412. Switzerland is pleased to propose this agenda item on Intellectual Property and Innovation and co-sponsor submission document IP/C/W/657 in partnership with Australia; Canada; Chile; the European Union, Hong Kong, China; Japan; Singapore; the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; and the United States of America. 413. Protection of intellectual property is not an end in itself. It shall promote inventions and creativity. But inventions by and on their own are of not much use, either. Inventions, and innovation more broadly, must reach the potential beneficiaries, the users, the customers, the patients, and respond to their needs. Only then is innovation in the public interest and can contribute meaningfully to technological and economic development. The commercialization of intellectual property is thus key, but poses often also a considerable challenge to inventors and creators. 414. Publicprivate collaboration can be one way of addressing this challenge in a successful partnership. This is the topic of document IP/C/W/657 and of the discussion suggested under agenda item 13, for which the co-sponsors propose at the end of their submission a number of questions which may help to guide the Council's discussion. 415. Switzerland would like to contribute by sharing some of its own experience concerning publicprivate collaboration and IP-commercialization. 416. The Chair and me, and probably most delegates in the room, spend a good deal of their professional life in seated position. Unfortunately, nature had not intended us to do so and reminds us of this regularly - with backpain! 417. Almost one out of five patients going to hospital in Switzerland suffers from a musculoskeletal disorder (or in short: MSD)2. MSDs are among the leading causes of work disability and productivity loss. According to a study on the economic impact of MSDs, the total cost attributable to MSDs in Europe amounts to almost 2% of the gross domestic product (GDP)3. MSDs therefore have a significant socio-economic impact. In the following, we will explain how IP is an important piece in the puzzle of public-private partnerships for the development and commercialization of new therapeutic technologies to treat and heal MSDs. 418. Commercializing academic innovations in the medical and med-tech field is often a challenge. The reason why IP commercialization does not take off, lies sometimes with those doing research at universities. They often tend to focus on their academic career rather than investing the time and resources necessary for exploiting the commercial potential of their research. Not knowing how to go about this and lacking the necessary network of expert partners, are other reasons why they often shy away from the financial risk of a business venture. Lack of awareness of the IP system, and how to take advantage of it to promote their own research and development (R&D) is another reason. Careless disclosure of valuable information, for instance in publications or presentations, might make them miss out on later opportunities to commercialize their IP. Fortunately, a growing number of universities and medical technology teaching institutions establish technology transfer offices and incubators that support academics in developing and transferring their basic research to the stage of applied research, and support them in teaming up with knowledgeable partners from the private sector to reach the stage of commercializing their innovation. 419. In the following, we would like to present an example of such a successful cooperation in the health care sector, more specifically: in the treatment of MSDs. Innovation is vital to the health care industry. And governments face rising healthcare costs and increasing demand for new and more effective medicines. There are thus shared concerns and interests. For their partnership to function smoothly, IP plays an indispensable role. 420. Public and private actors in innovation greatly value having access to collaborative research infrastructures. Medical trials, for instance, involve cooperation with hospitals. For innovation to happen in the complex field of medical technology, cross-disciplinary teams are often required. Innovative diagnostic instruments, for example, regularly feature elements from a number of fields of expertise like genetics, chemistry, software and engineering. The challenge is to find the right partners, including appropriate commercialization partners, within suitable research infrastructures. Careful planning is necessary if limited funds are to be used as efficiently as possible. 421. An example where such interdisciplinary partnerships work together, to research, produce and commercialize innovation in the medtech area, is the Balgrist Campus, which is closely associated and directly located next to the Balgrist University hospital in the city of Zurich. The Campus is an initiative of two foundations dedicated to creating an optimal infrastructure. It is not merely an infrastructure to optimize research for the purposes of the University hospital; the Balgrist Campus has also established a Swiss platform for nationwide research, development, and commercialization to resolve problems such as the high number of patients suffering from MSDs. The aim is to connect universities and academics with partners from the private sector. Many other hospitals have also dispatched expert staff to the Campus on a temporary basis. Collaborations exist with several private industry partners who seek to implement the knowledge gained into viable commercial solutions and marketable products. These partnerships enable companies to gain access to the latest research knowledge and open up new business relationships to the researchers. By establishing cross-licenses between each other, they develop and share their work and the IPRs attached to it. Once commercialized, IPRs enable involved parties to reap and share equitably the economic benefits from their collaboration. Without sound protection of the created IP, companies would not be willing to take the risk of commercializing an invention, nor would they probably receive the necessary financing. Strong IP portfolios make the Balgrist Campus an attractive partner to potential sponsors from industry and leading researchers, and academics from universities elsewhere in Switzerland or abroad. 422. The Campus additionally invests in promising start-ups. These start-ups benefit from the public-private funded infrastructure, the collaboration with public hospitals and private corporate entities. At the same time, they are considered as a fundamental link between the researchers and industries. From ideas to basic research, to applied research and to market ready solutions: they can all be carried out under the same roof. This strategy has so far been very fruitful. 423. One of the successful start-ups based on the campus is called "ZuriMED", which produces devices for ligament reconstruction. Such devices are applied, for instance, to swiftly restore the function of the knee after an injury, allowing MSD patients to recover faster. 424. "The Balgrist Campus is a perfect incubator for translational medicine", says CEO Elias Bachmann, referring here to the interdisciplinary branch of the biomedical research and development field. The goal of translational medicine is to combine disciplines, resources, expertise, and techniques from different domains to promote enhancements in prevention, diagnosis, and therapies. Bachmann emphasizes that without the infrastructure and the teamwork through public and private partners at the Balgrist Campus, commercial success would not have been possible. He underlines the importance of IPRs, not only as a prerequisite for commercial success, but also as a means to promote a good reputation and attract potential investors. 425. Steven Johnson, a science author and media theorist, once said: "If you look at history, innovation does not come just from giving people incentives; it comes from creating environments where their ideas can connect." 426. IPRs help public-private partnerships to commercialize great inventions. Such team work between public and private partners offers synergetic and competitive advantages such as access to technology and infrastructure, collaboration on scientific expertise, innovative development and, not least, the joint commercial exploitation of the resulting intellectual property.
