Europe beats US in collaboration

The survey, conducted by ProTon Europe and funded by the EU’s Gate2Growth initiative, found the volume of contract research in Europe in 2005 to be €2.8billion, compared to €2.1bn in the US. The report found, however, that this advantage was offset by the US’ more advanced knowledge transfer, based on patents and licences. The report’s authors say Europe has traditionally had a collaborative approach to research, based on smaller industrial companies and argue this tradition has led to strong framework programmes. In contrast, the bigger US companies are less dependent on collaboration. The survey shows that almost 25% of research institutions involved in knowledge transfer with industry have no IP patented. One reason is said to be the high cost of patents in Europe, where average research expenditure per patent is €4million for filing and around €11m per patent to extend it internationally. The result is that patent filing rates in Europe are 20% less than those of the US. The report suggests that policymaking at both the national and EU levels should focus on creating an efficient and easily accessible patent system in Europe. The survey also found that spin out creation in Europe was comparable to that in the US, but the success of these ventures appeared to be dependent upon market conditions, context and venture capital – not on the actions of the research organisations themselves at the stage of initial formation.