R. Barker


THE ESTABLISHED CORPORATION

 With few exceptions, during the 1960s and 70s research intensive corpo-
rations had paid little attention to areas now known as biotechnology. It
was clear by 1980, however, that the pharmaceutical, medical diagnostic,
agricultural, energy, and chemical industries would be greatly affected by
the new technologies. Most corporate managers knew little of the field and
there was a rapid escalation of interest in university-based research. Sev-
eral major corporations moved quickly to form collaborations with univer-
sities. Monsanto with Washington University, Hoechst with Harvard, Du-
Pont with MIT, all looking for a window on biotechnology; but each
arrangement differing in the extent to which industry and university are
mingled in the research effort.
 Most research universities were as anxious as the research corporations
to develop collaborative programs. It seemed to university scientists and
administrators that most major corporations were willing (even eager) to
make multi-year, multi-million dollar commitments. There was a genuine
interest among the scientists in establishing programs that would help en-
sure that their work was used to good purpose. And for some, joining with
a group of colleagues in a collaboration with a major corporation (or pref-
erably several simultaneously) appeared to eliminate some of the troubling
issues raised by other and more venturesome approaches.
 In what follows, I will deal with some features of university-industry
collaborations that are essential to their success.


 UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY COLLABORATIONS
 IN BIOTECHNOLOGY


BASIC PRINCIPLES

 I take as given that:

 The basic research in biotechnology carried out by university scientists
 has been well and effectively done and that university-industry collab-
 oration should not redirect this research toward development and ap-
 plication.
 Universities should remain "open," research and scholarship should lie
 in the public domain, information should flow freely, and there
 should be easy access to the campus.