Research amendment would benefit U., USU

Utah's two research universities haven't invented anything wildly popular like Gatorade. But it could happen, and when it does, a proposed amendment to the Utah Constitution would allow both schools to financially benefit.

The amendment voters will decide on this fall would effectively bring Utah in line with what the federal government already requires. But the proposed change does raise some questions.

A 2001 report by the Association of American Universities (AAU) raises the question of how schools like the University of Utah and Utah State University handle potential financial conflicts of interest on the part of researchers.

Another issue is whether the U. and USU will be tempted to move more toward research that has greater potential for financial gain and away from less lucrative humanitarian causes.

"Research that derives strong commercial benefit doesn't just fall off a tree," said USU President Kermit Hall. "No one's going to be successful in developing technologies and then commercializing them without having a strong, underlying fundamental research program. It just doesn't work that way."

Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey developed the prescription antibiotic Streptomycin, but not without extensive research, Hall noted. Rat poison, he added, was developed only through a broad base of biochemical research.

Hall said the instances where a university actually transfers a technology into something with huge market appeal are rare. But if that happens, the U. and USU want to be able to legally reap financial rewards.

To that end, the 2004 Legislature passed HJR12, which calls for amending the Constitution to allow universities to sell intellectual property developed at the school for an equity interest in the company using that property. Professors can already either sell their inventions or form private foundations for profit, but the constitution prohibits schools from purchasing stock in the companies using the invention.

The change to Utah's Constitution would essentially "validate" what the two schools are already doing, said U. associate vice president for research Ron Pugmire.

"It's catching up to what the feds already require," he said.

In short, the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act paved the way for universities to take federally-funded research to the marketplace.

Still, the AAU created a task force of university presidents to investigate conflicts of interest issues that can arise when a university has a financial stake in a private company.

The AAU task force recommends three approaches:

• Always disclose a potential conflict

• Manage the conflict "in most cases"

• Prohibit the activity "when necessary to protect the public interest or the interest of the university."