Focus on the Appliance of Science FROM LEIDEN Focus on the Appliance of Science FROM LEIDEN

Colofon

Texts Design With special thanks to everyone Esther Thole Ratio Design.nl interviewed in this book and: Ionica Smeets BioPartner Leiden Peter Baggen Editing Communications department LU Anke Klerkx, LURIS Communications department LUMC Pictures Aurélie Veltema, LURIS Ratio Design Aad van Vliet / TwoMoves Marilyn Hedges, Academisch Irene van der Plas Talencentrum Leiden Marc de Haan Sander Pardon The Appliance of Science

Research is at the heart of the mission of both Medical Sciences in 1924. To this day the ECG is the Leiden University (LU) and Leiden University Medical best way to measure and diagnose abnormal rhythms Center (LUMC). It has been since the creation of of the heart and is still in use in hospitals all over. the University in 1575. However, it is not research solely for the sake of research but also so that LU In 2010, The World University Rankings by the Times and LUMC can play their roles in promoting clinical, Higher Education Supplement put Leiden University societal and economic development. This is ‘The equal first in the world in field of Industry income – Appliance of Science’. Innovation. This category is designed to cover an institution’s knowledge-transfer activity. It is Much of the research at LUMC is Translational determined by the institution’s research income Research, meaning that it has a close connection from industry scaled against the number of academic to clinical need. This ensures that the relevance of staff. An excellent performance from Leiden Univer­ the scientific research can be directly translated into sity and the Leiden University Medical Center. medicinal and clinical use. Work in the University finds application in many fields, ranging from This book ‘The Appliance of Science’ illustrates some Social Sciences, Languages and Cultural studies of the examples and achievements of LU and LUMC to Pharma­cology and Plant Sciences through to in the area of valorisation of the research base. Material Sciences. It demonstrates how fundamental research can go hand in hand with commercial and societal use. Excellent research in Leiden is not a new pheno­ It has already lead to the creation of successful menon. Since Leiden became a University City, great clinical treatments, the establishment of new firms scientific breakthroughs have been accomplished. and one of Europe’s most successful Bio Science A good example is Electrocardiography (ECG), first Parks. The current growth in the activity speaks well built as a diagnostic tool in Leiden by the Dutch of the quality of the research base and the entrepre­ doctor and physiologist Willem Einthoven. He played neurial nature of the scientists. It bodes well for the an important role in the development of electrocar­­ future of Leiden and the Netherlands. dio­­graphy and won the Nobel Prize for Physiology of

In focus Valorisation What is valorisation? If you ask a native English ministry of Economic Affairs to describe the speaker this question you will see question process by which knowledge is transferred to marks in his or her eyes appear. Valorisation is society via products, processes or services, and how the Dutch translate the term ´valorisatie´, value - economic value or money- is created. which was introduced by policy makers of the

4 5 Valorisation should Valorisation is be fun for researchers not a dirty word

Valorisation has become a main theme on national research agendas. Paul van Maarten le Clercq bid farewell to the Executive Board of the LUMC in June 2010, after der Heijden, Rector Magnificus and President of the Executive Board of Leiden eight - in his own words - extremely pleasant years. He hopes to have made a valuable University, is proud of what Leiden has achieved, and sees even more possibilities contribution, especially on valorisation. When the idea for a technology transfer office for the future. first arose, he immediately became enthusiastic.

Traditionally, the universities had two tasks: scientific Maghiel van Crevel has developed high-school books It started in 2004 when Douwe Breimer, the then LURIS became the envisioned technology transfer research and teaching. Gradually, however, the notion for Mandarin. And language is just a starting point. Rector Magnificus of Leiden University, commissioned centre. Today it is a little bigger than the founders of social relevance has seeped in. Van der Heijden: We could do so much more with our knowledge, such an investigation into the possibility of a technology imagined five years ago, and the LUMC also has “The government justifiably asked what they get for as offering courses for companies who are trading transfer office. Le Clercq: “Naturally, the LUMC was additional staff working on technology transfer. But the 2.5 to 3 billion euro they spend on universities, with China. And this is just one example; the social a discussion partner. We already had a rudimentary Maarten le Clercq believes this is only the beginning: besides master’s graduates and scientific publicati­ sciences also have a lot of potential. To boost valori­ organisation that assisted in valorising research, but “Valorisation is a hot topic for the government and it ons. The social partners had a similar question: what sation activities, we need hubs in which researchers things were quite unstructured and there was limited will continue to grow. Besides, it takes about twenty could universities contribute to relevant problems and companies can mix.” experience with legal aspects, intellectual property years for valorisation to permeate the entire organi­ relating to energy, water and food?” In the last five or contracts.” Le Clercq was already familiar with sation. LURIS is the leading organisation of its kind years, valorisation, meaning generating value from The Rector emphasises that valorisation should be professional technology transfer offices from other in the Netherlands, but can still learn and develop. knowledge, has become the official third task of put in a proper perspective: “Researchers should not countries, the industry and the UMC Utrecht. “The Other countries are ahead of us; the technology the universities. be forced to become entrepreneurs. They have been idea really took on in my head. The university and transfer office of Leuven, for instance, has been hired for their specialisations, and valorisation calls LUMC decided to work together on this. It was in our around for over twenty-five years. In Leiden the Leiden was familiar with this concept long before for a different kind of expertise. Which is why I am common interest that our knowledge should end up number of researchers who are active in valorisation valorisation became a political term. “The Bio so glad that LURIS offers this expertise as a service. in the right places.” is relatively small and I hope this will increase over Science Park has been here for decades. It has pro­ They know about business, patents, legal matters the next few years.” duced famous examples such as Crucell, which was and tiny details that can drive researchers mad.” Le Clercq believes that there should not be too great established by university researchers, but is now an Researchers should not hesitate to contract out a distance between universities and industry. “For There are various ways of stimulating entrepreneur­ independent biopharmaceutical company quoted tasks: “I always advise grant winners to use part a long time valorisation was a dirty word to resear­ ship amongst researchers. Le Clercq: “First of all the on the stock exchange.” of the money to hire project management.” chers. Sometimes the market was seen as a threat Executive Board should convey the importance of rather than a possibility.” In his view this mistrust valorising research. Not all researchers need to file There are many valorisation activities outside the Van der Heijden wants to show the fresh crop is unnecessary as long as clear ground rules are patents, but those who do should feel appreciated; Bio Science Park, but Van der Heijden’s dreams of students that valorisation is a serious option: observed. The Dutch Federation of University Medical for instance, by benefiting from the financial rewards reach further: “It would be great to have a business “They do not see themselves as businessmen, but Centers (NFU) has issued a brochure ‘Naar een goede of their discovery. Secondly, there has to be a profes­ park for the humanities, for example. Leiden has only 10 to 15% of them will remain in research. waarde’ (Towards a good value) which establishes sional service to assist researchers with practical expertise on cultures and languages from all over the And even these ‘pure’ researchers must think rules of behaviour to guarantee integrity in the colla­ details and to help them foster realistic expectations. world. This knowledge is priceless and I would like commercially in order to find funding for their boration with industry. Le Clercq emphasises that And finally, researchers should see examples of to see more of it put on the market. Take China, work. I think valorisation should be fun for them. this collaboration benefits the university: “There is successful colleagues who have managed to get for instance, which is currently the world’s second Scientists love competition and are constantly trying a lot of knowledge in industry. And sometimes the their work out into the world.” IS largest economy. Many people would like to know to outdo one another. And the market is driven by market is more energetic, innovative, efficient and more about what happens there. Our Professor competition.” IS even democratic than the government.”

6 7 01 02 03 04 Platforms Moving Service Strength for new forward by from through regional discoveries collaboration science development

page 10 page 18 page 30 page 38

05 06 07 08 An inspiring Successes Promises Science academic from of the in a broader environment the past future scope

page 46 page 56 page 64 page 74

8 9 The unlimited potential of zebrafish 01

Platforms

Open for new your mind discoveries

“I was itching to start a company” Finding a causal gene, a novel drug target or a compound has in common that it often requires tedious screening procedures to find the proverbial needle in the haystack. The limitations in screening technologies trigger many researchers to look for new methods. This can result in versatile screening platforms useful for all kinds of screening needs that go beyond their scientific interest. By making these platforms commercially available, companies can benefit from these for their R&D.

10 11 made an interesting discovery on the boundary of The possibilities are enormous, since there are many their respective research areas (cell biology and fish that do not reproduce in captivity. Spaink and physiology), Spaink: “After Van den Thillart thorough­ Van den Thillart are currently working on pike perch The unlimited potential ly explained how eels work hormonally, I realized that and hope to succeed in having them reproduce within we might be able to solve the eel-breeding problem.” the next six months. “After this, the sky’s the limit: In the wild, the hormone that triggers eel reproduc­ the critically endangered tuna is our great ambition.” tion is only released from the pituitary gland in the of zebrafish brain after the eels have swum thousands of miles to Spaink spends roughly 10% of his time on ZF- the Sargasso Sea. Spaink managed to manufacture screens, and the rest of his time on his own academic cells in the zebrafish that produce this hormone. research. New discoveries have led to more patents In 1997, biologist Herman Spaink decided to embark on a new course: he switched Once this “artificial pituitary” was implanted in and to a second daughter company, ZF-pharma, his research focus from plants to zebrafish. A good decision, which led to many captive eels, they started to reproduce. which develops products for pharmaceutical appli­ cations and screening purposes based on zebrafish publications, several patents and two companies. Spaink and Van den Thillart saw the market potential technologies. “Our immune system bears a striking of their discovery and wrote a patent. However, at resemblance to that of the zebrafish. For certain When Spaink first became professor in Leiden, the completely transparent, so every cell is visible. the time, no companies were interested, so the diseases, such as tuberculosis, zebrafish are a much university had just bought the most modern micro­ Spaink soon obtained some interesting results. resear­chers, who thought it would be a great pity to better model for human response than mice.” At the scope in the Netherlands. Spaink: “This microscope When a project began in 2000 to sequence the entire leave their findings unused, decided to start their time of the interview, Spaink had just submitted an was excellent for measuring fast cell movements, but genome of the zebrafish, he knew he had chosen the own company. With LURIS’ help they secured a article that shows that humans and zebrafish react in plant cells do not move much. I also had the feeling right organism. His group expanded, and there are starting loan. Four years later, their company, the exact same way to tuberculosis drugs. He is very that many of my questions on plants had already now twenty-five people working in his project team. ZF-screens, already has ten employees. hopeful about the possibilities of this line of research: been answered in the research area I was working “The only potential problem is that tuber­culosis is not on. So I decided to look for a new model organism.” Spaink met Guido van den Thillart, a biologist who Today, daughter company NewCatch is building a sufficiently seen as a problem in the Western world. was working on eels. Eels are notoriously impossible huge facility for eel cultivation in Volendam, in Which is short-sighted, since in the near future, Spaink chose zebrafish. These fish lay many eggs to cultivate. The only possible way was to catch colla­boration with professional fish farmers. The a multidrug-resistant strain could become a great and, at only 1 mm in size, the eggs fit very nicely young fish and grow them. However, the European Ministry of Agriculture considers this a model project danger for highly developed countries, too, and also under a microscope. What makes the eggs even eel is an endangered species and its young are for aquaculture, and hopes that the Netherlands will because with more support, it would be possible in more suitable for research is that they are increasingly rare. Van den Thillart and Spaink become a strong player in this market. the long run to eradicate this disease.” IS

12 PLATFORMS FOR NEW DISCOVERIES 13 used to screen for agents that cause DNA damage of academia and applied research. Van de Water feels and oxidative stress. This project contributes to the it is important to increase the impact of your scienti­ programme of the Netherlands Toxicogenomics Centre fic work. “In the long run, I think it’s more satisfying (NTC), one of the Genomics Centres of the Nether­ to know that your results contribute to a real-life lands Genomics Initiative. Van de Water’s involvement application; something that reaches beyond the small with NTC, a consortium of academic groups, research circle of scientists who read your paper - and then institutes and industrial parties, again illustrates his forget about it.” ET Open your mind commitment to bridging the gap between the worlds In Acknowledge the expertise of others, says Bob van de Water. Academic and industrial focus interests are not mutually exclusive. Understanding metastasis of breast cancer Recently, Marjo de Graauw and Martine van Although these promising results indicate that Miltenburg in the group of Bob van de Water, Annexin A1 is a master controller of metastasis, “Scientists tend to think that they always know best, a topic that suits academic and industrial interests. discovered that the protein Annexin A1 plays a making drugs that inhibit the action of this but I recommend an open mind towards the expertise “My main research objective is to understand what major role metastasis, the spread of cancer cells protein is not an option. Annexin A1 is also of others. Collaborating with external parties can give drives cancer metastasis. We employ these novel outside the tumor. This scientific breakthrough important for healthy cells, and treatment with you new ideas and perhaps lead to real eye-openers,” screening techniques to look for genes that play a was published in PNAS. such a drug would cause too many unwanted says Bob van de Water, Professor of Drug Safety key role in this process. For industry, our work is in­ One of the key processes that transforms a side-effects. Measuring Annexin A1 in biopsies Sciences at the Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug teresting because the genes we identify may turn out ‘resting’ tumor cell into an ‘invasive’ tumor of tumors may, however, be very useful for Research. He admits that a healthy dose of oppor­ to be interesting new targets for drug development.” cell that wants to escape from the tumor, is the diagnosis and treatment of patients with tunism also plays a role. “As a scientist, you need Patents are an essential element in making the leads a change in motility of this tumor cell. It was breast cancer. It may serve as a marker in a funding for your research. You may choose to stick revealed by science attractive for industrial parties. discovered that the Annexin A1 gene is up test to predict the prognosis of the patient and strictly to public funding sources, but you can also It is a way of packaging the results from research regulated in the invasive cells, suggesting that help in monitoring the success of treatment. decide to formulate your projects in such a way that in such a form that they are useful and accessible the protein plays a role in motility of these cells Meanwhile the group keeps looking for genes industry may be interested in participating and that for companies to take them to the next stages of and the switch from resting to invasive. Indeed, that play a role in the metastasis process and the results will provide added value to their research development. when they knocked out the Annexin A1 gene in that can be targeted with drugs. and development.” an invasive cell, this cell became resting again. Van de Water’s research focuses on developing an A recent example is a patent filed by Van de Water Other experi­­ments showed that lowering advanced systems microscopy technology platform and Harry Vrieling of the Department of Toxico­ Annexin A1 levels does not stop tumor growth, to study the metastatic behaviour of tumour cells: genetics of the LUMC on cell lines that can be but does reduce the occurrence of metastasis.

