Tuesday 20 October 2009

Commercialisation to Boom

After several years of uncertainty surrounding the outlook for commercialisation of new ideas and research in Australia , the future of commercialisation has recovered strongly and is again showing its potential to play a valuable role in national economic development.

 In the past year, both the University of Queensland and CSIRO have each recognised incoming royalty payments exceeding $100M, for their successful licensing of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil and IEEE 802.11 wireless networking technologies respectively. Both revenue streams are “home runs” for the institutions, and will be used to help fund new research and development that will further strengthen the national interest and support the development of Australia ’s scientific endeavours.

Since its inception in 2002, the Australian Institute for Commercialisation (AIC) has been working with researchers, entrepreneurs and governments to help create a culture where commercialisation is widely practiced, and to provide services to help convert know-how and intellectual property into products and services that benefit the community. Throughout that time, a notable gap has been substantive funding support for the stage at which an idea is developed into a demonstrator model, known as a proof of concept.

 Today, the Australian Government Minister for Industry, Innovation, Science, and Research, Senator Kim Carr, announced details of the $196 Million Commercialisation Australia (CA) initiative. CA, whose programs were announced after nationwide consultations and review by a small leadership committee that included the AIC, will provide funding to support the development of proof of concept, and help to fill the void that has prevented numerous ideas reaching the stage where further investment from the private sector can be obtained.

 In welcoming the new program, AIC CEO Dr. Rowan Gilmore noted that the announcement ends a period of uncertainty for researchers, inventors, and entrepreneurs seeking to take their ideas to market. “Individuals and small companies developing new products or services have struggled over the past couple of years to cross the ‘commercialisation chasm’, because of inadequate capital to help fund the development of demonstrator prototypes. Commercialisation Australia will provide two key elements in its support”.

Dr. Gilmore said “The first of these is small-scale grants to help cover early stage developmental costs.  The second is case management to facilitate access to business mentors, existing programs and services, such as those offered by the AIC.  This should ensure that key elements of the commercialisation process – technology development, IP coverage, skilled management and market research – are all part of the mix”.

He also stated that the new program “filled genuine gaps, particularly in funding, that were not currently filled by many state governments. Commercialisation Australia is therefore truly complementary to the AIC, whose own intellectual property and soft infrastructure to support the commercialisation process will complement Commercialisation Australia”.

About AIC:

The Australian Institute for Commercialisation (AIC) provides innovation and collaboration services that help organisations grow. Nationally, we work with entrepreneurs, businesses, research organisations and governments to identify opportunities to convert ideas or intellectual property into successful business outcomes.  

For Comment:

Rowan Gilmore , Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute for Commercialisation Rowan.Gilmore@ausicom.com  +61 7 3853 5225

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