Universities form virtual company to commercialise discoveries

Four Australian universities have agreed to create a virtual company through UniQuest Pty Ltd to commercialise plant research discoveries.

The company, Meristomics, will form the commercial face of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research (CILR). Research groups from the Australian National University, the University of Melbourne, the University of Newcastle and The University of Queensland comprise the Centre.

Formed in 2003, the CILR has already caught the attention of pharmaceutical companies who have expressed interest in a legume-derived compound with the potential to treat a range of human diseases.

As a consequence, the CILR and its partner universities needed an efficient and cost-effective means to patent and commercialise their research outcomes, according to CILR chief operating officer and Meristomics CEO, Ian Harris.

"In a genuine spirit of collaboration, the universities decided that The University of Queensland's commercial arm, UniQuest, provided the best solution," Mr Harris said.

"Meristomics will be operated by UniQuest until we have enough collateral to spin it out as a company in its own right.

"It was a groundbreaking decision for the partner universities to pass on their commercialisation rights to UniQuest, and by doing so it has provided us with single point of contact for industry and immediate access to substantial commercial expertise and clout."

The formation of Meristomics through UniQuest was seen as a value-adding solution, according to UQ Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), Professor David Siddle.

"UniQuest is a recognised leader in university commercialisation so it made sense to utilise and leverage off its resources and expertise with no upfront cost to the CILR," Professor Siddle said.

"We believe Meristomics presents Australian universities with a new and effective model for commercialising collaborative research and structuring alliances."

Through Meristomics, UniQuest is engaged in patenting CILR's first discovery and is in discussions with several groups regarding investment opportunities. It is also investigating the commercial potential of a second legume derivative.

UniQuest managing director, David Henderson, said it was vital Australian universities developed smart commercialisation strategies to take into account a chronic shortage of commercialisation professionals and limited funding for taking their innovations to market.