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Commercialisation
The GRDC's primary aim is to make new technology available to grain growers as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible. In some cases, the benefits of GRDC research investments can be most efficiently delivered to our growers through the commercial production of the research outputs. Commercialisation is a means of delivering technology to Australian grain growers so that they can effectively compete in global grain markets, and securing technology adoption.
Commercialisation strategy
The GRDC achieves its objective in commercialising research outputs through:
- ensuring commercialisation activities are aligned with the GRDC's four core strategies and are relevant to the strategies of the four output groups (Varieties, Practices, New Products and Communication & Customer Services).
- leveraging capital and expertise from co-investors, to maximise opportunities to bring technology to the marketplace and give grain growers access to technology
- developing comprehensive business plans for delivering satisfactory returns to grain growers and investors.
As part of the overall commercialisation strategy, the GRDC recognises that, after the proof-of-concept stage, the following are necessary for commercialisation: a sustainable market size, expertise, funds, and distribution channels. Investments in joint ventures and companies will be based on the merits of business cases that demonstrate these attributes.
Usually the GRDC is only one of a number of organisations investing in the development of new technologies by public and/or private organisations. Investment partnerships are desirable and necessary, because they reduce the risk to the GRDC in the funding of new technologies, and because partner organisations can bring benefits, apart from financial resources and research capability, such as market knowledge and access to complementary technologies.
In selecting investment structures, the GRDC follows its internal guidelines and identifies and implements the most appropriate structure for holding its equity in each business arrangement. The GRDC ensures that all commercial entities with which it is involved have appropriate boards that possess the broad range of skills required to manage a business.
Where the GRDC is a member of a consortium using public and private sector funds, it has influence over the terms of commercialisation, and determines these in collaboration with the other investors to ensure that a proper balance is struck among the needs of all members of the research consortium.
The GRDC continues to seek new business opportunities that arise from its research portfolio, with the aim of providing benefit to growers, to the businesses undertaking the commercial development of new products, and to the GRDC and its research partners. For each commercial business opportunity, the GRDC seeks investment of resources from partners that will profit from the development and widespread uptake of the new technology. This is an important part of using GRDC investment funds to leverage funds from other sources-including, in this area, commercial investment funds-for the benefit of growers.
Commercialisation outcomes
Every commercialisation task is unique, and the process of bringing products and technology to market must be undertaken on a project-by-project basis. A cross section of commercialisation work undertaken in 2006-07 is described below.
New crop varieties
In 2006-07, the GRDC was actively involved in the release and commercialisation of several new crop varieties. The GRDC's primary objective was to encourage rapid adoption of the new, superior varieties by growers, while protecting the interests of the intellectual property owners.
In selecting commercial partners, the GRDC takes into consideration capabilities such as the ability to produce quality seed, the ability to market seed successfully, and the targets for seed production and variety uptake. The management and collection of End Point Royalties (EPRs), including the terms and conditions imposed on growers, are also taken into consideration.
The new varieties commercialised in 2006-07 included:
- EGA Burke
, a noodle wheat with a yield advantage over comparable varieties in northern New South Wales as well as excellent disease resistance - Binnu, an udon noodle wheat suited to Western Australian conditions, with competitive yields as well as improved quality and disease resistance
- Gladius, a broadly adapted wheat with the ability to out-yield currently grown varieties in lower yield potential areas under drought stress
- Jandaroi, a durum wheat which offers the advantage of quick maturity
- Flipper, a tall, medium-seeded chickpea variety suited to the higher rainfall areas of New South Wales
- Yorker, a medium to large seeded chickpea ideally suited to the whole-seed export market
- three peanut varieties-Ashton, Sutherland and Walter
- two lentil varieties-Nipper (red lentil) and Boomer (green lentil)
- Dune, Australia's first variety of canola-quality juncea, which provides grain growers in lower rainfall areas with a profitable and reliable rotation crop.
New grain storage fumigant
GLO2 is a new insecticidal fumigant, developed by CSIRO with research investment from the GRDC, and designed initially for use in the grains industry. In particular, GLO2 was designed to provide a multi-functional grain treatment that is relatively inexpensive, is easy to handle and administer, and can be used effectively on-farm in both sealed and unsealed silos and other grain storage containers such as bins.
A registration package is being developed by the CSIRO Entomology team to allow the product to be introduced to the market. Concurrently, discussions are taking place with a number of commercial partners with the potential to manufacture and distribute GLO2 in Australia and around the world.
Objective grain quality testing
The first of the technologies to be delivered from the GRDC-supported Objective Grain Quality Testing project is a rapid and cost-effective alternative to the 'falling number' test. Negotiations are being progressed with potential commercial partners to bring the test to market.
This technology, when developed into an instrument, will potentially become the international standard for the measurement of weather damaged grain. While wet finishes to a season have been rare for most Australian growers this decade, there is a need for a rapid and objective measurement to replace the current test method, which frustrates growers because of its slowness, complexity and lack of accuracy.
The final year of the Objective Grain Quality Testing project has been designed to allow collaborative R&D with commercial partners, ensuring a smooth transition of the work on key technology packages to partners and, through them, to market.
