target molecules by further promoting basic research are necessary. Although major
research institutes and universities have TR platforms, connecting research results to
business by many minor institutes is difficult.
6.1 Platform
Regarding the platform, from the viewpoint of promoting basic research, a data
center that collects practical research results will be useful. An example of this is the
academic research organization supported by the Japan Agency for Medical
Research and Development in Japan (Fukushima, 2016). However, basic research
data should not be limited to Japan, but research results from many overseas research
institutions should also be collected (Sutton et al., 2019). The creation of such an
international consortium should also be considered in the future.
6.2 Project Management
Especially in Japan, universities have a history of avoiding involvement in the
business. By definition, educational institutes are not centers for economic activity
and are not legally placed to do business. School corporations are non-profit
organizations. In recent years, some for-profit organizations have been approved to
establish schools (2004), but many universities are still nonprofit organizations. For
this reason, few organizations have human resources who can implement project
management as a business. Therefore, of course, departments do not exist that
support procedures such as connecting research results on campus to businesses.
Clearly, researchers with little business experience do not have the skills to perform
project management. TR has been defined as the “process of applying ideas, insights,
and discoveries generated through basic scientific inquiry to the treatment or prevention of human disease” (Morrison, 2010). According to the TR framework,
research is conducted on a collaborative basis with the goal of discovering cures
or therapies for patients (Valenti et al., 2016). The process requires various types of
specialized knowledge including patent application, product development, production management, and cost calculation. These functions may be difficult at individual
universities, and thus, I think that a third-party specialized institution should be
developed as a shared facility.
Here, we looked at the actual bridge research situation in Japan by examining one
case of research to product development. However, many issues remain to be solved.
The many research seeds from small academic institutes are disappearing or being
buried, and many venture companies are unable to find the seeds from many
academic institutes. The following strategies should be considered:
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K. Fujitani et al.
research institutes and universities have TR platforms, connecting research results to
business by many minor institutes is difficult.
6.1 Platform
Regarding the platform, from the viewpoint of promoting basic research, a data
center that collects practical research results will be useful. An example of this is the
academic research organization supported by the Japan Agency for Medical
Research and Development in Japan (Fukushima, 2016). However, basic research
data should not be limited to Japan, but research results from many overseas research
institutions should also be collected (Sutton et al., 2019). The creation of such an
international consortium should also be considered in the future.
6.2 Project Management
Especially in Japan, universities have a history of avoiding involvement in the
business. By definition, educational institutes are not centers for economic activity
and are not legally placed to do business. School corporations are non-profit
organizations. In recent years, some for-profit organizations have been approved to
establish schools (2004), but many universities are still nonprofit organizations. For
this reason, few organizations have human resources who can implement project
management as a business. Therefore, of course, departments do not exist that
support procedures such as connecting research results on campus to businesses.
Clearly, researchers with little business experience do not have the skills to perform
project management. TR has been defined as the “process of applying ideas, insights,
and discoveries generated through basic scientific inquiry to the treatment or prevention of human disease” (Morrison, 2010). According to the TR framework,
research is conducted on a collaborative basis with the goal of discovering cures
or therapies for patients (Valenti et al., 2016). The process requires various types of
specialized knowledge including patent application, product development, production management, and cost calculation. These functions may be difficult at individual
universities, and thus, I think that a third-party specialized institution should be
developed as a shared facility.
Here, we looked at the actual bridge research situation in Japan by examining one
case of research to product development. However, many issues remain to be solved.
The many research seeds from small academic institutes are disappearing or being
buried, and many venture companies are unable to find the seeds from many
academic institutes. The following strategies should be considered:
148
K. Fujitani et al.