Funds to commercialise public sector research

It allows laboratories to develop professional expertise in everything from managing Intellectual Property to setting up new businesses

Ian Pearson

Science and Innovation Minister

Financing from the fourth round of the Public Sector Research Exploitation (PSRE) fund will be given to 33 successful bidders to spread the innovative developments made by the public sector into the commercial world.

Ian Pearson, Science and Innovation Minister, said the economic impact of research carried out on behalf of government departments would be maximised if they were turned into viable business ideas.

"The [PSRE] fund supports the exploitation of research from every corner of the public sector," he explained.

"It allows laboratories to develop professional expertise in everything from managing Intellectual Property to setting up new businesses," Mr Pearson continued.

Among the projects which have been awarded funding is the Roslin Foundation, which will receive £614,000 for its stem-cell research into conditions such as Alzheimer's.

The Natural History Museum will also benefit from £278,733 to develop new crime scene investigation services which examine insects at crime scene.

In the previous stage of funding, 29 projects were awarded including the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews to develop scientific instruments to track marine animals and Birmingham's Forensic Science Service to create a searchable DNA database.