High-amylose wheat
In November 2006, the GRDC signed a joint venture agreement with CSIRO and the French grower-owned company Groupe Limagrain. The joint venture, now called Arista Cereal Technologies Pty Ltd, was established to develop high-amylose wheat technologies to a profitable commercial end point.
Arista is in the early stages of commercialising a high-amylose wheat product. Final development of its baking properties and the way it incorporates into various baked products is being completed. The commercialisation strategy is being developed to determine the best pathway to market for the product, with a view to providing samples for evaluation by a range of Australian and international partners in 2008.
Dr Andrzej and Margaret Evers review results from DArT analysis.
Case study
Joint venture delivers affordable genotyping services to researchers and breeders
Triticarte Pty Ltd is an incorporated joint venture between the Value Added Wheat CRC Ltd (in which the GRDC is a major partner) and DArT Pty Ltd. Triticarte's objective is to deliver low-cost, high throughput, whole-genome genotyping services to wheat and barley breeding programs in Australia.
The use of molecular marker technologies in breeding valuable crops started in the mid-1980s, and technologies have progressed significantly since that time. In 2001, DArT Pty Ltd was formed to develop and commercialise Diversity Arrays Technology, an affordable, Australian owned molecular marker technology for whole-genome analysis.
Most older marker systems have proved too costly and ineffective for whole-genome analysis in cereals. Hence, the Value Added Wheat CRC identified the opportunity and need to provide a low-cost, whole-genome genotyping service for wheat and barley, using DArT technology.
When a pilot project to test and evaluate the use of DArT for wheat and barley proved successful,Triticarte was established in 2003.
Triticarte has been routinely delivering genotyping services for wheat and barley for the past three years. During 2006-07, Triticarte analysed more than 12,500 samples, producing approximately four million data points. Its services have been delivered to Australian researchers and breeders and to an increasing number of international customers.
The challenge for Triticarte is to remain viable as competing technologies and organisations seek a share of the success of the genotyping services. As the Australian Government contract for the Value Added Wheat CRC approaches its end (in June 2008), Triticarte is managing a strategic transfer of the CRC's share in the venture to assure continued business success.
Business relationships
Most of the GRDC's business relationships are governed by contracts, such as research agreements and the licensing of the resulting intellectual property. However, in several cases the most effective way to encourage adoption of innovation in the grains industry is to establish a company or unincorporated joint venture. Key reasons for deciding to set up a company or joint venture include more effective management of intellectual property; more focused governance; ease of interaction with the private sector; and, in the case of CRCs, government policy.
Table 6 describes the companies which the GRDC had shares or membership 2006-07. In most cases the GRDC also nominated one or more directors to the company's board.
Companies limited by guarantee |
||
| Name | Activity | GRDC role |
|---|---|---|
Provides cereal variety details online for farmers, manages the National Variety Trials |
Is a member of the company and provides a research contract |
|
Provides information about gene technology to enable informed debate |
Is a member of the company and provides research funding |
|
Serves as the management company for the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for National Plant Biosecurity |
Is a member of the company and provides a research contract |
|
Invests in plant breeding |
Is a member of the company and provides a research contract |
|
Develops innovative grain products |
Is a member of the company and provides a research contract |
|
Identifies and communicates the health benefits of grain food products |
Is a member of the company and provides research funding |
|
Provides leadership for the development of the pulse industry in Australia |
Is a member of the company |
|
Serves as the management company for the Value Added Wheat CRC |
Is a member of the company |
|
Companies limited by shares |
||
| Name | Activity | GRDC role |
Arista Cereal Technologies Pty Ltd |
Undertakes development of high-amylose wheat |
Is a 9.4% shareholder and nominates one director |
Conducts functional genomics research into abiotic stress |
Is a 21% shareholder in the company, in return for providing funding of $10 million over five years |
|
Undertakes commercial wheat breeding |
Is a 45% shareholder and provides research contracts |
|
Serves as the management company for the CRC for Australian Weed Management |
Has a beneficial interest in one share of the company |
|
Develops and markets inoculant products to benefit growers |
Is a 50% shareholder and provides research contracts |
|
Intellectual property management
The GRDC usually owns a share of all intellectual property generated by research projects it funds. This consists of registrable intellectual property (plant breeder's rights, patents and trademarks) and non-registrable intellectual property (copyright and trade secrets).
The corporation actively manages its intellectual property, to:
- ensure that research outcomes are adopted as quickly and effectively as possible, by either dissemination or commercialisation
- provide access to GRDC intellectual property and gain access to third-party intellectual property where it will facilitate the delivery of research outcomes to our stakeholders.
The GRDC (together with research partners) registers intellectual property where to do so will achieve the above objectives, and maintains a register of its registered intellectual property.
Patents
The GRDC continued to file and prosecute a number of patent applications and to maintain a number of patents, each time in conjunction with research partners.
Plant breeder's rights
In 2006-07 the GRDC and its research partners:
- lodged 17 new plant breeder's rights applications
- withdrew one new plant breeder's rights application
- surrendered 19 Certificates of Plant Breeder's Rights.
Trademarks
The corporation lodged one trademark application in 2006-07, and maintained all of its existing trademarks.
Subsidiaries
During the year the GRDC had no subsidiaries.