Science-Industry Collaboration

Abstract

In 1982, the Animal Breeding Research Organization of Scotland had a serious fiscal problem. The British agency in charge of funding its research faced a budget shortfall that led to spending reductions for recipient institutions. Rather than lay off scientists from its basic research team, the Scottish scientific organization decided to generate new revenues by commercializing its products. Renamed the Roslin Institute, it created a privately funded company, PPL Therapeutics, in 1987 to bring products to the marketplace. Within a decade, PPL scientists were part of the research group that produced Dolly, the world’s first sheep to be cloned from adult cells. The company went on to pioneer new treatments for several diseases and partner with leading pharmaceutical companies.¹