14 PLATFORMS FOR NEW DISCOVERIES 15 biotech industry was really booming and I liked the Siegal. “You definitely need a lot of patience. Within idea of commercialising science. I also found it very the big companies, things move like molasses on a stimulating to see that many talented people were cold day. In the meantime, you have to keep moving “I was itching moving from academia to biotech companies. and so we also contacted a number of SMEs (Small In Leiden, a number of companies had already and Medium-sized Enterprises, ed.) that were small spun out of the university, so the local environment enough to make decisions quickly. We also had a offered flexibility and support.” Unfortunately for couple of lucky breaks and our sales grew rapidly. to start a company” Siegal, venture capitalists were moving out of plat­ Right now, ZoBio is doing really well.” form technologies at the time. “Grants seemed to Gregg Siegal heads a research group on DNA repair and drug discovery technologies be the best way to get financing and, luckily, a The company is still closely tied to the university at Leiden University and is the founder of ZoBio, that provides tools and services in the number of appropriate government programmes were and physically located within the university labora­ available.” Teaming up with different parties, he was tories. And Siegal himself combines his academic area of drug discovery and lead optimisation. able to secure a grant from the STIGON programme, position with his position at ZoBio. What about the STW Open Technology Programme and the Inno­ critics who feel that commercial activities and The heart of ZoBio is its proprietary TINS technology on technologies that used immobilised small molecu­ vation Stimulation Programme of AgentschapNL. academic research don’t match? “It really depends (Target Immobilised NMR Screening), a fast and les to screen for proteins with the desired functionali­ on the area of research. ZoBio develops technologies efficient method for screening libraries of small ties. But what if we just flipped this around? Why not This combination of grants covered all aspects of that address problems in drug discovery and drug compounds for binding to target molecules. Such immobilise the protein to fish out small molecules the company: people, equipment and chemicals. delivery. Fundamental limitations hamper the tech­ small compounds usually provide better starting that could serve as potential drug leads?” From that “We just had to find clients,” he laughs. But once nology. My academic group focuses on the basic points for drug development than large, complicated point on, it all went really fast. “Because this is a everything is in place, how do you attract clients? science that underlies those limitations. In my view, (bio-)molecules. ZoBio was founded in 2005 and its relatively simple technology, we could quickly per­ “You have to keep on publishing your scientific we have a clean but synergistic separation of activi­ history shows that a moment of clarity is sometimes form feasibility studies and it took little more than findings. A good track record is critical for young ties. Our academic work can be rapidly picked up all you need. “The research in my academic group six months to go from the idea to filing the patent.” companies. And you have to present your work at by ZoBio, while my students have access to ZoBio was fuelled by the limitations of the screening tech­ the right meetings. These offer great opportunities resources, which is quite unique. Transparency is nologies,” says Siegal. “All of a sudden I had this Siegal did not need to think for long before deciding for contacting scientists in industry and showing really important. I always mention my affiliation to flash of inspiration about how to overcome all these to go commercial. “I was itching to start a company. them how you can help them solve their problems.” ZoBio when publishing academic work. That way, limitations at once. During my postdoc, I had worked When I was doing my PhD back in the USA, the A less exciting, but crucial quality is patience, says readers are free to make up their own minds.” ET

16 PLATFORMS FOR NEW DISCOVERIES 17 Understanding the skin

02 Skipping the stop sign Moving forward by collaboration

From blunt refusal to full support

Building on a knowledge economy Changing direction in research is an important tool to give room to new discoveries in the minds of the researcher. When resear­ chers work together with industrial partners, there is a great opportunity to learn and move forward by crossing the academic borders and thinking outside the box. By involving companies in research, the application perspective can lead to ground­ breaking ideas and insights, and of course products, from which all parties involved and society will benefit in the end. Commerciali­- sation requires collaboration

18 19 for applications, Bouwstra often joins forces with and know that what you are doing is not just scientifi­ the industry. Many of these collaborations are cally interesting, but also useful.” projects from Technology Foundation STW (Stichting Technische Wetenschappen). STW research is Many of Bouwstra’s STW proposals have been accep­ pre-competitive. Several companies are involved, ted. Moreover, in 2005, she was honoured with the each with its own focus, but the research is not Simon Stevin Meesterschap. Each year, STW grants aimed directly at one of their products. A typical this distinguished technology award to a prominent project will involve at least three different companies. Dutch researcher who combines excellent fundamen­ Bouwstra: “Every company is expected to make a tal research with utilisation. Bouwstra was the twelfth contribution; it is not just a paper contract.” winner of this prestigious award. With the prize mo­ney of 500,000 euro she hired two PhD students who are Researchers often underestimate the amount of time still working in her group. required to write an STW proposal. Bouwstra: “Some­ times it takes a whole year from the initial idea to the Bouwstra is proud of the broad range of techniques submission of the proposal. There are many details her group has at its disposal and the possibilities to be taken care of. There have to be interesting fun­ these techniques offer. “We try to look as much as Understanding the skin damental questions and good utilisation possibilities, possible at human skin, rather than using mice, as is and the companies involved cannot be direct compe­ customary in the United States. We have developed titors. What really takes time is arousing the interest techniques to obtain non-invasive skin samples so Fundamental questions and applications are very close together in the field of skin of the companies concerned. Of course, they have we can carry out studies with human patients. The research. This is one of the reasons Professor Joke Bouwstra is so excited about her many other things to do and you have to convince non-invasive method makes it easier to use human them to invest in your project. But these projects subjects. And we really can do a lot with our array research group at the Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drugs Research (LACDR). are definitely worth the large time investment. of biophysical techniques; other groups in the world It is very stimulating to work on applications simply do not have access to the combination of Bouwstra has been doing skin research for quite different lipids fulfil? How are the lipids organised in techniques that we have.” IS some time: “I started in Leiden in 1985, working on the skin – more specifically in the stratum corneum, polymers. However, I have a background in biophysics the outermost layer of the epidermis? In and I noticed that in this area, skin research was focus blooming. Since 1989, I have mainly focused on the It is easy to see how these fundamental questions Vaccination can be painless skin. In the 1980s, skin research was a hype, but my about the skin might lead to applications. Certain A frequently applied and promising topic in Bouwstra: “The skin is very elastic. If you just personal fascination was the main reason I chose skin diseases upset the composition of the lipids, skin research is painless vaccination through prick the skin with the needle, the skin will this subject.” and a faulty composition causes a disturbance in the skin. Injecting very small micro needles simply fold itself around the sharp tip. You can the organisation of the lipids (the three-dimensional into the skin decreases the barrier function. compare it with a partially inflated balloon: if Joke Bouwstra is probably best known for her work on structure in which the lipids are arranged in the skin). These micro needles are 300 micrometers long, you apply a sharp needle to the balloon, it will the barrier function of the skin. A healthy skin keeps Bouwstra’s group studies, in close collaboration about twice the diameter of a human hair. The not burst. You have to inject the needle very out unwanted elements and ensures that the body with other groups, both the composition and the injection of the needles is painless, since nerves fast to break through the outer layer.” Once the does not lose too much water through evaporation. organisation of the lipids. Once more is known about start deeper in the skin than where the micro barrier function is decreased, it is possible to Lipids play a key role in the barrier function, but the way in which lipids work, it might be possible needles penetrate. vaccinate directly through the skin. The needle many fundamental questions about these molecules to develop a cream to repair the barrier function The researchers have developed a special pricks are very small and the barrier function remain unanswered. What specific function do the of diseased skin. Since there are huge possibilities applicator to inject the micro needles. recovers almost immediately afterwards.

20 MOVING FORWARD BY COLLABORATION 21 In the early stages of their work, the researchers is willing to pay another company such an amount Skipping met with scepticism from the field. “The general for something that your research group started in attitude was that this had been tried before, notably the kitchen sink, so to speak.” in cancer, and that it would never work. Luckily, we were suppor­ted right from the start by the Duchenne Van Ommen emphasises that focusing on rare disor­ the stop sign Parent Project, so the work could continue.” ders is not a niche activity, but has a much broader impact. “If this approach turns out to be successful, The mood changed when in 2001, they published it will benefit a broader group of patients. Everything Even if nobody perceives the potential of your work, it still pays off to patent your their tests on patient cells, demonstrating proof-of- we are learning about now, such as dosage, toxicity, results. For all you know, a multimillion-dollar deal might be waiting just around concept. “In 2002, I came into contact with Gerard efficacy and mode of action, can be used in the Platenburg, who had just started a new university development of anti-sense therapies for other the corner. spin-off. They were interested in our work, which disorders. Moreover, it is my strong conviction that is how ProSensa got involved. When in 2003 we studying rare diseases provides us with many clues His active membership of the Human Genome In 2000, Van Ommen’s group filed its first patent showed that our approach was effective in all relevant for treating the symptoms of common diseases. Organisation HUGO, of which he was president from application, which related to the use of exon skipping mutations, research groups from all over the world Rare disorders offer a very good human model for 1998 to 2000, opened his eyes to the importance in treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). jumped on board.” To cut a long story short, in 2006 complex disorders. Exon skipping offers potential of patenting, says Gertjan van Ommen, Professor of Basically, in patients suffering from DMD – a rare, ProSensa initiated clinical trials, first with the LUMC for developing new therapies for common diseases. Human Genetics at the LUMC. “During my time on lethal genetic disorder characterised by a progressive and later with groups in Belgium and Sweden, which If we can programme the body to produce proteins the HUGO IP committee, it became clear to me that weakening of the muscles – there is a misplaced were successful from the start. In 2009, ProSensa at a different site or in different quantities, we while patents can stifle research aimed at plain disco­ ‘stop signal’ in the gene coding for the protein entered into a deal worth potentially 450 million euro might be able to address particular symptoms of, very without a clear function – as in the case of DNA dystrophin. As a result, the gene cannot be properly with GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world’s leading for example, severe migraine, rheumatoid arthritis snippets – they are essential when aiming for clinical processed by the cellular machinery and the protein pharmaceutical companies, which underlines the or certain types of dementia, and to do so even with­ applications of your scientific results. In fact, I would is therefore not produced. Exon skipping provides a strong potential of the exon skipping approach. out having completely unravelled the underlying go even further, and say that if you don’t patent your way to circumvent the stop signal and allow for pro­ A major achievement, according to Van Ommen. cause of that disease. Patients generally don’t care results, your work is at risk of being ignored by the duction of a slightly shorter dystrophin, which leads “This was the first deal for big pharma that related about the cause; they are happy if you can treat industry. But you need to learn to think in this way.” to a much milder form of the disease. to a rare disorder. It is really exciting that a company the symptoms.” ET

22 MOVING FORWARD BY COLLABORATION 23 to improvements for patients. If we were to publish The development, production and sales of the our results and leave our antibodies in the freezer, test kits are now completely the responsibility of From blunt refusal we might score a nice paper, but the patients would Europroxima. In return, the Koning group and the never benefit. A commercial track is the only way to LUMC will receive advance payments and royal­ develop viable test kits.” ties. Even though Koning has been involved in the project for almost twelve years, handing it over to to full support Unfortunately, at the time, the LUMC did not share Europroxima was not a big issue. “We have brought their point of view. A first proposal in 2001 to set up it this far, now it is up to them. I have no problem a commercial venture to develop the test was bluntly with that.” Nor is he likely to be bored since there Assessing whether food products can be labelled ‘gluten-free’ will soon gain a serious refused. Thanks to a European subsidy, the scientific a several other application-driven projects currently quality impulse due to a new type of test method. Frits Koning: “In our case, a commer- work could be continued. Koning admits that this on his plate. “These new test kits are aimed at food part took a lot longer than expected. On the upside, companies and regulatory authorities. They can use cial track is the only way to ensure benefits for patients.” the general attitude towards valorisation changed the kits to assess whether a product can be labelled completely. “When we proposed our plans the second ‘gluten-free’. It would also be nice to have test kits Coeliac disease is a chronic intestinal disorder when we discovered that only certain fragments of time, we received full support from the LUMC and that patients can use themselves. We are exploring characterised by intolerance to gluten – a family the gluten cause the inflammatory reaction,” Koning LURIS. What I really appreciate is that the LURIS the possibilities of developing such home kits. of proteins largely present in wheat. Everyday food recalls. During the next two years, the researchers team took a neutral position. That helps, because it’s Another project focuses on producing gluten that products such as bread and pasta, but also biscuits, were able to reveal which specific fragments are very tempting to be less than critical when it comes does not contain the toxic fragments. All in all, it beer and numerous other products, are off-limits to toxic to patients. “That is when the idea emerged for to your own plans. Once we had them convinced, is good to see that we can really do something for patients suffering from coeliac disease. Consump­ developing detection kits to test food products for they really got to work for us and helped us with patients. That’s very rewarding.” With all these ideas tion of these foods causes inflammation of the small the presence of these fragments. We immediately prior art studies and patent filings, and also with and commercial opportunities, did he not consider intestine, which results in abdominal pain and diar­ recognized the commercial potential of such a test.” the negotiations with our commercial partner.” That starting up his own company? “Maybe I will at some rhoea, and can lead to malnourishment and growth According to Koning, their work on coeliac disease commercial partner is Europroxima, a company speci­ point, but only if I can also remain in research, impairment in young children. Since 1995, Frits clearly illustrates that basic science and commercial alised in food safety diagnostics. “They managed to because that’s where my heart really lies.” ET Koning, Professor of Immunohaematology and Blood value are not necessarily mutually exclusive. On develop our prototype into a commercial test kit Transfusion at the LUMC, has been active in coeliac the contrary: “In our case, commercialisation is es­ within one year. I find that really impressive. The disease research. “Our breakthrough came in 1998, sential to ensure that scientific results actually lead kits will become commercially available very soon.”

