BIOTECHNOLOGY: THE UNIVERSITY PERSPECTIVE


 Individual faculty members should be free of substantial conflicts of
 interest and/or commitment.
 Research, especially that carried out by undergraduate and graduate
 students, should be published.
 Substantial federal funding of investigator-initiated research will con-
 tinue to provide most of the support for basic research related to bio-
 technology.


FINANCES

 Federal Funding-Traditionally, funding for basic "biotechnology" re-
search has been provided by federal agencies. This continues to be the case
despite the influx of industry funding in the past few years. With federal
funding at more than $500 million per year the proportion provided by
industry may be as low as one in 25. To the extent that industry funds
target the same or related opportunities as do federal funds, there is sub-
stantial leverage.
 As the need for close collaboration between universities and industries
has become more apparent, state and federal agencies have begun to fund
programs that require industry participation. Leverage, and being
leveraged, is becoming a way of life for university scientists. But even these
additional funds do little to change the proportion of funding that supports
basic research.
 Corporate Funding-Why then do universities compete so vigorously
for corporate funding? In most cases the funds are valued for the prestige
they bring, because they form a linkage that the university values, because
they are seen as addressing a national need and, most important, they
allow new dimensions to be added to the basic program. In many cases
industry funds are used to bridge between disciplines and to bring biotech-
nology tools to bear in areas that are not of interest to federal agencies.
Finally, as pointed out above, some federal and state funding is tied to
industry participation.
 The provision of some funds by industry probably is essential to a suc-
cessful program of university-industry collaboration, even when state or
federal funds are available for similar purposes. Such funding:

 Assures industry commitment.
 Provides added resources that allow universities to commit faculty and
 staff time to the program.
 Allows new fields of interest to industry to be explored.