Final Report Summary - EPISODE (Exploiting the potential of structural biology ¿ - Opportunities for economic development of pharma/biotech in Tuscany, Berlin-Brandenburg and beyond) Executive summary: The overarching goal of the EPISODE project is to maximise the regional economic benefit of the structural biology research infrastructures in Tuscany, Berlin-Brandenburg and beyond, with a special focus on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based and associated technologies and their applications to the pharma/biotech industries. Over a period of three years of the EPISODE project, several important objectives have been achieved; both Tuscany and Berlin-Brandenburg regions, highly motivated to accelerate their pharma/biotech industries, uniquely poised to reach this important goal and to capitalise on the benefits of structural biology through NMR and associated technologies in the pharma/biotech industries thanks to the presence of strong research infrastructures in this field. The emergence of pan-European infrastructures provides powerful new opportunities for research. The EPISODE partnership includes participants in the European Strategy forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) roadmap's Instruct integrated structural biology infrastructure and the I3 infrastructures EU-NMR and ECBI. The provision of access to such resources to a wide range of users is an important aspect of their success. An important impact of the EPISODE project on research capacity is therefore the maximal use of these infrastructures, especially for research and development efforts that have an economic dimension. The EPISODE project's goal aims at sharing resources, encouraging cooperation and collaboration among regional research institutions, business and areas agencies to couple research with revenue, by removing barriers among these groups, identifying bottlenecks that hamper their interactions. This main goal has been approached through the development of a collaborative approach in the pursuit these four primary objectives: 1. analysis of the current state of play and the expansion and stimulation of research-driven cluster nuclei 2. fostering of transnational and interregional cooperation and learning 3. mentoring of less-developed regions and 4. development of joint action plans. The major project's challenges include: 1. facilitating and maximising access to research infrastructures and promoting an entrepreneurial mindset among researchers 2. encouraging collaborations among institutions with an interest in NMR-driven structural biology research 3. enhancing knowledge transfer among research entities and business, in particular small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and improving the availability of and access to SME support services facilitating an adequate support structure and supporting business 4. reducing bureaucracy and encouraging nimbleness 5. ensuring adequate intellectual capital through strong university systems 6. advertising, on a global scale, that these regions are prime locations for cutting-edge research in structural biology and associated industrial applications, facilitating access to private and/or public funding and attracting investments from the global scene 7. increasing research potential and mobility, including mobility between research and industry 8. encouraging commercialisation and distribution. Project context and objectives: The overarching goal of the EPISODE project was to maximise the regional economic benefit of structural biology research infrastructures in Tuscany, Berlin-Brandenburg and beyond, with a special focus on NMR-based and associated technologies and their applications to the pharma/biotech industries. This goal was approached through the pursuit of four primary objectives: 1. Objective 1: Analysis of the current state of play and the expansion and stimulation of research-driven cluster nuclei. In order to improve links between regional authorities, research entities and industry, a thorough analysis of the current offer and demand of these actors was carried out. EPISODE delivered a clear picture of the state of regional NMR-related structural biology capabilities in Tuscany and Berlin-Brandenburg around which pharmaceutical/biotechnological research and development capabilities can be enhanced. 2. Objective 2: Fostering transnational and interregional cooperation and learning. EPISODE's research infrastructures, namely the magnetic resonance centre (CERM) at the University of Florence and the Leibniz institute for molecular pharmacology (FMP) in Berlin, already enjoyed a close collaborative relationship. The EPISODE project worked to build on these bonds through the expansion of research-driven clusters to the regions surrounding the research infrastructures, fostering transnational and interregional cooperation and encouraging new collaborations. 3. Objective 3: Mentoring of less-developed regions. The Convergence region of Campania was chosen to participate in EPISODE because of its potential for both learning from and contributing ideas to the success of the project. Campania has a less developed research profile in the project's area, but has significant potential and opportunity for growth. The project benefitted from the mutual exchange of experience and best practices with this region and worked to increase Campania's capacity in this sector. 4. Objective 4: Development of joint action plans. A joint action plan that outlines strategies for further growth was developed to increase regional economic competitiveness through research and technological development activities. Financial possibilities afforded by a variety of funding sources were identified in the form of an accompanying business plan; as funding for the EPISODE project does not include implementation, this financial strategy is a fundamental component for the project's success. Project results: The main results achieved resulted in the EPISODE joint action plan. The overarching goal of the joint action plan is to maximise the potential of NMR research infrastructures for regional economic development. This goal will be pursued through a series of objectives, outlined as follows: 1. Objective 1.1: To improve the offer of research infrastructures 2. Objective 1.2: To encourage and increase the use of research infrastructures by industry 3. Objective 2.1: To contribute to the running costs of infrastructures 4. Objective 2.2: To contribute to the foundation of new companies 5. Objective 3.1: To train human capital in complementary skills 6. Objective 3.2: To continue to exchange best practices and encourage transregional cooperation 7. Objective 3.3: To encourage the consolidation and expansion of cooperation networks. The overall strategy of the joint action plan has been developed to facilitate the goal of the EPISODE project, i.e. to maximise the benefits of NMR research infrastructures for the economic development of the pharma/biotech industries in Tuscany, Berlin-Brandenburg and beyond. The actions are delineated in three major sets: 1. action set one (Interfacing with industry), to improve the offer of research infrastructures and encourage and increase the use of research infrastructures by industry 2. action set two (Direct revenue generation), to contribute to the running costs of infrastructures and to contribute to the foundation of new companies 3. action set three (Complementary skills and 'social' approaches). Potential impact: The EPISODE project aimed to create opportunities for the economic development of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries in Tuscany, Berlin-Brandenburg and beyond, by exploiting the potential of structural biology through NMR and associated technologies. The EPISODE project therefore has the potential to be extremely high-impact, by maximising the benefits of research infrastructures in this field in the regions involved to promote economic growth. The emergence of pan-European infrastructures provides powerful new opportunities for research. The EPISODE partnership includes participants in the ESFRI roadmap's Instruct integrated structural biology infrastructure and the I3 infrastructure bio-NMR. The provision of access to such resources to a wide range of users is an important aspect of their success; regions surrounding infrastructures are exceptionally fortunate for their close proximity. An important impact of the EPISODE project on research capacity is therefore the maximal use of these infrastructures, especially for research and development efforts that have an economic dimension. The EPISODE project undertook extensive networking efforts to improve links among and between regional authorities, research entities and the local business community. These research driven clusters were involved in efforts to promote regional economic development in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, leading to increased collaboration, increased investments, increases in jobs in these sectors and other benefits. A joint action plan was outlined to describe specific steps to be taken to maximise the benefits of regional research infrastructures in NMR-driven structural biology for economic development in the pharma/biotech sectors. Both Berlin-Brandenburg and Tuscany already have functioning individual components, but there is significant room for improvement and their integration will allow them to maximise their potential and maximise the joint use of resources. The regions of Berlin-Brandenburg and Tuscany will be strengthened in their ability to attract outside investment, to effectively compete for new funding initiatives and to maximise the use of existing funding sources. The Convergence region of Campania was involved not only to benefit from mentoring activities, but to guide them. This partner will bring the challenges facing developing regions to the attention of EPISODE, so that appropriate events and actions can be organised that are of the highest use and interest to mentored regions. List of websites: http://www.episodeproject.net Project coordinator: Marco Masi Regione Toscana marco.masi@regione.toscana.it Project manager: Kathleen McGreevy CERM Magnetic Resonance Centre mcgreevy@cerm.unifi.it
