Innovation
Issue No. 24 - August/September 2005
Biotech future a wheel of fortune
by Penelope Herbert
South Australia’s biotechnology sector is on the move globally, but keeping up the momentum requires a collaborative approach from government and industry.
Adelaide is one of the fastest growing biotech industry clusters in Australia – with the number of companies having doubled over the past year.
However, ensuring we continue on our growth path in the highly competitive global marketplace requires that the so-called industry ‘wheel of fortune’ is spinning freely.
The ‘wheel of fortune’ for the biotech industry has four vital and equally important cogs – intellectual property, cash, management and infrastructure. A lack of attention to any of these will severely restrict the industry’s growth prospects.
Intellectual Property
This is arguably the fundamental building block for the industry – without recognised world-class research capabilities in bioscience you have no industry.
The State has a wealth of intellectual capabilities, with three local universities, teaching hospitals and research institutes producing leading scientists and PhD graduates in the fields of medical, agricultural, environmental and marine bioscience.
The knowledge transfer out of local universities and hospitals is increasing and we are seeing more of the State’s scientific capabilities breaking out of the labs and making their way onto the desks of international institutions and decision makers.
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