Collaborations among academia, government, and industry in the diagnostics space: barriers and some ideas for solutions.

The development and commercialization of diagnostic assays is distinct from that of therapeutic drugs in many important respects; for example, there are more variable regulatory requirements and reduced outside investments for diagnostics. The diagnostics industry has a pro-collaborative stance, because there is considerable mutual benefit in working in partnership with university or government researchers. However, there are substantial barriers to industry-academic collaborations. A Clinical and Translational Science Awards Industry Forum titled "Promoting Efficient and Effective Collaborations Among Academia, Government, and Industry" was held in February 2010, and a session at this forum was organized to list some of the most important barriers to diagnostics development and to discuss some possible solutions.