24 MOVING FORWARD BY COLLABORATION 25

Building on a knowledge economy

To boost the economy, a number of public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been established through Dutch government programmes. These PPPs entail a collaboration between academic research groups, university medical centres and industry (multi- nationals, SMEs and start-up companies). Leiden University and the LUMC are actively involved in a number of these large-scale initiatives.

Top Institute Pharma (TI Pharma) The objective of the academic and industrial parties de­crease in side-effects. Some priority areas of BMM that participate in the TI Pharma is to improve the research include biomaterials for use in cardiovas­ development of medicines with social benefits. cular, musculoskeletal and kidney diseases and for The research projects are geared towards generating applications in coatings and drug delivery devices. knowledge that contributes to a better, faster and Leiden is involved in 2 BMM projects. more cost-efficient development of new drugs. The programme targets diseases that have a major impact Fonds Economische Structuurversterking (FES) on the modern world: immune and auto-immune Knowledge is essential to be able to compete world diseases, infectious diseases, brain diseases, wide and achieve economic growth. To stimulate cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Leiden is that companies and knowledge institutes together involved in 22 TI Pharma projects. with the government will invest in the development, dissemination and use of knowledge, several subsidy Centre for Translational Molecular Medicine (CTMM) programmes were created. A number of themes CTMM develops medical technologies that enable were chosen as focus areas: high tech systems and the design of new and ‘personalized’ treatments of materials; food and flowers; water, climate and space; major disease areas and the rapid transmission of chemistry and energy; life sciences and health; these treatments to the patients. The CTMM research ICT; creative industry, and education. programme builds on four technology platforms: Molecular Diagnostics, Molecular Imaging, Patient SmartMix Stratification and Imaging-guided and Activated In 2007 the ministries of Economic Affairs and Therapeutics. Leiden is involved in 3 CTMM projects. Education made a 100 million euro investment in seven consortia for longer term and more in-depth BioMedical Materials programme (BMM) research, which is expected to lead to breakthroughs Worldwide socioeconomic trends drive the need for that will strengthen the international position of the innovations in medical treatment that keep health­ Netherlands. The purpose of the collaboration is to care affordable and that meet the demand for a utilise the whole knowledge chain, from fundamental higher quality of life. Biomedical materials fulfil the and applied research to pre-competitive development demand for better medical treatment because they (prototypes). Leiden researchers are coordinating contribute to less invasive therapies, less need for two of these initiatives and participating in revision surgery, shorter recovery times and a another two. ET

26 MOVING FORWARD BY COLLABORATION 27 Commercialisation requires collaboration

LURIS offers a wide variety of services to assist scientists in their commercialisation efforts. Maximum benefit requires early involvement, according to Bob Smailes.

“To me, this volume is a celebration of the success of for the new company to develop. Smailes: “There and public-private partnerships. Finally, they support in turn enhances the research base. Furthermore, academics in commercialising their work,” says Bob are several financial instruments available. We can researchers in setting up a consortium and can help both the inventors and the institute share in the Smailes, Director of LURIS the Technology Transfer also assist in identifying external professionals who to align the expectations of academic and industrial revenues of the successful exploitation of their Office (TTO) in Leiden. “Their stories show that can strengthen the management of new companies.” partners. invention. In addition, building a broader track record academic excellence and successful valorisation can Licensing and company formation are two important makes it easier in the future to get funding for new go hand in hand. Here in Leiden, especially, where areas of activity for LURIS. “At any given time, we The third package of services consists of consultancy research projects. And it might also open the way translational research and life sciences are priority have somewhere between six and ten new companies activities. Smailes: “We facilitate the ability of acade­ to new career opportunities.” Whatever the motives, areas, commercialisation is often complementary under evaluation. The figures from last year show that mics to offer their expertise to companies, both large researchers shouldn’t wait too long before contacting to the academic drive. Commercialisation covers the number of licences has exceeded earlier expec­ and small, and to government agencies both in and LURIS. “Collaboration with academics is crucial for a whole spectrum of activities such as negotiating tations. In total, we generated in excess of 5 million outside the Netherlands. We furthermore facilitate our services to be of optimal use. No TTO can keep the right to publish, handling intellectual property, euro in royalties. This year we expect the amount will access to the wealth of facilities and expertise avai­ up with all the work that is going on within such large and protecting the right to do future research. It is a be higher still.” lable within the University and LUMC, which can be institutions as the University and LUMC”. Scientists people-driven process in which diverging expectati­ particularly useful for newly formed companies. This who are not active in physical and life sciences ons have to be managed. If you conduct the process The second package relates to collaborative research. service is also available to companies in general.” or medical research should not shy away, Smailes in a professional manner and negotiate all potential “Collaborative projects with the industry are a major stresses. “It would be wrong to think that there are issues up front, problems can easily be avoided.” example of how commercialisation is put into All in all, a full-service portfolio. But why would no opportunities for commercialisation in other fields. This is why Smailes emphasis the importance of con­ practice. Over recent years, a large number of public- scientists be interested in commercialisation activi­ My favourite example is Stanford University, one the tacting LURIS at an early stage. “Our door is always private partnerships have been established by the ties? “There is a particular satisfaction in seeing the world’s most successful universities in commerciali­ open to scientists who want to discuss their ideas. Dutch government, and Leiden has been tremen­ fruits of your work in the form of tangible products sation. For years, their major royalty flow came from The sooner we get involved, the better we can protect dously successful in these large-scale programmes. or clear benefits for patients.” But there is more to it a licence with Yamaha on electric organs. The con­ your academic rights and responsibilities.” The value of these programmes comes to over several than just an altruistic motivation. Smailes: “There are tract was based on an invention by their Music tens of millions of euros per year. In addition to benefits for the local and national economy, which Department.” ET The services offered by LURIS can be divided into participating in these initiatives, LUMC has secured three packages. The first involves evaluating scien­ over 15 million euro p.a. solely from industrially In tific findings and taking them to the next level. “We funded research. This reflects the commercial focus assist in the evaluation of ideas at an early stage to relevance of the work at Leiden University and ensure that once we file for patents, those patents LUMC, which in turn justifies governmental support Leiden University Research & New companies/spin-offs will have an optimal chance of reaching the market. for our research.” LURIS’ role in this area includes Innovation Services (LURIS) Kenn Curt Daniël With this aim in mind, we pay the costs associated drawing up contracts and assisting in negotiations Bob Smailes, Director with patent applications and maintenance, and we on intellectual property (IP). Furthermore, the LURIS Laura MacDonald, Deputy Director Subsidies proactively set out to market the technologies. This team provides detailed information on national, Anna Groeninx can be done either by searching for parties who may international and EU funding programmes, and Business & IP Anke Klerkx be interested in licensing the technology, or by esta­ can assist researchers in the actual writing of grant Art Bos Ivo de Nooijer blishing a new company.” In cases where forming a applications. They also keep up with policy changes Emilie Levivier Hester Molenaar Consultancy Services company is the preferred path, LURIS has a number and can, at a very early stage, inform researchers Ehud Hauben Isabel Wijffels Jeroen van der Leijé of tools in place to create an optimal environment about potentially interesting government programmes Marije Marsman Alexander Mouret Nicky Vogels Karin Verzijden www.luris.nl

28 29 03 Show students entre­preneurial role models

Service from science

The commercial side of archaeology

Leiden University has a number of service companies under the Holding LEH, forming a linking pin between research and society. These service companies provide services that are developed on customer needs, and which build on already present academic knowledge. In this way, academic research finds its application in society. At the same time, customers bring in new ideas, questions or views that inspire new fundamental research, showing that applied and fundamental science can really work in synergy.

30 31 Show students entre­preneurial role models

Physicist Joost Frenken feels it is his moral duty to share his results and techniques kicked in: they first put a low-quality walkman on having their own company is a serious option. In the with society. His specially developed microscopes enable the study of physical, chemical the market and used customer responses to improve United States, many PhD students start a company the product until it was a sophisticated hi-fi device. and make a flying start. Of course, nine out of ten and biological processes at molecular level under rough, real-world conditions. In a similar way we managed to improve our initial fail, but the tenth one scores big time. Europeans microscope and now we can see the individual are too afraid of failure.” He sees a huge business Professor Joost Frenken tries to find “fruit-flies”: tures and pressures. “When you heat the material atoms in the heating material. potential amongst students and believes the univer­ specific model systems or processes that lead to under a microscope, it expands and at some point it sity should provide them with more inspiring role more generic insights. Catalysis is a hot topic: “It is becomes impossible to get a clear image. It used to The equipment Frenken’s group develops is interes­ models. “As it happens, there is an excellent role used in the production of about ninety percent of all be a sacred cow in microscopy that you did not mess ting for third parties and is sold by the independent model on our floor at the moment: an entrepreneur- the materials around us, from plastics to food. Most around with the temperature.” Frenken slaughtered company Leiden Probe Microscopy. This set-up in-residence. This full-blooded businessman wanted well-functioning industrial processes are discovered this sacred cow and after months of calculations guarantees continuity and enables university staff to spend six months in our group and look at the through trial and error, but we often do not know and years of engineering his group made a micro­ to focus on developing new techniques. The company commercial possibilities of our work. Together, we are how they work at molecular level. We can make some scope that keeps imaging while materials are heated takes over the production. The university can place starting up a new company for producing graphene, educated guesses, but nature often resorts to tricks up 1000 degrees. Doing this required letting go of orders at a greatly reduced price, which is a big the one-atom thick carbon layer that is the dream that surpass even our wildest imagination.” another dogma: that you should be able to see every pay-off when the cheapest components start at material for future electronics. With our advanced atom separately. “For many applications it is enough around 100,000 euro. techniques and his business skills this might turn Microscopes have to work under rough circumstances to observe the material on a slightly larger scale, out to be a big success.” IS to study these processes in real-time. The standard so with a sore heart, we let go of the aesthetics of Frenken feels the lack of an entrepreneurial attitude equipment is unable to cope with the high tempera­ seeing the atomic level. And then the Sony effect within the university: “Students do not realise that

32 SERVICE FROM SCIENCE 33 the rest of the project with this commercial client responsibility to ensure that the archaeological was too big for them. The university did not want to research is done properly. They feel that public funds take on the entire project control, including the finan­ are well spent on gaining more knowledge - especially cial management and the risks of the contracts.” regarding local history.”

