BioMatNet Item: Commercial Success of ECLAIR Programme - Overview

Commercial Success of ECLAIR Programme
Overview - 2. Information Collection

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FAIR-CT98-4822 Commercial Success of the ECLAIR Programme

This report on the Commercial Success of ECLAIR Programme 1999 was produced in 1999 by CPL Scientific Ltd under contract FAIR-CT98-4822. The Project Summary and Project Reports are available in separate items.

Preface
Executive Summary
Overview
1. Introduction
2. Information Collection
3. Assessment of Commercial Success
4. Sectors, Technology and Markets
5. Industrial Participation
6. Impact of Science and Technology on Commercial Development
7. Political and Legislative Environment
8. ECLAIR in the Context of European Research and Development
9. Conclusions

Overview

2. Information Collection

The purpose of the current activity was to establish to what extent, some seven years later, the ECLAIR projects had resulted in new products reaching the market place. With over forty projects, involving more than 300 organisations, it was not practical to approach all participants. Hence, the emphasis was placed on the commercial partners involved in or associated with each project. These were contacted (as indicated in the individual project reports) by telephone, fax, email or visited as appropriate, with enquiries focused on commercial products and related activities.

In practice this process was not found to be as simple as might be expected. This was due to the extent of changes that had occurred within the members of the original project groups. These changes related both to individuals and to organisations. Senior staff may have retired, been promoted or changed organisations, whereas more junior employees (including those researchers on fixed term contracts under ECLAIR), had moved to alternative employment.

In general Universities and Research Institutes were not contacted, other than to identify possible commercial organisations associated with the development of the results where this information was not available from other sources. Although a greater degree of stability was seen in the participating Universities, even where personnel had not changed, the coordinators were not necessarily aware of the commercial developments that had occurred since the project ended. In several countries, the structure of government funded research institutions had changed significantly. In the UK, France and the Netherlands, agricultural institutions have closed, been privatized or changed into commercial contract organisations or agencies. This has led to loss of staff, changes in departmental structure, work programmes and different priorities.

Changes in the industrial and commercial partners were even greater. In spite of the relatively short time since the projects ended, large multinational participants such as ICI had restructured (formation of Zeneca) or sold their interest in the development of the research (Zeneca sale of bioplastics to Monsanto). Many major agro-biotechnology companies had ceased to exist in their original form (for example: Agrigenetics, UK ceased trading; Plant Genetic Systems, Netherlands acquired by AgrEvo; Bunting, acquired by Novartis). For some partners, a succession of takeovers had occurred, with intellectual property (IP) passing through several companies, in some cases the IP crossed over to the US (Monsanto as above; Ovamass to ABC to ABC Mastercalf, to Mastercalf, to XY Inc.). In other cases, the original companies had lost interest in the area of activity investigated under ECLAIR, with the development coming to an end or being transferred to another individual or organisation.

As a result of these complications, it cannot be guaranteed that all developments were fully documented. Hence, this report may indicate a lower level of commercial development than has in fact occurred. Even so, the indication is that out of the 42 projects funded, 35% resulted in marketed products, around 14% have resulted in products that should be marketed in the near future and 35% have reached the prototype, pilot or trials stage.

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Overview