Did you know that a medicine for motion sickness brings in 90% of the royalties that USP receives?
19/08/2019 - Many people think that research carried out at the country's public universities is of no practical use. Well, one of them, carried out at USP (University of São Paulo), found the "solution" to nausea and vomiting and has brought in a return of around R$ 10 million over the last 13 years.
Have you ever heard of the drug Vonau Flash? It's a USP patent, granted last year, which represents the university's biggest source of royalties so far: approximately 90% of the total.
This is what Professor Marcos Martins, coordinator of the university's innovation agency, Auspin, explains. In other words, the result of a single piece of research generates more money than all the patents owned by USP as a whole.
The university currently has 1,299 patents involving technologies and/or products developed by different departments. Auspin data shows that in 2018 royalty income from all patents with exploitation contracts amounted to R$ 3.44 million. The drug Vonau topped this amount.
Why has Vonau become such a success for USP?
The financial success of Vonau Flash is due to two outstanding characteristics: it doesn't make you sleepy and it dissolves in your mouth. Thus, it is absorbed more quickly than tablets that need to be swallowed, says Professor Humberto Gomes Ferraz, the pharmacist responsible for developing the drug.
Research into what would become Vonau Flash began almost 15 years ago and was supported financially by Biolab Farmacêutica, the organization that owns part of the patent and the exclusive marketing rights to Vonau.
"We knew that Brazil had a demand for a medicine for nausea and vomiting that dissolved in the mouth and that the production technology was much cheaper than that used abroad. That's why we went after the university," recalls Dante Alário Júnior, Biolab's technical and scientific president. The amounts invested in the Vonau Flash research have not been disclosed.
The professionals explain that the patented innovation involved improving an existing substance - ondansetron - as a medicine and using cheaper technology to formulate it.
The problem with some drugs for vomiting and nausea is that when you take the oral product, the liquid you ingest can cause even more reactions. It's not uncommon for you to take it and then vomit. Then the medicine can't take effect. Vonau also works faster
Turnover of over R$ 135 million for the company
The contract between USP and Biolab was signed in 2005. The following year, after the drug was authorized by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency), it began to bear fruit for the institution and the company. A fixed percentage (not detailed) of each box of the drug sold is passed on to the university.
According to Biolab, in 2018 the company's turnover with Vonau Flash was R$ 135 million. The expectation for 2019 is that the flow will be between R$ 160 to R$ 165 million with the product developed by USP alone. "This year I should pay around R$ 3.5 to R$ 4 million for Vonau Flash alone," says Alário Júnior, which would be around 2.5% of total turnover.
There's no miracle in research. You have to look for investment. Partnerships are fundamental for both sides. The university is a partnership for innovation. I can't see the production of knowledge that is developed here not reaching society because of a lack of resources
In the midst of budget cuts at Brazilian public universities, Professor Ferraz stresses that initiatives such as the patent can be an important alternative for controlling the budget. In addition to the amount that is invested in the laboratory itself, it is possible to direct the funds received towards equipment, paying fellows and other research that is costly for the institution. "I think the partnership between universities and companies could - and should - be much greater than it is today.
I think everyone would gain from this, because companies would gain specialists who would help them develop solutions, processes and products. While the university would gain problems to solve and sources of funding to solve them," concludes Martins.
How do royalties work?
According to the agreement with USP, the amount collected is paid to the Rectorate (finance department). It is then divided between:
USP in general
University Innovation Agency
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Deinfar (Pharmacotechnical Development and Innovation Laboratory)
Patent inventor (responsible researcher)
The percentage of each was not detailed
According to the rules in force in Brazil, USP will have until 2028 to use the revenue generated from the sale of the drug. The agreement with Biolab stipulates that after that the percentage of the transfer will be reduced.
Although it has become a high-return product for the university, Ferraz criticizes the delay in granting the patent. The innovation was filed in 2005 and it wasn't until March 2018 that USP and Biolab's rights to it were authorized. "It took more than 13 years. That's a long time and it's become routine in Brazil, unfortunately."
Until then, the marketing of the drug had the security of "expectation of right". Imagine that you have a product in the process of being patented. If someone starts using it during this process, you will be able to take legal action against the practice as soon as you get the grant (even if it takes years to come out). Hardly any company would want to take that risk.