The solution was to set up the Holding LEH, with There is always some tension between the fast, Archol as a company in the holding. Leeflang: “The commercial world of Archol and the solid science university is our only shareholder, but the fact that of the university, but both sides see the advantages we are an independent company leaves us with quite of this set-up. Archol feeds part of the analyses to a lot of room for independent action.” The commer­ university experts, delivers materials for practicals, cial market for archaeology includes many one-man and finances equipment. In addition, the company businesses and a constant number of larger players. gives students a glimpse of the real world in work The free market system has many opponents, but placements and fieldwork. Leeflang: “Our employees Leeflang sees its advantages: “A huge number of also teach classes and we see that more and more The commercial side excavations have to be carried out and you cannot do of the innovations and techniques we use end up in them all in the same way. It’s heart-breaking to see the practicals, which is good, because the majority of something go wrong, because there are no second the students will end up in the commercial market.” chances. But we should also put things in perspec­ Archol benefits from the expertise of the university of archaeology tive. Human error can never be completely avoided staff and is able to scout talented students. The link and in the long run the free market yields a wealth with the faculty makes it easier for faculty staff to of new knowledge.” combine commercial work with research. Archol, a university company for archaeological research, met with much resistance at the time of its foundation. Faculty staff feared that the science of archaeology would There is no fundamental difference between Archol Leeflang thinks that Archol is a bit different from and purely commercial companies. They respond other university companies, but would like to have be sold to the highest bidder. Commercial rivals predicted that a university company to tenders for the same assignments. However, for more contact with the other companies: “It’s a pity would not survive for long. General Manager Caroline Leeflang is proud to say that Archol, the focus is always on the increase in know­ I don’t know the other companies in the holding. ledge. Leeflang: “This was the whole idea behind We must all be running into the same problems, Archol proved all of these critics wrong: “We never argue, we just do our job. And we the Malta convention. It is not about digging up as even though the content or the activities might be do it well.” much as you can and writing thousands of reports. different. It would be nice to exchange experiences: It is about acquiring more insights. Part of our how do you run your company, how do you handle Changes in the archaeological market were the developer had to pay for the necessary archaeological added value is that we try to link new projects to commercial clients, how do you deal with the tension indirect cause of Archol’s Foundation in 1996. research. This opened up the market for commercial existing research.” between the university and the business world? Four years earlier The convention on the protection of archaeological research. More contact would be good for the companies, for the archaeological heritage of Europe (often referred This approach and the connection with the university the university and for LURIS. It would also be easier to as Malta convention or Valletta treaty) was signed. The immediate cause of Archol’s foundation was the are both a blessing and a curse. Some private clients for start-up companies if there were some kind This meant that project developers had to make construction of the Betuweroute railway line. As part are put off by the university connection: “They fear of network. We could advise them on practical sure that no archaeological valuables were destroyed of this enormous project, a number of Stone Age a lot of fuss and unworldly academics with tooth­ matters such as salary records and the struggle on their construction sites. The Netherlands chose sites had to be excavated. Leeflang: “The university brushes at excavation sites. On the other hand, with accommodation.” IS an implementation of the convention whereby the knew exactly how to do the archaeological work, but local authorities see it as a part of their social

34 SERVICE FROM SCIENCE 35 Gilles van Wezel This timeline contains Valorisation over time 1984 - 2000 (Leiden Institute of some key elements for Chemistry) files patent illustrative purposes. INFRASTRUCTURE & SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES on the role of a protein COMMERCIALISATION BREAKTHROUGH called SsgA in cell divi­ DEAL sion and fragmentation SPIN-OFF of the hyphae.

Medis is founded by Archol BV is established LAP&P Consultants BV researchers of the LUMC within Leiden University, starts providing services Laboratory for Clinical which provides archeolo­ for drug development and Experimental Image gical research services building on their inter­ Processing to create to third parties. disciplinary expertise software solutions for the on pharmacokinetic Leiden BioSciencePark medical specialties of and -dynamic modelling. is initiated to grow cardiology and radiology. into a leading Bio Science Park.

1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

First business incubator Centre for Human The LUMC department is opened by BioPartner Drug Research CHDR of Cardiology starts Center Leiden, which is starts as a full service to design intelligent supported by the Dept. contract research electronic patient data­ Of Economic Affairs, organisation (CRO). base software, this later City of Leiden, Leiden Libertatis Ergo Holding, formed the basis for University and LUMC. the Holding for Leiden the establishment of University is established. EPD Vision BV.

Centocor Leiden LU and SPSS Inc. LU researchers and Frits Koning’s was established after agree on an exclusive IntroGene together group (LUMC Dept. of Centocor had been license to SPSS for develop the first manu­ Immunohaematology working on monoclonal software development facturing platform based and Blood Bank) had a antibodies in the US and distribution of soft­ on a human cell line. This breakthrough when they since 1979. The plant ware analysis routines technology together with discovered that only was opened in 1986. developed by the Dept the acquisition of U-BiSys certain fragments of Data Theory of is crucial to the establish­ of gluten cause an Social Sciences with ment of Crucell in 2000. inflammatory reaction. Jacqueline Meulman.

The Academic Langage Dutch biotechnology Center was established company Crucell discovers from the Humanities, and develops antibody and English Language and vaccine products against Culture studies. cancer, inflammatory and infectious diseases. 36 37 The success 04 story of the Leiden Bio Science Park Strength

Visualizing through regional the cell development

Sounding board and sparring partner

Essential to innovative research is the availability of cutting-edge equipment and platforms. The Leiden BioScience Park is a central hub when it comes to life sciences, and much of its large scale infrastructure is supported by its companies, knowledge institutes and (local) government. This joint effort to build this unique open infrastructure with new facilities like NeCEN and the NMC Demonstration and Competence Lab, serves both research progress and economic development of the region.

38 39 The success story of the Leiden Bio Science Park

In 2009, the Leiden Bio Science Park was chosen as the best business park in the Netherlands. What makes this collaboration between research institutes and commercial companies so successful?

When the Bio Science Park was started in 1984, it Leiden University and LUMC are a major reason was born out of a conscious decision to specialise for the park’s success. Research institutes and in biomedical sciences. This was a daring choice at university buildings are located within the park, a time when most business parks combined a broad which makes it natural for researchers to work in range of company types. But the cluster of highly close co-operation with the industry. LURIS acts as specialised companies and research institutes soon a mediator between the academic and commercial became very attractive for new businesses. With the worlds. Ideas from research enable companies to consistent policy of concentrating on the biomedi­ be highly innovative. For the researchers, it is very cal sciences, and the co-operative approach of the rewarding that their academic work leads to the local authorities, the science park was able to thrive. development of new medicines, therapies and Today, the Leiden Bio Science Park is the largest medical devices. biomedical life science park in the Netherlands with approximately sixty companies, from leading This fruitful collaboration and strong focus on life biopharmaceutical companies like Centocor to sciences help explain why the Leiden Bio Science fresh start-ups. Park beat 121 Dutch business parks for the title of the Business Park of the Year. IS

Nettie Buitelaar, CEO Leiden Bio Science Park

40 STRENGTH THROUGH REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 41 Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the other present. Sample processing, data collection and main funding body of NeCEN is the European Fund data storage are all automated processes. All in all, for Regional Development. In this context, NeCEN NeCEN is the first centre in Europe to offer all these is not only seen as a scientific activity, but also as possibilities and services.” an infrastructural means to further strengthen the development of the greater Leiden area. The benefits for scientists interested in biological processes at cellular and molecular level are obvious, What is so special about the facilities offered by but what’s in it for a ‘hardcore’ biophysical chemist NeCEN? Abrahams: “The NeCEN microscopes will such as Abrahams? “NeCEN provides us with an allow us to visualize molecular structures at very excellent opportunity to further develop the techno­ high resolution. The current record is 3.3 Angstrom. logy.” Together with a number of European partners, To give you an idea, that means that we can visually including CERN, the Abrahams group is working distinguish the different amino acids within a protein on a new type of electron detector. A first prototype structure. Another major feature is that we no longer has been developed, which is 20 to 100 times more need crystals, which gives us a real advantage over sensitive than the most advanced detectors available conventional x-ray diffraction technology.“ Also, at present. “Once we can create such a detector, we automation and high throughput technologies have will be getting close to visualising a cell and all its Visualizing the cell become available in electron microscopy, which components in molecular or even atomic detail.” allows researchers throughout the Netherlands to This is where his true passion lies. Abrahams: access and use the NeCEN facilities from their “I want to be able to see things that nobody Studying the relationship between health and disease can take many different forms. own labs. “It’s no longer necessary to be physically else can see.” ET One of them is to literally look at the molecules involved in cellular processes using In highly advanced electron microscopes. And very soon, Leiden will be the place to go focus for this type of research. Medical Delta The Netherlands wishes to become one of the healthcare approach, one which contributes most innovative and competitive knowledge to effective treatment, quick recovery, or the In the spring of 2011, the first measurements for advanced electron microscopy. Leiden University, eco­nomies in the world. The exploitation of prevention of disease manifestation. These will take place at the new Netherlands Centre for supported by its Medical Delta partners Delft and scientific knowledge available at and acquired ambitions are to be realized in partnership with Nano­scopy (NeCEN), which will be located beside Rotterdam, as well as by the city of Leiden, was by univer­sities and other knowledge institutes a range of organizations from industry and the the Gorlaeus Laboratory in the Bio Science Park. selected to act as host to NeCEN. “The presence of is essential to achieve this goal. social sector, spanning the development chain “Advanced research requires increasingly expensive the Bio Science Park definitely played a role. NeCEN Leiden University, Delft University of Technology, from patient need to healthcare product or infrastructure. Such investments are beyond the is not only geared towards the needs of academia, Leiden University Medical Center, Erasmus Me- service. Synergy between beyond-state-of-the- reach of individual research groups or even individual it also caters to industry. For many life sciences dical Center Rotterdam and Erasmus University art technology and the full healthcare chain is universities,” says Jan Pieter Abrahams, Professor of and biopharmaceutical companies, access to such Rotterdam have given the highest priority to at the heart of our consortium. Biophysical Structural Chemistry at Leiden University advanced imaging facilities is crucial.” Since the the interest of our ‘knowledge-based society’. Based upon the existing strengths Medical and director of NeCEN. presence of facilities such as NeCEN is important for Based on this conviction, they have focussed Delta chose to focus its activities around three the overall attractiveness of the Bio Science Park, their research strength with the support of the technology platforms that will contribute to To secure a world-class infrastructure for bio-imaging the city of Leiden was supportive from the onset. province of Zuid-Holland to form the Medical the before mentioned ambitions, being: in the Netherlands, Dutch universities decided to join Their involvement also provided leads to unexpected Delta Consortium. - Image-Guided Medicine forces and come up with a plan for a national facility financial sources. In addition to the Netherlands Medical Delta’s goal is to develop and imple- - Interventions and Care ment new technology for a more personalized - Targeted Molecular Technology

42 STRENGTH THROUGH REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 43 community. The Demonstration and Competence are now. Our Demonstration and Competence Lab is Lab provides an ideal environment for the validation currently implementing and applying six validated of new technologies, for demonstration and feasibility platforms, which makes us international leaders in studies and for training scientists to work with the public domain. Such a result would normally only metabolomics. They are at present analyzing the have been possible within the industry, but access first larger clinical studies comprising thousands would have been limited. Because we are a public- of samples. According to Hankemeier, the Demon­ private partnership, our results are available to the stration and Competence Lab is a very interesting public.” There is also the Metabolomics Data Support model to make new technological developments Platform, that comprises data processing and hand­ easily available to scientists around the world. “Our ling in a data warehouse. Together with the Nether­ approach is attracting international attention. We are, lands Bioinformatics Centre (NBIC), NMC is also for example, the only competence lab in Europe to making these tools available to the community. participate in an NIH Glue Grant proposal on pharmacometabolomics.” The close involvement of LURIS in the ‘making of the NMC’ has paid off, says Hankemeier. “Their Overall, he feels that the way the NMC is organized approach is refreshing. If I need something parti­ Sounding board and clearly generates added value. “If we had gone for cular, or if I want to discuss a wild idea, I contact a more traditional open programme with a number the LURIS team. They are a good sounding board of individual projects, we would never be where we as well as a good sparring partner.” ET

sparring partner In focus NGI Genomics Centres in Leiden “I first contacted LURIS at a very early stage in our efforts to set up a national network The Netherlands Genomics Initiative (NGI) was Netherlands Centre for Healthy Ageing (NCHA) for metabolomics research. My many discussions with the LURIS team, in particular founded in 2001 to create an infrastructure for Living a longer and healthier life top-level genomics research in the Netherlands. with Bob Smailes and Laura MacDonald, really helped us to organize this large-scale NGI has set up a network of 16 large-scale Forensic Genomics Consortium Netherlands (FGCN) endeavour,” says Thomas Hankemeier, Professor of Analytical Biosciences at Leiden Genomics Centres, five of which are co- Increasing the crime-solving rate ordinated by Leiden University or the LUMC. University and scientific director of the Netherlands Metabolomics Centre (NMC). Together, the five centres have devised a Centre for Medical Systems Biology (CMSB) structural approach to valorisation, which is “We knew that the NMC was going to be a large-scale In this way, the two types of projects are continuously Improving the diagnosis, treatment and characterised by close collaboration and making public-private partnership and we tried to come up cross-pollinating. Valori­sation is built in, because prevention of common and rare diseases optimal use of the services and expertise offered with a structure that generated as much synergy and the technology developed by NMC is directly applied by LURIS. For this approach, the NGI Centres information exchange between the partners and out­ to address issues in health, food, plants and Coeliac Disease Consortium (CDC) were awarded the 2008 1 million euro NGI side the consortium as possible. One of the results industrial biotechnology.” Safer foods, better diagnosis and Valorisation Award. According to the jury, “the of those discussions is our distinction between Core effective treatment Leiden approach serves as an example of how Projects, which focus on tackling key bottlenecks in Another distinguishing feature of the NMC is the scientific findings can be translated into the technology, and Associate Projects, which are Demonstration and Competence Lab here in Leiden, Netherlands Metabolomics Centre (NMC) benefits for society”. driven by concrete biological questions and employ where several high throughput technology platforms Metabolomics technology to improve the technology developed in the Core Projects. are made available for the international scientific personal health and the quality of life

