pre-feasibility assessment report - Innovationeasterncape.co.za

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African Development Economic ConsultantsADECThe Department was established in April 2007 and has significantlyincreased invention disclosures, patenting, and commercialisation activitieswithin the NMMU. Ten invention disclosures were received in the first year ofoperation and thirteen in the second year. Six provisional patent applicationswere filed and six PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaties - i.e., the first step in theprocess leading to international patent filing) applications were submitted. Fournew companies have been created using NMMU’s IP and four licenses forsoftware developed by the NMMU have been signed. Over R1.2 million incommercialisation income has been received.The IP that has been commercialised are all in the field of chemistry (fromboth InnoVenton and directly from the Department of Chemistry:• Insect Repellent Technology: In 2008, the NMMU and AfrepellManufacturing started a company called Afrepell Technologies (Pty)Ltd. for the commercialisation of two patents owned by the NMMU.The patents are a novel formulation for an insect repellent (patentedinternationally during 2008) and a production method for one of theactive ingredients (filed as a provisional patent during 2008). SouthAfrican sales of the insect repellent will begin in 2010; the insectrepellent is also currently being tested on a trial basis in the UnitedStates. Manufacturing of the active and, where appropriate, of theinsect repellent mixture, will be done in South Africa. The NMMUowns shares in Afrepell Technologies.• Replacement of Zinc Oxide in Rubber Compounds: Zinc oxide is anenvironmental hazard and efforts are being undertaken to eliminate itfrom rubber compounds, particularly vehicle tyres. Two patents inthis field were filed by the NMMU and have been assigned to a startupcompany called Rubber Nano Products (Pty) Ltd (RNP), whichowns a complementary patent that could solve the zinc oxideproblem. Trials at German tyre companies have been successfullycompleted and RNP is in the process of signing an agreement withan Italian manufacturer to license the technology. Due to Europeanchemical regulations, manufacture cannot be undertaken in SouthAfrica. However, on-going research funds will be provided to theNMMU by RNP to continue research in this and related fields. TheNMMU owns shares in RNP.• Rose Preservation Technology: A provisional patent on thepreservation of roses was filed in 2008. A business plan wassubmitted to the IDC and R5 million in Venture Capital funding wasprovided by the IDC to African Floralush, the start-up companycreated for the commercialisation of the technology. The NMMUassigned its patent to AEIP (Pty) Ltd., the IP holding company whichwill license the technology to African Floralush. The companyalready has 12 staff members, both skilled and unskilled, and theproducts have been well received in the retail sector. The NMMUowns shares in both African Floralush and AEIP.103 Algernon Road, Norwood (Johannesburg). Tel (011)728-1965 / 6690 Fax (011)728-8371Adec@ADEC1.com. Suite 131, Private Bag X5, Norwood 2117 SOUTH AFRICA 28
African Development Economic ConsultantsADECNew technologies currently being commercialised are in the fields of algalbiotechnology (InnoVenton), friction stir welding (ACTS), semi-conductors(physics), batteries (chemistry) and optic fibres (physics).Other Universities in the RegionInformation on R&D activity at other universities in the region issummarized in Appendix C. Whilst these universities are not located in NelsonMandela Bay, they do influence and support the overall environment for scienceparks in the region and are therefore relevant to the study.Rhodes University. Rhodes University has a Research Office led byProfessor Peter Clayton, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research. Keycomponents of the university’s R&D programme include the Institute forEnvironmental Biotechnology and the Centre for Entrepreneurship.Walter Sisulu University. Walter Sisulu University has a Research Office,headed by Professor George Ekosse. The university (with campuses in EastLondon, Queenstown, and Mthatha) is focused more on innovation and productdevelopment than on basic research. A Tooling Design and Technology Centreis funded by the AIDC, as well as incubators including the Africa RondalCooperative (ARC) and EU-funded Tabeisa Enterprise Centre. Offerings alsoinclude the Netherlands Programme Training Capacity (NPT) and ResearchResource Centre. The Science and Technology Transfer Office is located at theEast London campus.University of Fort Hare. The University of Fort Hare in Alice has a GovanMbeki R&D Centre, headed by Professor Gideon de Wet, Executive Dean ofResearch. Professor Edson Meyer leads the Fort Hare Institute of Technologywhilst Dr. Patrick Masika manages the Agricultural and Cultural DevelopmentResearch Institute. Like NMMU, Fort Hare also has a Telkom presence, with theTelkom Centre of Excellence performing R&D in electronics. Fort HareSolutions (FHS) is a private company within the university that manages ruralresearch projects. FHS is headed by Ivan Samdaan.Corporate EntitiesPrivate companies with established R&D units located in the NelsonMandela Bay Metropolitan area were identified for the purposes of this study.Interviews were conducted with these businesses to collect information on theircurrent science and R&D efforts. Additional local companies were identified thatcurrently outsource their R&D requirements, and these are differentiated in thedatabase and in the descriptions that follow. The sample of private companiesincludes firms in the pharmaceutical, agro processing, aquaculture, foodprocessing, bio-fuels, and chemicals industries.Firms with Established R&D UnitsCompanies with established R&D units include Aspen Pharmacare,SeaArk Africa and Dynamic Commodities. Most of the large global corporations,103 Algernon Road, Norwood (Johannesburg). Tel (011)728-1965 / 6690 Fax (011)728-8371Adec@ADEC1.com. Suite 131, Private Bag X5, Norwood 2117 SOUTH AFRICA 29
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