Sharing the Burden in Australian Drug Discovery and Development: Collaborative Trends in Translational Research

Biotechnology has important implications for drug discovery and development, and the translation of the patented research results of the genomic era offers an opportunity to permanently revolutionise the way we develop drug technology. We are not seeing as much effective translation of drug targets as might be expected. This article reports on the results of a study into collaborative strategies in Australian biotechnology, undertaken to assess their efficacy for enhancing the delivery of market-ready products. It supports earlier findings that formalised strategies such as patent pooling and clearinghouses currently provide little advantage, primarily because there is a high degree of fragmentation of the technology, and a low degree of fragmentation of the intellectual property landscape. Less structured arrangements continue to predominate, but it is questionable whether these models are currently being optimally utilised. This article begins to consider the policy implications of encouraging particular models of co-operation in drug-based research.