44 STRENGTH THROUGH REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT 45 It’s not about 05 getting as many publications as you can An inspiring academic environment

Twice the fun

Fundamental scientific research inspires talented minds that take research beyond what we already know. They ask new questions that may not seem immediately relevant at the time but result in answers that open new doors for industry and society. A different perspective can help to find new solutions when solving practical issues. Reversely, the environment of question-driven science can inspire researchers in all fields to look at the underlying mechanisms and also excel in “Writing a fundamental research. European pro- posal is a bit like renovating a house’

46 47 about family life as an enriching aspect rather than whether people will actually use these technological as a problem, employees feel better, perform better innovations, and that is where my expertise at their jobs and are at the same time healthier. comes in.” This can be measured in concrete outcomes, such as higher sales volumes and lower blood pressure.” Carbon-dioxide capture and storage is an example of This project showed that theory-driven research can a situation where political decisions have to be made yield very practical conclusions. ING happily imple­ on technologically complex problems, and where the mented a number of the suggested changes, and public cannot easily form an independent opinion. an article about this work won the Best Paper Award In these cases, standard polls often yield pseudo- of the scientific journal in which it was published. opinions, where respondents literally say: “I have never heard of this before, but I do have an opinion.” Ellemers’ research is often driven by practical These pseudo-opinions are useless for political questions. “This makes my work more difficult, decision-making, since they may change from because I try to combine data from perfectly week to week. controlled experimental settings with more ‘messy’ It’s not about getting as many observations from the field. It also means that my Ellemers investigated which way of presenting publications are not always eligible for the best information enables people to form a real opinion. journals. But these are the questions that seem most Her research showed that the source of information important to me.” She teaches her students that the is as important as the arguments provided. “People publications as you can main goal of a researcher should be to find things trust the anti-pollution movement. If this movement out: “It’s not about making a career for yourself or argues that something is good for the environment, Social psychologist Naomi Ellemers prefers interesting research questions to fast about getting as many prestigious publications as the public is inclined to adopt it as a fact. If an oil possible. Of course you shouldn’t be naive. You need company offers the exact same argument, people are success. She has often chosen the hard way by examining imperfect data from real-life the publications on your CV to help you secure a job not convinced, because they do not believe that an situations. Her 2010 NWO Spinoza Award and her many other prizes show that these or acquire new research funds, but building your CV oil company is interested in the environment. So our should not be a goal in itself.” advice is not only to present the facts and arguments, were fruitful decisions. but to inform the public about the different suppor­ She emphasises that university staff should never ters of the arguments and who was involved in the Professor Naomi Ellemers studies how people’s work is valuable. A successful example is the colla­ forget that they are not a contract research agency. process.” behaviour is influenced by others, often in a work boration with the ING Bank on their annual employee “When budgets are tight it seems tempting to do context. “To some extent, human behaviour can be satisfaction survey. Elianne van Steenbergen, a something for a company, but you should only do The tragedy of social psychology is that not everyone explained through individual choices and competen­ student of Ellemers, developed part of the survey that if the question is scientifically interesting. It’s appreciates the value of the research: “Technology ces. But this approach has its limitations, because questionnaire during a work placement. ING was so not a wise choice to take on an assignment just for seems very clever, because most people do not people often seem to act irrationally. My field focuses pleased with her work that they decided to pay her the money.” It is a challenge for researchers to apply understand how it works. In hindsight our work often precisely on this seemingly irrational part by studying to do a PhD and spend four years on further research scientific insights to socially relevant questions. Elle­ sounds very obvious when we explain it. But you group processes and determining predictable patterns extending the company data. The topic of the mers is, for instance, involved in CATO, a programme do need scientific research to find the key factors in behaviour that cannot be explained from rational research was the work-life balance. One of the main on carbon-dioxide capture and storage: “Everybody that affect people’s behaviours.” In that sense, her choice models.” findings was that the way supervisors and colleagues wants to reduce CO emissions. The technicalities of Spinoza Award feels like a vote of confidence, rather approach this dual commitment has an impact above capturing and storing carbon-dioxide are very compli­ like being told: “Your work is useful; here is a big Companies often assume that their employees are and beyond the objective conditions, such as the cated, so it is clear that this problem requires input bag of money and we trust you to do something rational decision-makers and this is where Ellemers’ number of working hours. “If the supervisor speaks from exact scientists. But public opinion determines good with it.” IS

48 AN INSPIRING ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT 49 Twice the fun Gilles van Wezel advocates combining fundamental and applied research. “It creates Although the new company never really took off, the saw a strong increase in the rate of production of experience was worthwhile. “It gave me interesting antibiotics, but a host of new types of antibiotics interesting leads in both directions.” insights into the workings of the industry.” In 2009, could also be produced.” Considering the current he received a prestigious STW VICI grant, and is one surge in drug-resistant bacterial strains and the Gilles van Wezel, Professor of Molecular Biotechno­ really well right from the start. As early as 1998, we of the first researchers at a classical university to complete lack of new antibiotics being developed, logy at Leiden University, first entered the world of filed for a patent on the role of a protein called SsgA receive such a grant. Previously, almost all laureates the relevance of Van Wezel’s research is obvious. applied research in 1997. He was approached by in cell division and fragmentation of the hyphae.” had been based at technical universities. According “We definitely need new antibiotics, and Streptomy­ Gist-Brocades, now part of DSM, to help them impro­ to Van Wezel, this shows that there is increasing ces shows great potential in that respect. But a lot of ve the growth of Streptomyces. This soil bacterium Van Wezel also became increasingly fascinated by the recognition of the need for a strong fundamental work still has to be done before we can exploit that is one of the industry’s main sources of antibiotics, applied aspects of the research. “We got interesting basis for applied research. “The industry usually potential. Compare it to oil. All the easily acces­sible but its fungus-like filamentous structure hampers leads that provided input for more fundamental takes a ‘black box’ approach, focusing on output stocks have been consumed; we now need to drill large-scale industrial production. The long ‘threads’ research. In my view, basic science and applied rather than understanding. But if you want to inter­ deeper.” Industrial interest mostly comes from smal­ or hyphae formed by Streptomyces lump together, research can coexist really well. Fundamental fere with a biological process in a targeted manner, ler players in the pharmaceutical industry, as ‘big which strongly decreases the overall growth rate and insights create new starting points for application- you really need to understand that process in detail.” pharma’ is not terribly interested in antibiotics, due thus the product yield. The problem did not, however, driven work, whereas applied research can raise all to the relatively low profit in this sector, compared to immediately appeal to his scientific curiosity, Van kinds of questions that require new fundamental His work on ‘sleeping’ stocks of genetic information anti-cancer drugs, for example. Even so, Van Wezel Wezel admits. “But I did see it as an opportunity to studies.” Since then, his work has been characterised in Streptomyces again demonstrates the close link looks forward to working with the industry on this study cell division in Streptomyces on a more funda­ by a combination of the two worlds. He was granted between fundamental insights and new applications. topic. “I find the interaction with industrial partners mental level.” Supported by a grant from Technology a KNAW fellowship to further study cell division in “While studying the life cycle of streptomycetes, we very stimulating. Just as I find it stimulating to Foundation STW, he took on the project in collabora­ Streptomyces. Around the same time, he was also discovered a protein, DasR, which appeared to play publish good scientific papers. The way I see tion with associate professor Barend Kraal, and this involved in founding a new business called Mycobics, an important role in regulating the production of an­ it, combining the two worlds leads to twice the quickly led to interesting results. “The project went which aimed at exploiting the ‘fragmentation’ patent. tibiotics. With the inactivation of DasR, we not only fun”. ET

50 AN INSPIRING ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT 51 The students would also be able to travel during their to work around the red-tape areas in Brussels. research, for instance to study manuscripts in foreign They don’t interfere with the content of the proposal, libraries. Warnar: “In other academic disciplines it but they do ensure your project will not be rejected might be quite common for researchers to go abroad on a formality.” for their PhD, but in our field it is quite new.” The revised project was granted funding in 2009. Around the time Warnar and his colleagues were Today, ten of the twelve students have started. thinking about this network, he received a list of To give an example of the research being conduc­ European subsidies and their success rates. The ted, one of the students in Leiden is working on a subsidy that best matched their plans happened fifteenth-century manuscript produced in Hildesheim to be the one with the highest success rate (about containing eighty sermons, most of which can be 10-12%). Warnar submitted an initial application in attributed to the German preacher Johannes Tauler. 2008. The proposal received good reviews, but was A significant number of sermons are originally from rejected. “We were very close to being accepted, but the Netherlands The goal of this specific research we had focused too much on the research and too project is to make a transcription and a sound text little on the training aspect of the network.” edition of the sermons, as well as to find out what “Writing a European proposal this combination of texts tells us about medieval Warnar met with Anna Groeninx van Zoelen, who networks of text exchange. had just started working at LURIS. With her help, he made some crucial changes to the proposal, for Warnar hopes his success will inspire other resear­ is a bit like renovating a house” instance adding more information about the imple­ chers from the humanities to start similar projects. mentation of the project and the role of a supervisory “Too often we think that the money will only go to The first time literary historian Geert Warnar applied for a European subsidy to start board. “Writing a proposal is a bit like renovating a the natural sciences. Our proposal had to compete house. Of course you can do everything on your own, with projects from all research areas, and we made it. an international training network, his project was not among the winners. But in but it will take you a lot of time to sort out all the We proved that it is possible to get large European the following year, and after some small, but important changes, the proposal was details and get everything right. I am not saying that subsidies for the humanities. It shows that resear­ LURIS is like a building contractor... but it is very chers in the humanities should not forget that successful. In 2009 the training network was granted over two million euro, sufficient good that knowledge of how these things work there are grant possibilities outside the Netherlands. to hire twelve PhD researchers at five different European universities. is available centrally. The people here know how The budgets in Europe are quite impressive.” IS

The basis of the project was laid when Geert Warnar literature, philosophers and theologians all study the In started a small international partnership using the same texts. Of course they all see different things, focus NWO VIDI grant he received in 2004. “In Medieval but since they use the same or similar sources, they FP7 literature, my field of expertise, it is very natural to encounter similar problems. Basically they are all Marie Curie programme is part of the 7th The second theme is “Ideas” also known as seek international collaboration. In the Middle Ages, specialists in medieval textual culture.” Framework Programme (FP7) for Research and European Research Council, followed by there were no nation states like the Netherlands Technological Development of the European “People” also known as Marie Curie actions or Germany, and texts were distributed throughout The plan arose to set up an international network of Union. It is the only programme dedicated to and last the “Capacities” theme which consists Europe. It therefore makes no sense to study Dutch PhD students from different disciplines who would scientific research. It consists of four themes: of a collection of smaller RTD - programmes or German texts exclusively.” Warnar also aimed for work on related topics at various universities. These the biggest theme is “Cooperation” which con- concerning the science system. FP7 has it own collaboration between researchers with different students would each have their own supervisor, sists of ten pre-defined research programmes set of rules and regula­tions and one can backgrounds: “Specialists in Dutch and German but meet up as a group at least twice every year. ranging from health to Social Sciences. participate by means of calls for proposal.

52 AN INSPIRING ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT 53 The LUMC Dept. of Heart Core BV is This timeline contains Valorisation over time 2001 - 2005 Urology applies for a acquired by Bio-Imaging some key elements for patent for the Multiple Technologies, Inc. illustrative purposes. INFRASTRUCTURE & SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES Array Probe Leiden COMMERCIALISATION BREAKTHROUGH The Celiac Disease Consortium (MAPLe) to treat pelvic COLLABORATION & RESEARCH INITIATIVE (CDC) is one of the Genomics floor dysfunctions. DEAL centres supported by the Nether­ SPIN-OFF lands Genomics Initiative (NGI).

ProSensa BV is Platform Opleiding, ISA Pharmaceuticals established to ensure Onderwijs en Organi­ BV is started based on further development satie B.V. (PLATO) is LUMC research and of RNA-based thera­ established from FSW patents for the deve­ peutics to patients to provide research and lopment of therapeutic with genetic diseases services in education vaccines for cancer and for whom currently no development for infectious diseases. treatment exists. third parties.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

BG Medicine Inc.is Gert Jan van Ommen Leiden Probe Microcopy The Leiden Leeuwen­ established and focu­ delivers proof of principle (LPM) was established hoek Pre-Seed Fund is ses on the discovery, that gene therapy is a from LION as company established to stimulate development, and com­ viable means to decrease offering high-end Scan­ new entrepreneurs and mercialization of novel disease severity in ning Probe Microscopes young companies from diagnostic tests based Duchennes disease by and Nano-Technology research institutions on biomarkers for high- skipping damaged exons of tools for Scientific in the Leiden region value market opportuni­ Duchenne gene. Research and the Nano- to become successful. ties in healthcare. Technology industry.

to-BBB BV is founded ZoBio BV starts and in the field of enhanced develops innovative drug delivery across methods using Nuclear the blood-brain barrier Magnetic Resonance based on the work to screen compound from institute LACDR libraries for binding to a Within the Cyttron of Pieter Gaillard and broad range of pharma­ consortium, Leiden Bert de Boer. cological targets. University starts building the Cell Observatory, a com­ prehensive and inte­ The Centre for Science and The Institute for Chinese Centre for Medical Leiden University Research grated infrastructure Technology Studies (CWTS) studies joins the Digital Systems Biology (CMSB) and Innovation Services for bio-imaging and in FSW establishes CWTS Archive for Chinese Studies is one of the Genomics (LURIS) initiated by the modeling cells down BV to commercialize the (DACHS) for research on centres supported by Boards of LU and LUMC to atomic detail products and services in the social and political discourse the Netherlands (Douwe Breimer, Willem field of quantitative science as reflected by articulations Genomics Initiative te Beest and Maarten 54 and technology research. on the Chinese Internet. (NGI). le Clercq). 55 “I don’t work for the journals” 06

Successes from the past

Software, too, is a scientific product It may take time before the potential impact of inventions becomes apparent, particularly in the life sciences, and perseverance is necessary. But what may start as a curiosity driven research project or chance discovery sometimes becomes a great com­ mercial success. Successes from the past serve as a great inspiration to future discoveries. And for the inventors themselves, whose inventions today and even tomorrow remain very active and alive, it provides a firm financial base for new research.

