ment. "[The business] is a tremendous investment for the community that helps to create wealth and high-wage jobs and enhances regional competition." Moreover, argues Treado, the spin out of his company helps fulfill the university's broad educational mission. "By supporting our company, the university communicates how science is relevant to everyday life. The university can point to a specific example where public investment in science is paying off." Like Cotter, Treado can devote only 20% of his time to business activities, and he is careful to disclose to the university his work for the company. Chemlcon funds some of his academic research, a situation that poses a potential dilemma for graduate students who need to publish their research. "Contracts with the university must involve well-phrased scientific questions," says Treado. A deparrmental oversight committee regulates these contracts. "The lines are clearly drawn [between the company and his academic research] after years of working with the university," Treado says. As with any grant, these contracts include overhead charges by the university. For Treado, the most difficult issue has been the time involved in running a research group and a business. Besides performing his full-time academic duties, he works nights and weekends on the business. A general manager has been brought in to handle the company the rest of the time. Fortunately, Treado's wife, who has a degree in economics, works alongside him as Chemlcon's chief financial officer. However, Treado says he does worry whether the company is well served by a part-time CEO. The t w o worlds of Regnier
Time is also very much on the mind of Purdue University chemist Fred Regnier. His day generally begins around 5 a.m. when he starts working on university issues at home. From Monday to Wednesday, Regnier heads to campus where he teaches classes, checks up on his 15- to 18-member research group, and conducts university-related activities. Every Wednesday evening he boards a 6:30 p.m. plane for Boston that arrives around 11 p.m. For the next two days, he works from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at PerSeptive Biosys-
tems, a company he cofounded and for which he is chief technical officer. Saturdays he gets in another six to seven hours of work before returning to West Lafayette, IN, late that evening. Sunday is a more relaxing day with only a couple of hours of work. Regnier seems to thrive on this brutal schedule. "You deal with these two worlds in such high-intensity bursts; it is not as tiring as you think," he says. "Just as you get frustrated with one world, you are on the plane heading to the next." The effort seems to be paying off. PerSeptive Biosystems, a manufacturer of products and instruments for the life sciences LC mar-
ket, started in only 1988. Yet, the company has already grown to around 600 people and has a position on the NASDAQ stock exchange. To maintain his commitment to the company, Regnier has cut his time at Purdue to 60%. He meets most of his university obligations by going to fewer international meetings and reviewing fewer grants and papers. In exchange, Regnier says his business experience has given him an awareness of a larger world that he brings back to the laboratory. "I hire lots of Ph.D.s [at PerSeptive], and therefore I know better how to train graduate students." He now trains his students to
general form of an exclusive licensing agreement, are now relatively standard The framework that allows universities practice in public and private universities. "How technology transferfitsinto and other nonprofit institutions to the mission of the institution differs from patent or license discoveries flowing from federally funded research is codi- institution to institution," she adds. fied into law uuner the Bayh-Dole Acc Some universities seek to encourage loof 1980 (Code oo the Federal Register,cal economic development, whereas others view their role as disseminating 37, part 401.4). This act stipulates to institutions and nonprofit organiza- new technologies. tions the conditions and timetables AUTM works to raise the professional level of those involved in techfor informing the government of intellectual property rights, such as patent nology transfer as well as publish examples of how various universities applications that spring from federframe their licensing agreements and ally funded research In effect the law profit sharing. Of the organization's opened the door to technology 1500 members, approximately half transcome from some 350 nonprofit institufer by defining" a pathway for converttions and hospitals and the rest repreing grant-generated ideas sent industry, federal agencies, and and licenses With technology transfer have come patent experts, says Willey. Willey, who works at Purdue Unioffices devoted to maneuvering through versity, says that her office handles the complex world of federal reporting and intellectual property rights. At the around 150 ideas each year, including software and biologicals. The univerNational Institutes of Health, the Ofsity files around 40-50 patents from fice of Policy for Extramural Research that group, most of which are licensed Administration (or OPERA) oversees to outside concerns. "Only a handful grantee compliance with federal regulaof these ideas will be lucrative," she tions. OPERA has gone on line with its "Edison" database to expedite reporting warns. Yet, in Wiiley's view, ,he value of technology transfer to the institution requirements (http://era.info.nih. goes beyond making money. "In many gov/Edison/). Offices have also sprung up on cam- of the ideas the science is excellent, puses. According to Teri Wiiley, current but there is no market or a 'no go' because you can't protect the intellectual president of the Association of Univerproperty it still brings attention to the sity Technology Managers (AUTM, laboratory " http://autm.rice.edu/autm), many aspects of technology transfer, such as the Legislation and rules define technology transfer
Analytical Chemistry News & Features, May 1, 1996 3 1 3 A
