Brazil and United Kingdom
May 20, 2009
The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa,
and Plant Bioscience
Limited (PBL),
the UK technology management company have signed a cooperation
agreement under which they will work together to develop new
technologies for Brazilian agricultural markets and to promote
and market new innovations emerging from Embrapa’s large
research network.
The Agreement gives Embrapa the right to access a group of
patented technologies from PBL’s portfolio, which Embrapa will
then develop to create new commercial products for Brazilian
agriculture. The manager of the Planning and Business Management
department of the Embrapa Technology Transfer, Dr. Amauri Buso,
cites plant genes resistant to drought, disease or able to
increase crop yield as examples of such technologies, as well as
natural products for control of crop pests of huge national
importance in Brazil, such as pests of soybean and cotton.
PBL will also add selected Embrapa innovations to its portfolio
and market these to the global industrial sectors, on behalf of
Embrapa. PBL has a long track record of success in protecting
and licensing innovations on behalf of public research
organizations worldwide. PBL’s interests cover AgBiotech, Animal
Health, Food, Nutrition, Microbiology, Biotechnology and related
Life Science industries.
“This bilateral agreement will increase the chances of
commercialization and protection of our technologies in the
global market” Dr Buso says. Besides that, according to Dr Buso
this partnership will help identifying and evaluating better
commercialization opportunities and defining more promising
strategies for Embrapa products.
Dr Jan Chojecki, PBL’s Managing Director says “Embrapa has a
very impressive applied research capability covering most
aspects of agricultural science, and so is an excellent partner
to take forward fundamental, often fairly untested, innovations
emerging from our source partners in UK and elsewhere around the
world. Moreover, Brazil has agricultural conditions ranging from
temperate to tropical, and provides direct access to a vibrant
agribusiness economy in which to test new products and product
concepts.”
Steve Visscher, BBSRC Deputy Chief Executive, said: "This
agreement between Embrapa and PBL, which is part-owned by BBSRC,
is excellent news. It will give scientists working with PBL
superb access to unrivalled expertise and opportunities to
generate impact from their research in the Brazilian
marketplace. Outputs from Embrapa will likewise receive a boost
from PBL's expertise in the markets where they have specialist
knowledge."
The partnership builds on the highly successful government
initiative UK-Brazil Partnership in Science and Innovation,
facilitated by the Science Team at the British Consulate in Sao
Paulo. In the recent joint-declaration by the Brazilian
President Lula and PM Gordon Brown, both governments
demonstrated their willingness in promoting collaboration on
innovation: “(both) emphasise the importance of continuing to
build scientific collaboration to find ways to address global
challenges and the need to support UK and Brazilian companies in
their efforts to commercialise the results of their innovative
research”.
Embrapa’s mission is to provide feasible solutions for the
sustainable development of Brazilian agribusiness through
knowledge and technology generation and transfer. With over
8,000 employees in around 40 Research Centres, Embrapa
coordinates Brazil’s National Agricultural Research System,
which includes most public and private entities involved in
agricultural research in the country.
PBL (Plant Bioscience Limited) is an IP management and
technology development company, investing in emerging technology
across the life sciences. PBL was formed in 1994, by the Gatsby
Charitable Foundation and the John Innes Centre who both wanted
the results of their public- and charity- funded research to be
professionally managed through proactive commercialization for
ultimate public benefit. The Company is now jointly and equally
owned by The John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory and
– since 2004 - the BBSRC (Biotechnology and Biological Sciences
Research Council. PBL brings together innovative technologies
from public research sources worldwide, invests in building
intellectual property protection and technology development,
commercialised through licensing and new venture formation.
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