56 57 “I don’t work companies were identified that jointly acquired an to predict the development of RA at an early stage, exclusive license to the technology. The intellectual in some cases up to eight years before any clinical property itself remains in the hands of STW, LUMC symptoms are apparent.” for the journals” and Radboud University. The test has been on the market for quite some time now under the brand The topic continues to fascinate him, and just names ImmunoscanCCPlus® and AxSYM®xtra recently new results were brought to light. “In the Jan Wouter Drijfhout recalls how the search for a new diagnostic test for rheumatoid anti-CCP. According to the manufacturers, the test is meantime, it has become clear that an enzyme called arthritis (RA) led to some unexpected insights into the disease itself. one of the world’s most popular automated immuno­ PAD is responsible for modifying the proteins in RA assay systems. type I. Finding a compound that inhibits the action “In around 1994 I began working on peptide libraries 27 million peptides in 2.5 years, the researchers of PAD could lead to a potential therapy for RA for screening purposes, and a couple of years later found a promising ‘hit’. Drijfhout: “It was a very This commercial success did not, however, slow down type I. We have just completed a project in which I was approached by Professor Van Venrooij of good hit. Tests using patients’ serum showed that the scientific research, which is just as well, because we identified a modified peptide that looks very Radboud University. He was looking for a way to this peptide was both highly sensitive and highly their research resulted in a real eye-opener for the promising as a PAD inhibitor.” As might be expected, improve the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, specific to RA. This combination is essential in diag­ team. “We were curious about why we failed to Drijfhout is not planning to leave it at a publication because the tests available at the time were not very nostics. Ideally, you want the test to pick out every identify the remaining 25% of patients. As it turned of the results. “Right now, we are working hard to effective,” says Drijfhout, who heads the peptide single patient, and nobody else. In our case, 75% of out, this had nothing to do with our test; this group find funding for the proof-of-concept studies required synthesis facility at LUMC. “In patients suffering the patients tested positive and we hardly had any simply does not produce the antibodies we tested to take this research to the next level. But it is very from RA, certain proteins become modified and the false positive scores, which is remarkably good.” for. This led us to the conclusion that RA is not a difficult. There is a huge gap in funding possibilities patients produce antibodies against these proteins. single disease, but consists of two different types.” for projects that are too applied for academia, but not Van Venrooij’s idea was to look for peptides that bind Based on these results, a commercialisation track Altogether, a great example of how working on a yet sufficiently advanced for the clinic. Our attempts to these antibodies and that can therefore be used was started to develop a reliable and usable test. practical application can result in a truly funda­ to set up a knowledge-driven economy would benefit to diagnose RA.” Drijfhout took on the challenge, To Drijfhout, this was a perfectly logical next step. mental discovery. And that is not all, says Drijfhout. greatly from more and better funding programmes and research began, supported by a grant from “I don’t work for the scientific journals; I want to “Another unexpected finding was that the test is for translational research.” ET Technology Foundation STW. After screening roughly work for society.” In collaboration with STW, two not only capable of diagnosing RA, but is also able

58 SUCCESSES FROM THE PAST 59 implemented our algorithms into user-oriented soft­ Most of the money is reinvested in updating and ware. In the old days, we used to send huge tapes developing new software: “This is officially not an with our computer programmes all over the world.” academic task, and you get very little credit for writing computer code. I think this is a very limited One of the founders of SPSS once spent his sabba­ view of scientific productivity, since a computer tical in the Leiden Political Science Department, programme can have at least as much impact and heard later through the grapevine about the as an article.” Leiden Data Theory software. In 1987 Meulman flew to Chicago to demonstrate the programmes there. Meulman is also responsible for maintaining the Meulman: “We made a deal to keep the intellectual business contacts of the Leiden SPSS project. property and to sell the licensing rights for a royalty “We used to tinker around with contracts ourselves of 17.5%. SPSS was not as big as it is now, and they and it always worked out in the end, somehow or seemed quite excited about collaborating with Leiden other. Nowadays, with help from LURIS, things have University.” Retaining the intellectual rights is rare become much more professional.” Recently SPSS in such cases, but the deal was unique in other ways was taken over by IBM, and new contracts had to be Software, too, is a as well. The Leiden group is the only outsider who negotiated: “It was fantastic to have Ivo de Nooijer is allowed to work directly in SPSS’s development from LURIS check all the details and warn us about environment. “The sales of our CATEGORIES package hidden catches. And for him it is easier to remain have since boomed. I do not know the exact numbers strictly businesslike, since he doesn’t know the scientific product by heart, but we receive at least 125,000 dollars people from SPSS personally, the way I do.” IS quarterly.” In “I keep saying the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians,” declared Google’s focus chief economist Hal R. Varian last year. Professor of Applied Statistics Jacqueline Finding relations Meulman’s SPSS group develops methods for The methods in CATEGORIES transform the Meulman was drawn to statistics long before the hype, and she has a unique deal non-linear multidimensional data analysis. original variables in a way that preserves for developing and distributing statistical software. “We do grouping of objects while transforming their important properties and at the same the variables to find hidden relationships. The time optimises the relationships. Meulman: number of objects and variables can be enor- “A simple but good example is the number of When Meulman first came into contact with statistics into something much bigger. Today the software is mous: “I work on biological DNA data and one car accidents predicted according to age. Young during her psychology study she was completely sold. widely used for statistical data analysis and data month they have 150,000 variables and the people who drive recklessly and insecure older She thinks many people do not realise that statistics mining, from market research to biology and from next month 500,000.” drivers have more car accidents than drivers is everywhere: “There is a huge demand for statisti­ government to psychometrics. Traditional methods can only detect linear in other age groups. There is therefore a non- cians in the life, behavioural, medical and social relations, but the data often contain non-linear linear relation between the age of the driver sciences. This is why we started Statistical Science, Meulman is the group leader of the Leiden relations. This happens, for instance, with and the number of accidents. By scaling the a specialisation master’s programme in mathematics.” SPSS project that creates software for the SPSS behavioural, categorial data where respondents age categories and reordering them, our CATEGORIES package. “Our group in Data Theory are grouped into categories of variables such as transformation finds a linear relationship, Many researchers will be familiar with the statistical was constantly developing new methods for data “scale of depression” or “religious background”. which makes it possible to predict future software in SPSS, which was developed in 1968 as a analysis. We believed it was important to enable In the latter case there is even no natural order outcomes.” software package for the social sciences. It has grown others to use our techniques and we therefore of the categories.

60 SUCCESSES FROM THE PAST 61 Center for Entrepeneurship LUMC Participaties Start construction of This timeline contains Valorisation over time 2006 - 2010 Holland Program (HOPE). BV is founded as the BioPartner Accelerator some key elements for Establishd to educate students in holding company building to house illustrative purposes. INFRASTRUCTURE & SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES high quality entrepreneurship. for LUMC spin-out successful start-ups COMMERCIALISATION BREAKTHROUGH In Leiden Harmen Jousma and companies. that need more space. COLLABORATION & RESEARCH INITIATIVE Science Based Business work DEAL closely together in HOPE. SPIN-OFF

Top Institute Pharma, LU, LUMC and spin-off BMM is the third Geert Warnar is Forensic Genomics Consor­ a PPP dedicated to drug LPM BV participate in biomedical Top awarded 2 Mg for a tium Netherlands (FGCN) development is started. the NIMIC consortium, Institute initiated, Marie Curie International is one of the Genomics In 2010, Leiden Uni­ which receives 14 Mg in 2010, LUMC Training Network, to hire centres supported versity and LUMC from SmartMix to perform participates in 12 PhD’s at 5 European by the Nether­lands have been involved collaborative research on 2 projects. Universities. Genomics Initiative (NGI). in 22 projects. making nanometer scale structures visible.

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

The Medical Delta A zebrafish consortium Business to Science Portal National facility Stimulation of the immune The Leiden University consortium is set up to coordinated by Michael (B2SP) kicks off with a Pieken for nanoscopy NeCEN system can help to eliminate Observatory and Institute realise breakthroughs in Richardson (IBL) is awarded in de Delta subsidy to lower is established in Leiden a chronic infection with the for Computational Sciences medical sciences and 14 Mg from SmartMix, to the threshold for SME entre­ with funding from human papillomavirus. This participate in LOFAR, the healthcare, to develop explore the use of zebrafish peneurs to find scientists in NWO-Groot and EFRO. has been demonstrated in biggest radio telescope in novel technologies for developing medicines Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam. research from Kees Melief the world. and to fuel related eco­ to combat diseases of the (LUMC), which was nomic opportunities. elderly affecting bones NewCatch BV and ZF Pharma BV published in NEJM. and joints. spin out from ZF Screens BV.

ZF-screens BV starts CTMM is launched EPD Vision BV spins out First Chinese pharma company based on several for joint research to from LUMC to further in the Leiden Bio Science patents generated enable ‘personalised commercialize the deve- Park new Chinese/Dutch joint by IBL researchers van medicine’. lop­ment of the EPD venture between the Yangtze den Thillart and Spaink. initiated in the depart­ River Pharmaceutical Group The goal is to develop ProSensa BV forms and SU Biomedicine. Second BioPartner ment of Cardiology. products for pharma­ an alliance with Glaxo incubator is built ceutical applications. Smith Kline to fight at Leiden Bio Duchenne Muscular Science Park. Dystrophy.

Construction BioGeneration Ventures First Leiden ERC New Faculty of Humanities Netherlands Metabolomics Netherlands Consortium for Maxam Medical BV signs new Education BV is established and Starting Grants for originates from respectively Centre (NMC) is one of Healthy Ageing is one of the a license deal with LUMC and new Research based in Leiden to Tjerk Oosterkamp, Humanities, Philosphy, the Genomics centres sup- Genomics centres supported to further develop the tech- Building LUMC. invest in the next Physics and Petra Academy of Creative and ported by the Netherlands by the Netherlands Genomics nology MAPLe (2003) into generation of Life Sijpesteijn, Islam Performing Arts and Genomics Initiative (NGI). Initiative (NGI). products for physiotherapy. Sciences companies Studies. Religious Studies. 62 in the Netherlands. 63 More than money

From course 07 project to medical device business Promises of the future

Drugs courier, Leiden spin-off crosses blood- brain barrier

Don’t fear the patents New products, services and technologies may emerge from scientific research, leading to new ventures or collaborations. What promises do we see for the future, developing to become leading in their field? Like seeds that are planted in the soil and still need nurturing to grow into full life. By providing a fertile environment in Leiden, we foster researchers to let their ideas grow. Here we present only a few of these early stage discoveries that will hopefully reach their full potential in a few years. Use your results for the greater good

64 65 More than money

Building a successful company on promising research findings requires good science and innovative ideas, but that’s not enough, says Edward van Wezel of BioGeneration Ventures.

