Some factors limiting transfer of biotechnology research for health care at Cinvestav: A Mexican scientific center

- We showed that at Cinvestav only 34 scientists in biomedical research had an interest in commercializing the product of their research. Only a few scientists have a patent, and a still lower percentage had entered into entrepreneurial activities derived from their scientific research.
- Like other scientific institutions in Mexico, Cinvestav has focused on basic research and high-level teaching, with limited interest in long-term strategies to foster technology transfer and commercialization.
- Conditions perceived as possible constraints for R&D commercialization were: delays in licensing after a patent is granted, insufficient funds for clinical testing, and stagnation of further R&D because of abandonment by researchers.
- The main barriers for technology transfer: ending of patent life, inability to pay patent fees, inability to create spin-off companies, patenting without a commercial vision, and a lack of biotech industry to transfer the technology.
- Some PIs argued they were not willing to do a financial plan as they did not want to consider pursuing other sources of funding like venture capital. This source of funding is also highly limited in Mexico.

We investigated a number of factors that influence the transfer and commercialization of biotechnology for health care at Cinvestav, a leading Mexican research institute and major contributor to biomedical sciences in the country. Mixed methods were used, where we sent a survey to all the principal investigators (PIs) doing research in health-oriented biotechnology at Cinvestav that we could identify and asked them about their transfer of technologies activities, and interviews were carried out with those PIs who are currently pursuing projects for commercialization. Our results show that, despite a strong publishing record on the international front, most of these scientists lack a business-oriented focus. Further business expertise does not appear to be readily available or helpful at the institutional technology transfer office. Weak collaboration strategies reflected in a low number of key partnerships, together with a lack of private financing, also limit the capacity to transfer and commercialize the technologies being generated. The local scientific tradition and conditions do not seem to be amenable to these kinds of efforts, nor does the government pursue a coherent strategy to promote technology transfer and commercialization in health biotechnology. Consequently, promising projects take too long to develop and usually go to a limited extent through the consecutive patenting and licensing steps, both indicators of commercial activity in academia. The end result is a lack of success in making the results of new scientific knowledge beneficial for public health, a problem experienced not only by Mexico but shared by a number of low-and-middle income countries. We discuss the need for an urgent change in concerted vision by research institutions in developing countries, so as to engage their robust scientific infrastructure with the social and health demands of their populations.