Intellectual Property: Exploitation of Intellectual Property, Technology Tra... http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/art...
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`Science Home » Science Careers » Career Magazine » Previous Issues » 1999 » March 19
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`By Alison Campbell
`March 19, 1999
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`The MRC is the primary U.K. government agency for the support of biomedical research. Its annual budget (~£320
`million) supports research in its own laboratories and in universities, with approximately equal spending in each
`mode. The Technology Transfer Group in the MRC Head Office is directly responsible for the management of
`exploitation of results from the council's laboratories and works in partnership with scientists to identify opportunities
`and develop and execute exploitation strategies.
`
`Frequently, MRC seeks to protect novel ideas through the patent process, to secure a proprietary position and
`thereby enhance the value of the opportunity for a prospective industrial partner. It is important to remember that in
`addition to fulfilling the criteria for patentability (that the results be novel, nonobvious, and of commercial utility), for
`an opportunity to be taken forward there must be the prospect of commercial return. The patent process can be long,
`expensive, and often arduous and is not a path to be embarked upon lightly.
`
`In addition to patents, industry is interested in gaining access to practical and theoretical know-how where there is no
`established patent position. This may be by way of an industrially funded collaboration. There may also be a great
`deal of commercial value in certain materials, often not apparent at the time they are developed, and it is the duty of
`the investigator to ensure that these are distributed to fellow academics under an appropriate Materials Transfer
`Agreement providing that the recipient does not commercially exploit without reference to the originator.
`
`The exploitation route chosen for a particular technology will vary depending on the nature of the opportunity. For
`example, MRC filed a patent application based on results, from Jo Colston and his team at the MRC National Institute
`of Medical Research, which demonstrated that certain tuberculosis antigens could influence tumor cell killing. An
`exclusive license under the patent application was issued to a commercial partner, who in turn invested in a
`multicenter collaboration including the MRC team. This allowed the originating scientists to investigate the subject
`further, in both basic and more applied areas, leading to preclinical development of a potential new therapy.
`
`Increasingly, where the novel findings have breadth and can form the basis for multiple developments, an attractive
`route for exploitation is via the creation of a new company. These start-ups allow for dedicated development of the
`basic ideas and hence increase the likelihood of the technology being developed into commercial products while
`providing significant returns. Importantly, the establishment of new companies also benefits national wealth creation,
`helping to consolidate the maturing U.K. biotechnology marketplace and in the process creating new employment
`opportunities, primarily in R&D.
`
`An interesting case study is the antibody engineering technology, pioneered at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular
`Biology (LMB), which provided the basis for a number of exploitation opportunities. In the 1970s, the development of
`monoclonal antibodies from mouse cells, by Kohler and Milstein, created great excitement over the possibility of
`producing "magic bullets" to cure a range of hitherto intractable diseases. However, despite their huge potential, the
`murine antibodies were found to be of limited long-term efficacy as, on repeat dosing in vivo, an immune response
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`IPR2014-00676
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`Intellectual Property: Exploitation of Intellectual Property, Technology Tra... http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/art...
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`was mounted against the antibodies. It was clear that a way needed to be found to mask their immunogenicity. In
`1986, Greg Winter, also at the MRC LMB, developed the method of "humanization" of monoclonal antibodies through
`engineering the proteins. MRC filed a patent application to cover this technology and has subsequently issued over
`40 nonexclusive licenses worldwide.
`
`It takes approximately 10 years to bring a clinical product to market. The first therapeutic humanized antibodies have
`recently been launched on the American market (Xenapax, transplant rejection; Synagis, respiratory syncytial virus;
`Herceptin, breast cancer). MRC now benefits from the licensing royalty stream. In addition, the humanization work
`has sustained a significant research group at the MRC Collaborative Center Mill Hill, which offers a service to those
`companies wishing to contract out antibody humanization.
`
`Engineered antibodies provided a springboard for the development of further technologies to create human
`antibodies. Winter has established a phage antibody screening technology that allows in vitro selection of novel
`antibodies from human repertoires. Patent applications were filed covering this technology, and a new company,
`Cambridge Antibody Technology Ltd. (CAT), was founded in 1989 to exploit the opportunity. CAT has since raised
`approximately £60 million and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It employs about 150 staff members in the
`United Kingdom, predominantly scientists. MRC shares financially in CAT's success through a shareholding in the
`company and royalty income.
`
`Exploitation of scientific results can be financially and intellectually rewarding, for both the owners of the intellectual
`property and for the scientific contributors. Under U.K. law, the employer of the inventors holds legal title to the
`invention; MRC therefore "owns" the IPR generated by its staff. However, it is important to recognize and reward the
`contribution made by the originators of the IP, and MRC operates an Awards to Inventors scheme in which income
`received by MRC through exploitation of its inventions is shared with the contributing scientists and the MRC
`laboratory in which the work was undertaken.
`
`Exploitation of IP has many benefits. Financial gains can be seen in both the short and longer term. It can be used to
`bolster research in a particular area. It can act as a lever to access complementary know-how from a third party. It
`can provide a significant economic stimulus via the creation of new companies. Most importantly, in the medical
`sciences, it can enable and hasten the use of fundamental research results in the development of therapeutic and
`diagnostic products by the commercial sector for the benefit of health care.
`
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`2 of 2
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`12/28/2014 5:56 PM
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`IMMUNOGEN 2084, pg. 2
`Phigenix v. Immunogen
`IPR2014-00676
`
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