In addition to a solid scientific base, a new venture taps into its broad network of experts. “These are all also needs a sound business strategy, capable people with in-depth knowledge of particular tech­ manage­ment, an adequate patent position and above nology areas, the market, the players and the latest all, money. The latter proves to be a major hurdle developments in that field. They can also accurately for starting companies in the life sciences. This is estimate whether a given technology really offers especially relevant for companies that have outgrown something new. That doesn’t mean, however, that the stage of government grants and start-up support we are only looking for revolutionary breakthroughs. programmes, but are not yet able to fulfil the require­ Small steps forward are also interesting, as long as ments of mainstream venture capital firms. Invest­ there is a clear perspective on value creation.” ment fund BioGeneration Ventures was founded in 2006 to address the needs of these so-called Although financial motives are usually the main driver early stage companies. for starting entrepreneurs to contact BioGeneration Ventures, an investment by the fund provides more BioGeneration Ventures is backed by the Netherlands than simply a bag of cash. “When we decide to invest Genomics Initiative (NGI) and the Netherlands in a venture, we actively engage in building the new Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), com­ company. Our contribution can take different forms. bined with the holding LEH of Leiden University We might, for example, bring in external expertise and ABN AMRO Capital as lead private investors. to strengthen the management team, re-open nego­ The fund focuses on the life sciences, but that tiations with a university or use our network to find encompasses a broad range of application areas, suitable advisers or business partners.” And even in says Edward van Wezel, Managing Partner of cases when BioGeneration Ventures considers it too Bio­Generation Ventures. “Our scope covers food, early to invest in a venture, the door is open for aspi­ pharma, industrial biotechnology and agriculture. ring entrepreneurs with interesting plans. Van Wezel: The main characteristic we look for in early stage “We are always interested in new, innovative ideas. companies is not so much the application itself, but If the potential is there, we are certainly willing the innovative character of the technology proposed. to discuss the next steps and help starters on That is the most important thing.” To assess the their way.” ET potential of a technology, BioGeneration Ventures

66 PROMISES OF THE FUTURE 67 Together with fellow student Fiebke op de Macks, he Venture Challenge, secured a Pre-Seed Grant also participated in the course ‘Writing a business plan’ from NGI. They also received financial support from organised by YES!Delft and Roland Berger. Voorham: the Leiden Leeuwenhoek Pre-seed Fund. Presently “That’s when we got the feeling that we should really they are assessing the international competition From course project to follow this through and start a business.” They in the field. Voorham is actively participating in contacted LURIS with a proposal to obtain a licence measurements at the LUMC to further refine the for the MAPLe and after almost a year of negotiations, analysis software and Op de Macks has started MAXAM Medical – the new venture – clinched the designing the interface of the system. In addition to medical device business deal, in spite of other, established parties being their R&D activities, they are busy formalising their interested as well. Op de Macks: “We were the only network of experts, who act as a sounding board for ones who proposed covering the whole track, from the young entrepreneurs. And of course there is the Valorisation is hardly ever a straightforward process. The case of MAXAM Medical developing the tools for analysis and visualisation ongoing process of securing financing for the future. nicely illustrates how new ventures can emerge when different story lines and to designing a new, user-friendly interface for the Adjusting to a full-blown business routine has so far physiotherapists to work with.” been quite smooth. Voorham: “It’s a different kind of seemingly remote worlds happen to meet. discipline compared to a student schedule, but we Moving on to the present, MAXAM Medical has really have enough deadlines to meet and appointments to Story line number one starts in 2003 at the LUMC the team contacts LURIS to discuss the possibilities taken off. Supported by LURIS, Voorham and Op de keep. Getting down to work is not a problem.” ET Department of Urology, where urologists and pelvic for further development. Macks have in the meantime participated in the NGI floor therapists are confronted with the need for a better probe to measure muscular activity in the Story line number two. In 2008, Jeroen Voorham, In pelvic floor. Such a probe is used by specialised then a student at Delft University of Technology, focus physiotherapists to treat pelvic floor dysfunctions. enters the story, supported by a professor of Mecha­ Leiden LeeuwenhoekStarters Disappointed with the performance of the available nical Engineering who was involved in the hardware The aim of the LeeuwenhoekStarters program Leiden Leeuwenhoek Pre-Seed BV was foun- probes, Petra -van der Zalm, Rob Pelger and Theo development of the probe. “What they still needed is to stimulate new entrepreneurs and young ded in 2006 under the LeeuwenhoekStarters­ Ouwerkerk take matters into their own hands and was a tool to analyse and visualise the data measured companies from research institutions in the Lei- Program to facilitate the Pre-Seed loans for develop a prototype of a new, improved probe, the by the probe. I decided to take on the challenge as den region to become successful. The program new techno starts-ups. Loans with attractive Multiple Array Probe Leiden (MAPLe). an extra-curricular course,” says Voorham. While provides Pre-Seed funding, expertise and infra- conditions are granted on the basis of a concise Test measurements show that their probe is capable developing the necessary software, he became structure for entrepreneurs who wish to start a business plan with clearly defined milestones. of registering much more information, and in 2006 aware of the business potential of the project. company based on research and technology.

68 PROMISES OF THE FUTURE 69 Pieter Gaillard, a Leiden-based researcher, has spent companies became aware of it and are in the process many years exploring ways in which to smuggle of concluding agreements with them to test the drugs into the brain. He discovered that a non-toxic technology on their drugs.” variant of diphtheria bacterial toxin was capable of Drugs courier, Leiden spin-off crossing the barrier. He also realised that the protein Currently to-BBB is also cooperating closely with involved could be used as a vehicle to conduct the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Antoni van proteins through the blood-brain barrier. “To our Leeuwenhoek Hospital. The organisations are jointly crosses blood-brain barrier surprise, many of the components that we required developing a new drug against brain tumours. They had already been clinically tested but had not been are mainly using the Taiwanese technology for the patented. Since no one before had been aware of purpose. Their own technology based on the dipht­ Brain-related disorders occur frequently. Since the brain is well protected from its the situation, we were able to patent the new heria bacterial toxin proved more difficult to apply. environment, however, treating them is difficult. A Leiden-based researcher is combination.” As Willem van Weperen, commercial director of to-BBB, explains, “That method is still in the pipe­ developing a method of smuggling drugs into the brain nevertheless. Together with partners from Leiden University and line but its safety profile is more difficult to develop the business community, Gaillard formed the com­ in commercial terms. Following repeated administra­ The brain is the most complex organ of the human Things have been going wrong with increasing pany to-BBB in order to further develop the inventi­ tion, the diphtheria protein can cause a broad range body. Because it is so important, it is extremely frequency in recent years. The Netherlands Brain on. Everything went well and potential customers and of reactions in the body. It is also more difficult to well protected. A thick layer of bone and membrane Foundation calculated that in 2005 almost six investors quickly showed interest. Gaillard and his produce and test in terms of effectiveness and stands between the brain and the outside world. million people in the Netherlands were suffering team then discovered that a Taiwanese research orga­ safety on a large scale.” It ensures that all kinds of external things - nails, from some kind of brain-related disorder ranging from nisation had come up with a more elegant method. teeth, poisons, bacteria, viruses and so forth - cannot migraines to brain tumours. That number is rapidly The organisation in question had developed minute According to Van Weperen, application of the tech­ reach the brain. Despite its obvious benefit, the solid increasing by almost 100,000 a year. In almost all fat droplets, liposomes, in which drugs could be nology in the battle against brain tumours is only the protective barrier surrounding the brain also has a cases, treatment with drugs is impossible, since they packaged. The outsides of these droplets were coated beginning. “The great thing is that liposomes can downside, because if something goes wrong, such as are stopped at the so-called blood-brain barrier, a with glutathione, a substance capable of crossing in principle be filled with a wide variety of drugs, a stroke or the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or cancer, layer of connected endothelial cells that only allows the blood-brain barrier. “The liposomes function as ranging from cytostatics and virus inhibitors to drugs intervention is difficult. specific substances to pass. Most drugs are not Trojan Horses, as it were, in transporting the drugs used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.” among the substances permitted. into the brain. We were able to secure an exclusive There is therefore hope for patients throughout patent on the method before pharmaceutical the world. PB

70 PROMISES OF THE FUTURE 71 Don’t fear Use your results the patents for the greater good

As a PhD student, cancer researcher Sjoerd van der Burg was educated on the Starting a company has several important advantages, says Kees Melief, emeritus importance of filing patents. He emphasises how impossible it is to turn research Professor of Immunohaematology at the LUMC and Chief Scientific Officer of ISA into a working medicine without a patent. Pharmaceuticals.

Van der Burg’s main task at the LUMC is bringing the ultimate goal.” Researchers need to learn to ISA Pharmaceuticals was founded at the end of 2004, response by T cells (the ‘killer’ cells) to tumour cells ideas from research to the bed of the patient. His recognize when they have made a discovery that can and focuses on therapeutic vaccines for various types than short peptides, which up until that point were specialisation is using the human defence system be exploited. They need not be afraid of the actual of cancer. “A small, dedicated company is flexible used in therapeutic tumour vaccines. This finding for cancer treatment and prevention. He did his PhD writing of a patent: “LURIS can help with that and and allows you to be decisive and take matters into was further developed into the Synthetic Long Pep­ with Kees Melief and although he now has his own arrange for the patent to be written with all the legal your own hands,” Melief explains. “In our case, tide concept SLP®. Both breakthroughs have been laboratory, he still collaborates intensively language, leaving the researcher free to focus on the it allowed us to quickly initiate clinical trials with patented, as well as a number of related findings. with Melief. description of the innovations and the applications. our new Synthetic Long Peptide concept.” A sharp “It is crucial to be very precise when drawing up The people who write these patents are very good at contrast with the attitude they experienced in their a patent application. More general patents on One of their recent joint successes is a vaccine that discussing substantive details thoroughly with the dealings with established vaccine manufacturers. methods or strategies are not particularly valuable.” cured people who developed a pre-stage of cancer researchers.” Melief: “Big companies tend to overestimate the after being infected with HPV (Human Papillomavi­ value of their own technology and they do not have To Melief, the need for patenting results and initia­ rus). Van der Burg: “We had an idea, started testing A disadvantage of early patenting is that the ideas much faith in the abilities of outsiders. It is very ting a commercial development track is clear. “The mice and ended up with cured human patients. It is might not be sufficiently developed. Van der Burg: difficult to convince them to try something new.” costs of clinical trials cannot be borne by hospitals. exceptional to be able to experience every step of this “You can end up in a Catch 22 situation: you need However, now that ISA Pharmaceuticals has demon­ Starting a company was in our case the only way entire process; researchers usually only see a small to improve the patent to get money, but at the same strated the value of its technology with a highly to secure the financial resources to start clinical part of it. And of course, it often simply fails at some time you need money to improve the patent.” In such successful phase II clinical trial with a therapeutic development of our therapeutic vaccines.” He is stage.” He dreams of taking the process even one cases, Van der Burg’s advice is not to wait too long HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine, that attitude convinced that, in the end, this approach serves the step further, and turning their idea into a medicine. with the patent, because there is always the risk of may change. Interest in ISA Pharmaceuticals is interests of all parties. Academia can remain focused being scooped. “I once filed a patent on December increasing, says Melief. on research, patients benefit from new therapeutics Van der Burg believes the university should train 5th. On December 6th an article appeared that might entering the market, and a successful company researchers in filing patents. Without patents, it have harmed my patent.” A good strategy is to file ISA Pharmaceuticals is built on two major break­ contributes to economic growth. “There are still is impossible to spark the interest of the industry, many small patents: “The patents for ISA Pharma­ throughs made by Melief’s research group. The first, many scientists who feel that once you score that and without the industry it is impossible to produce ceuticals work like that. Individually, they are not published in Nature in 1998, concerns the identi­­- one publication in a top journal, you have achieved working medicines, “which should, in the end, be very strong, but as a group they are.” IS fi­cation of – simply put – a ‘master switch’ in the the highest goal. But at that point, the work is just immune system, which can be triggered by starting. Once you have strong clues that your results monoc­lonal antibodies to generate an enormous can lead to clinical benefits, I see it as a duty to do boost in the body’s immune responses. The second something with them.” ET breakthrough relates to the induction of specific immune responses with therapeutic benefits in already established diseases. The group demonstrated that long peptides result in a much stronger specific

72 PROMISES OF THE FUTURE 73 Hands-on knowledge for policy- makers 08

Science in Legal challenges of a broader space tourism explained scope

Everything the European Union wants to know about labour law

Valorisation should be custom-made Not all research can be translated into commercial products or economic benefit. Sometimes the value of science for society becomes visible in changes in public processes or the way people interact. It can be argued that valorisation is not only about patents in the beta sciences, but also includes social and humanities research which has a clear focus on societal problems. Here are some inspiring examples of researchers that try to serve society by looking at it from a scholarly perspective.

74 75 Hands-on knowledge Legal challenges of for policy-makers space tourism explained

Can civil servants develop policies aimed at religious The above is just one example of how Berger Air and space law is a specialised field, with a limited Tanja Masson-Zwaan, deputy director of the IIASL organisations? Or would that interfere with the consti­ translates academic thought into practical tools. number of academic institutes world-wide capable of explains: ‘Orbital means that an object, often a tutional separation of Church and State? The City of He has also recently contributed to an improved providing qualified legal advice on complex matters. satellite, is launched on a trajectory around the Rotterdam struggled with these issues and ap­ health education campaign aimed at Turkish The Leiden Institute for Air and Space Law (IIASL) Earth; suborbital means there and back again. proached Maurits Berger, Professor of Islam in the immigrants in Rotterdam and has undertaken a is considered one of the key players in this area. Its And this is what space tourism is about: a flight Contemporary West at Leiden University, to shed light comparative study on Muslims in the Netherlands staff members are often approached by governments, of a number of hours to a height of about 100 km, on the matter. Berger organised a Master Class on and Macedonia (FYROM). The latter was commissi­ international organisations, private practice and where the travelers can experience weightlessness the concept of the separation of Church and State for oned by the Dutch Embassy in Macedonia in order industry for expert advice and consultancy. Over the for a short period of time. It is a grey area up policy-makers in Rotterdam and provided them with to see whether Dutch insights could be of relevance years the institute has organised conferences and there between air and space, and in legal terms, the necessary insights to be able to deal with this to the situation in Macedonia. colloquia and other activities where they meet and therefore, between air law and space law.’ issue in their everyday work. get together and try to move the law ahead.

