Another of today's important round tables was the one entitled "International Technology Commercialization." In it there was a debate concerning the current model of collaboration between the public and private sector in Europe and in the United States, and some of the actions being carried out in both areas to bridge the gap between the financing and development of products were explained.

"For a company it is important to know what universities and public institutions are doing regarding new technologies," explained Jose Maria Fernandez Sousa-Faro, President of ASEBIO, during the round table. The CENIT project, an initiative by CDTI, was also highlighted as an example of collaboration between the pubilc and private sector, in addition to the initiative carried out by CIMA in Navarre.

Participating in the closing ceremony were Jose Maria Roig, Regional Minister of Innovation, Business and Labour of the Government of Navarre; Jose Maria Fernandez Sousa-Faro, President of ASEBIO, and Carmen Vela, the new President of the Spanish Society of Biotechnology. In general, the "overwhelming success" of BioSpain 2010 was praised, with attendance figures that surpassed by far all initial expectations.

On the other hand, the "Your Biotech House" exhibition, located in an outdoor tent in Baluarte Square, is offering visitors the chance to discover that biotechnology is present in our everyday lives by means of a domestic environment that is recognisable for the public. The company Vita Aidelos, thanks to the sponsorship and collaboration of the Genoma Espana Foundation, has organised a number of educational workshops within the framework of this exhibition.

    More information:

    Lucia Cecilia Mercado
    [email protected]
    +34-91-210-93-74

SOURCE Asebio