Wong feels that biotechnology is going into a new phase, with less emphasis on discovering new drugs and a greater emphasis on bioinformatics and chip-related developments. Companies such as Affymetrix have taken off because of their chip-based technology. For one, universities are getting involved in starting up companies themselves, often in joint ventures with other companies that will move technology out into the marketplace. More recently, some universities have been trying to create internal venture capital funds that they will invest in start-ups. The research will be funded to a point that it can be patented and possibly put into a larger research collaboration with others.
Joint ventures are also a way to fund innovative research at universities.
Institutions are combining with industry to pool research efforts and do basic science that will generate technologies. This is allowing all of us to do a larger-scale research project. Big pharmaceutical companies need to be willing to fund the research at an earlier stage and, in turn, academic institutions have to be willing to focus their research to benefit both parties. A lot of research is being done in nano-technology, the concept that miniaturization can be taken to the cellular scale. Many future applications are apparent, but much basic research is needed.