The IIASL carries out studies in the context of the EU FP7 programme. One of them concerns CATS, which is designed to draw up a contractual relations between parties to the provision of air navigation ser­vices, that is, airports, airlines and air traffic controllers.

76 SCIENCE IN A BROADER SCOPE 77 In 1997, Heerma van Voss became a professor in Commission unit for labour law in which we dis­ Leiden. Together with a former colleague from Trier, cussed what kind of proposal might be successful. he decided that an international network of experts in We discovered that the Commission intended to set labour law would be a good idea. From their previous up a network for information about labour laws in work, they already knew many international experts different countries. Gathering this information was and they slowly expanded their network to thirty already part of our research plan and we decided to European countries. try to become their network”.

In 2005, they organised a conference to kick off the “In 2007 the European Commission issued the ten­ network. “Our plan was a restatement of European der for the network and with Deloitte’s help we made Everything the European Union labour law. There is no such thing at present, only an application. There was one competing proposal, European Directives on some specific subjects. We and we won by a very narrow margin. Without the wanted to show what a European Labour Code might external help we would never have succeeded. They wants to know about labour law look like. This is a very sensitive topic; many citizens taught us to be meticulous and complete, which is are strongly against an increase in European legisla­ very important for European proposals. And they were tion. But we looked at it as an interesting scientific bold; for us it would have been very hard to find out Guus Heerma van Voss and a group of his European colleagues started a network for project. Which factors do the different law systems why our first proposal was rejected or to set up a research on labour law. But when they discovered that the European Commission had have in common? And how might the rules on various meeting with the European Commission.” subjects be stated in a way that would allow a majo­ plans for a slightly different kind of network, they decided to become that network. rity of countries to agree with them?” The network receives over one million euro per year and is fully functioning. Each year it delivers a report Guus Heerma van Voss became interested in labour internationalisation. Traditionally, law schools were The network started without any funding. Confe­ to the European Commission on a specific theme. law as a student, when he worked for a law shop. not very international. Since legal practice is orga­ rences were organised with ad hoc sponsors and This year the report concerns the way in which eco­ The law shop assisted people who could not afford nised locally, students were expected to learn how research was carried out within existing jobs. A first nomic crisis influences labour law. The network also a lawyer, and many of the cases turned out to be to work within the national system. Research was application for a subsidy from the European Union has many other tasks: it makes quarterly flash reports related to labour law: they were about discharges, mainly providing publications that were useful for the was rejected. At that time, Leiden University asked about recent domestic developments, organises a holiday allowances, dangerous work circumstances, practice of law. But times were changing: law became consulting firm Deloitte to trace favorable projects yearly seminar, and answers questions from the Com­ etc. Heerma van Voss: “I became interested in more international because the European economies for European subsidies. They chose the labour law mission. Heerma van Voss: “Officially, this network is these cases and decided to specialise in labour law. became increasingly interwoven. In addition, science network as a candidate, and Deloitte was contracted only for collecting information, but of course we also The field is very wide and almost everyone is affected demanded comparative and long-term studies, which to help the researchers submit a new proposal. continue our own research in addition to the tasks we by it. Every day there is something about labour law led to international publications. Heerma van Voss perform for the Commission. When all the internatio­ in the newspapers”. noticed these trends and decided to act upon them. Deloitte soon discovered that the first proposal had nal experts meet for a seminar, we stay an extra day He started visiting the Institute for Labour Law and been rejected because it sounded too academic, too to discuss our academic work. Hopefully, the first two In the 1990’s, Heerma van Voss was working at Industrial Relations in the European Community in far removed from direct needs. Heerma van Voss: volumes containing our results will be published by Maastricht University, which focuses strongly on Trier. He met experts from other European countries “Deloitte organised a meeting with the European the end of 2010.” IS and carried out some comparative studies.

78 SCIENCE IN A BROADER SCOPE 79 Valorisation should be In her view, communication is a key aspect of the Moreover, Ineke Sluiter thinks that every researcher humanities. “In addition to fundamental research, should ponder the question of who might benefit we need a dialogue about the results. This is an from his research. “Not all researchers are suited custom-made important way of valorising research. Valorisation to go out into the public arena. In which case, they needs to be custom-made, different disciplines should stick to academic work and try to find others cannot be judged by the same standards.” It is hard to spread their work. This kind of division of labour is Ineke Sluiter, Professor of Greek Language and Literature, is one of the four winners to express the added value of individual projects in not a problem, but researchers should at least think of the 2010 NWO Spinoza Prize. Her research focuses on ancient ideas about language the humanities in terms of economic profit; the about the value of their work for the rest of the world. added value of the Humanities should be measured Those who do want to make their work accessible and their social impact, but she stands out in connecting these ideas with contem­ differently. “We teach a great number of students, to non-academic users should think about the most porary debates. International referees call her an out-and-out humanities scholar. who get into university with a trivial earning potential. effective way of achieving this.” We send them away with essential and extensive skills, such as reflection, reasoning, and critical In the Humanities, the most effective way of making Sluiter is very passionate about the importance of there is also a certain distance.” Another advantage debate. They end up as valuable academics in research available to non-academics is often less ancient texts: “The humanities study the position of of discussing modern problems through considering every nook and cranny of society: from news- clear than, for example, in the life sciences. Sluiter: man in the world. Literature presents all kinds of pos­ classical examples is that all Western thinkers have papers to schools and from museums to television. “We are all afraid of dying, so it is easy to appreciate sible scenarios, and invites readers to view the world written about them, so these ideas can be tested The humanities equip them with a broad view on a researcher who holds out the prospect of curing a from different perspectives. Right at the beginning against those of different eras. life: we contribute to the quality of our society at deadly disease. But the humanities can help us to of our Western-European history, classical antiquity large and provide the added value of the difference come to terms with the fact that we are all inevitably offers a complete and highly developed literature, Sluiter is highly motivated to make the classics in earning potential between novices and graduates. going to die.” Laughing, she adds: “In that sense the that addresses all the major problems of human life. accessible to others and to share her views. She That should be to our credit, and it should be Humanities are able to take the Life Sciences on. IS Classical stories are still very recognisable for the organises interdisciplinary workshops, writes articles asses­sed at system level. In return, we need a modern reader. But at the same time they offer a for newspapers, gives lectures for a general audience decent level of research funding that guarantees safe arena for discussing sensitive topics, because and talks with politicians about language and identity. the quality of our work.”

80 SCIENCE IN A BROADER SCOPE 81 The passion of academic entrepreneurship Park. It is rated as the fourth Bio Science Park in Some 15 years ago I sold the shares in the the university became a shareholder. I was also direc­tor Europe, and its strengths are immediately apparent. businesses I had built up and exchanged entrepre­ of the Holding B.V., in which the shares were managed As a regular visitor to Silicon Valley and Stanford neurship in the private sector for a career as an and through which the Science Park was established University in the US, I can say that when you visit administrator in Higher Education. and expanded, in partnership with the municipality of these world-famous Science Parks there’s no mis­ Enschede and the municipality of Overijssel. At the taking the energy they radiate. And you can sense My first job in this new environment was as Chair­ same time I was Chairman of the Board of the joint the start of a similar energy in Leiden, in the Life man of the Executive Board of a polytechnic in the so-called valorisation strategy group of the Federation Science Cafés, for example. agricultural sector, that had close links with the of the three Technical Universities. Together we made to work closely together with my colleague Maarten University of Wageningen. Given my business-oriented enormous progress in terms of stimu­ lating­ the The concentration on dedicated development within le Clerq of the LUMC, not only within LURIS, but background, I immediately recognised the value of universities’ contribution to innovation in society. the Science Park reaps its own rewards. Leiden also in the Leiden BioPartner Centre. the knowledge and experience, the ambition and the University has the major advantage that the land is enthusiasm of the lecturers and students. We imple­ Some five years ago I was approached by Leiden Uni­ owned by the University, so there is no requirement All in all, the achievements so far have been fantas­ mented a strategy and built an organisation aimed at versity regarding the position of Vice-President of the for an annual appreciation of the land value. This tic. But, it is still possible to do better, maybe even applying these strengths to resolve real-life problems Executive Board. At the time the Board was looking means that we can permit ourselves to operate a much better. If I summarise my experiences over the in industry. Lecturers and students carried out a for someone with a background in business and also policy whereby we can wait patiently for dedicated past 15 years, I arrive at three real opportunities for diverse range of projects at real market rates, varying with experience as a manager within the polytechnic Life Science businesses to establish themselves improvement. from market research, product and taste testing and system and in the university world. They came to within the Science Park. As a result, the focus of the organising production processes to setting up pilot the conclusion that there was only one person who Park is not diluted by such cash-generating concerns In the first place and possibly also the biggest plants. The results achieved were excellent. Students combined all the appropriate skills. I recall vividly my as a multi-screen cinema or a football stadium, for challenge, it would be good to broaden the commer­ and lecturers gained real-life, practical experience, initial hesitation. Why would I, as Vice-President of example. I have seen elsewhere the frustration that cialisation of our scientific activities to other research based on the need to achieve results. Lecturers (70% the Executive Board of ‘the entrepreneurial University this can cause. The University and the municipality areas than the scientific and medical fields. were involved in the practical assignments) were able of Twente’, want to become part of such a venerable of Leiden have always agreed on this principle. For Experiences with setting up companies within to introduce the most up-to-date developments from university as Leiden? True, Leiden might be the first me, chairmanship of the Leiden Bio Science Park Archaeology and Social and Behavioural Sciences practice in their teaching. There was a tangible team and oldest university in the Netherlands and indeed Foundation is something I consider both a great ho­ and for example with the Language Centre within the spirit (an attitude of “Yes, we can do it!”) among a ‘bastion of freedom’, but it was by no means known nour and a true enrichment of my position in Leiden. Faculty of Humanities and with (highly successful) students and lecturers. With the profits generated for its entrepreneurial spirit. Just how wrong can commercial teaching programmes within the Faculty we were able to appoint 25% more lecturers (all with one be! My start in Leiden coincided with the arrival By now, I think I can safely say that it is widely of Law, clearly demonstrate that there are opportuni­ experience in practice) than would have been possible of Bob Smailes, who was recruited as Director of recognised that we have in Leiden one of the best – ties enough, provided there is also enough manage­ with government funding alone. And, last but LURIS, Leiden University Research and Innovation if not the best - Tech Transfer Offices in the Ne­ ment attention and inspiration. not least, the polytechnic was regarded by its Services. Bob was appointed by the previous Execu­ therlands and an impressive Science Park. We are Secondly, there is the consultancy aspect. Faculties environment as a serious, professional partner. tive Board to shape their ambition to make a distinct held up as an example by many official institutions. and institutes are by no means all able to protect difference in the world of Dutch universities. It proved Personally, when paying foreign visits I find myself intellectual property by means of patents that can be I then became member and Vice-Chairman, first of to be an excellent decision. The commercialisation of making comparisons between our Science Park and licensed to fee-paying companies. But they do have the Executive Board of the Technical University in university knowledge was a hot item in the Nether­ international equivalents. In Leiden we have a TTO knowledge that has a financial value, knowledge that Eindhoven and then of the University of Twente. lands, but it was still in its infancy. In fact, although of the same size and with the same deal flow as can be capitalised in a professional and secure way Exploitation of academic knowledge was handled I was regarded as a ‘front-runner’, I was actually just Berkeley University in California. And for each euro through a Consultancy BV. completely differently in these universities than it had a willing amateur. Bob, on the other hand, was a of research funding we are in relative terms doing And finally there is the discovery and marketing of been in the polytechnic. Here the focus was on pro­ professional who had earned his stripes in Edinburgh remarkably well. ‘inventions’. It is vital that every institute that can tecting intellectual property by patenting inventions and before that in other positions in the UK. He came In the most recent Times Higher Education Ranking, achieve a relevant transfer of knowledge into IP and licensing or selling patents to existing companies with Laura McDonald as his right-hand woman and Leiden University is among the top five in the world should introduce and maintain the position of Busi­ or university spin-offs, as well as providing commerci­ in no time at all had assembled a professional team for one particular aspect - industrial relations – that ness Development Manager. From my experience at al teaching programmes. The creation and expansion around him. Petra van den Berg was the key player counts for only 2.5% of the overall ranking. Leiden’s the University of Twente I know that such a position of so-called Science Parks was an integral part of the from the Dutch side. In short: a motivated position in this ranking is undoubtedly attributable to works as an important catalyst in marketing succes. strategy to give spin-off companies a and professional team. the University’s involvement with the companies on place within the university. the Bio Science Park. In conclusion I can justifiably say that all our support Leiden has an important strategic asset unparalleled systems in Leiden have been positioned for optimum Once again, my background came in useful. I held in the Netherlands: the Leiden Bio Science Park. The LURIS is a joint activity between the University and effectiveness. We have set our sights on being the positions on the governing boards of a number of Leiden Bio Science Park has been in existence for 25 the LUMC; it has bound the two organisations for best – and we have every intention of making it happen. companies in Twente that were set up on the basis years and in my opinion there is no Science Park in many years in a way that would not be considered of university knowledge, in exchange for which the Netherlands that even comes close to the Leiden possible for other aspects. I have had the opportunity Willem te Beest

82 83 Focus on the Appliance of Science FROM LEIDEN