UC Forms Biomedical Research Partnership

University officials announced the alliance of three corporate heavyweights and UC researchers Monday as part of the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research, a three-campus effort to combat disease.

Industry officials unveiled three major partnerships with technology giants General Electric, Genentech and Nikon Instruments that aim to foster the development of new technologies, speed collaboration with UC scientists and establish a new imaging facility, respectively.

"We believed that by creating entirely new academic enterprises with strong regional ties to industry, our vision would become broader and bolder," said UC President Robert Dynes in a statement Tuesday.

The partnerships are valuable to the institute because they allow for more efficient commercialization of university-based ideas, products and technologies, said Diane Leite, deputy director of the institute.

After the products of these collaborations are put on the market, agreements are developed on a case-by-case basis that protect the rights of the parties involved, Leite said.

The revenue will be divided between UC, the inventor and the company, she said.

As part of a larger endeavor based at three UC campuses-Berkeley, San Francisco and Santa Cruz-the institute aims to impact society through research, industry outreach and education in the biological sciences.

"By translating research into industry, there will be more knowledge and discovery out of the academic world," Leite said. "The research brings the brainpower of the faculty together across campuses and disciplines to make an impact on the economy."

Monday also marked the inauguration of Byers Hall, the institute's headquarters on the UCSF Mission Bay campus, which will be the only facility completely devoted to biomedical research, treatments and diagnoses.

UC Berkeley offices will be housed in the Stanley Biosciences and Bioengineering Facility, slated for completion in June 2006.

Of the 70 UC Berkeley faculty members involved with the institute, 40 will be relocated to the facility.

The institute was formed as a result of a competition created by former Gov. Gray Davis in December 2000 to foster the growth of new ideas through the California Institutes for Science and Innovation initiative.

Four institutions were selected under the initiative, two of which were housed on the UC Berkeley campus, the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the biomedical institute.

The initiative gave $100 million to each institute to build new facilities, with a portion of the funding going to UC Berkeley, UCSF and UC Santa Cruz, Leite said.

The institute is required to match its state funding at a 2 to 1 ratio, and will thus seek additional funding from outside sources.

UC Berkeley spokesperson Bob Sanders said through the institute's probing of the basic biology of many diseases, the institute is working toward social good.

"The purpose of (the institute) is to use state funding and money from private donors to generate breakthroughs to help the general public," Sanders said.

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