From lab to marketplace

Penn has taken a great step in helping its students and faculty take their academic endeavors to the marketplace with the creation of P2B, a non-profit corporation, and PenNetWorks, a partnership that will bring private-sector expertise to the ivory tower. While we are optimistic about the incubator's benefits for the entrepreneurs involved, the University and the larger Philadelphia community, our support is tinged with a note of caution. P2B's assistance will greatly aid students and faculty in bringing ideas to the market. The University will benefit both from the financial rewards of participation and through an enhanced reputation as a center of technology transfer. And the city will experience job growth and, hopefully, increased tax revenues. But like many in the higher education community, we worry about the increasing convergence between academic research and corporate interests. Penn's recent experience with Genovo Inc., the firm created to market the discoveries of James M. Wilson's controversial gene therapy trials, should sound a note of caution. It is important that Penn publicize and enforce its conflict-of-interest policies. This is particularly necessary in the area of biotechnology, which has seen a number of high-profile cases where research quality and patient safety were made a secondary concern to the quest for corporate profit. As Harvard cardiologist Donald Baim told The Washington Post: "It's OK to invest in something. It's OK to have equity. But it should never bring into question what you say." Such words should be heeded by Penn's budding entrepreneurs and medical mavericks. And in encouraging links between business and academe, it is the University's job to make sure its ethical standards are upheld.