The recent Future Talk by NXPO put a spotlight on Thai Bayh-Dole Act which has received the final approval to become a law at the joint sitting of the National Assembly on 17 September 2021. Invited speakers included Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pongpan Kaewtatip, Vice President of Thailand Science Research and Innvation (TSRI); Prof. Dr. Kiat Ruxrungtham, Director of COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Chula Vaccine Research Center; and Prof. Dr. Pimchai Chaiyen, Dean of School of Biomolecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC). The talk was moderated by NXPO President Dr. Kitipong Promwong.
Dr. Pongpan gave a highlight of the Thai Bayh Dole Act that it grants an ownership of invention made with government funding to an inventing institute. This act was inspired by the Bayh-Dole Act initiated in the US some 40 years ago to overcome the barrier in the government system to commercialize research and innovation. With the ownership of inventions, research institutes have the power to manage their IPs and the freedom to negotiate licensing terms that would best encourage the commercialization of technology. It also encourages researchers and research institutes to perform market-driven research. The Bayh-Dole Act has been credited for the significant increase in patent number and technology transfer from university to industry in the US. Dr. Pongpan expected that it would do the same for Thailand.
Prof. Kiat agreed that the Thai Bayh Dole Act will expedite the technology transfer and research commercialization process. However, there are other barriers that should be unlocked in addition to invention ownership to create a healthy ecosystem that will drive research and innovation at all levels from the institutional, to national and international levels. The ecosystem should encourage in-depth research, enable block grant and support cluster business model. He cited CU Enterprise as a good example that has successfully created a number of startups for Chulalongkorn University.
Prof. Pimchai stressed the importance of innovation creation to the national development. In its early stage, VISTEC had a number of upstream technologies. By gradually increasing the readiness level of its technologies and pushing the startup policy, the institute was able to realize more innovations and commercialization. Holding company is also an excellent mechanism to promote research commercialization.
Dr. Pongpan added that the Thai Bayh Dole Act is part of the reform of higher education, science, research and innovation. The reform also includes the budget allocation and administration to enable block grant and multi-year budgeting.
Dr. Kitipong also added that the Thai Bayh Dole Act also expands the scope of Science, Research and Innovation Fund to support the commercialization process of research outputs. The mechanism to unlock the fund to support research commercialization is being designed.
