More of HCM City's state-funded research projects will be commercialised, according to a conference on March 13. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City held a conference on March 13 to launch a pilot programme to quickly commercialise products of scientific and technological research and intellectual property funded by State budget.

Nguyễn Mạnh Cường, deputy chairman of the HCM City People's Committee, said that this is part of the city's efforts to implement Resolution 57 of the Politburo (on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation) and Resolution 98 of the National Assembly (on special mechanisms and policies for HCM City’s development).

Fifty four products from 29 organisations were signed up for the programme’s first phase of implementation, with a total estimated budget of over VNĐ500 billion.

The state budget will cover over VNĐ200 billion to support them in technology development, testing, and intellectual property protection.

The products, created by universities, research institutes, businesses and other organisations focus on key areas such as unmanned aerial vehicles, AI, digital transformation, smart cities, biotechnology and hi-tech agriculture.

Several examples include biological cornea from decellularised pig tissue, CAR-T technology for treating hematological cancers, Internet-of-Things-based air environmental monitoring system, vaccine for catfish, and commercial drones.

Lâm Đình Thắng, director of the city’s Department of Science and Technology, said that the commercialisation rate of State-funded researches in HCM City is only around 5 per cent.

Many researched products are ready to be put into use, but could not due to complications in asset valuation mechanisms and complex technology transfer procedures.

The city’s programme aims to create a safe and flexible environment for commercialisation, he said. It will establish transparent asset valuation processes, helping public entities implement projects without fear of potential legal complications, and apply R&D costs as a legal price floor to accelerate the process of bringing products to the market. HCM City will also implement a flexible transferal mechanism, simplify administrative procedures, and support up to 50 per cent of the expenses for completing a product.

Nguyễn Hoàng Giang, deputy head of the Intellectual Property Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that city has high creative capacity, with the number of patent protection certificates increasing by 45.5 per cent within 2021-25.

The commercialisation of technology researches must begin with intellectual property management. When intellectual property rights are clearly established, new technologies can be valued, transferred and attract investment, he said.

The recently passed amendment of the Intellectual Property Law has reduced the processing time for applications by 30 per cent, he added.

The city's Deputy Chairman Cường said that State-funded researches should yield tangible results, providing products that improve the quality of life for the people.

He instructed the Department of Science and Technology to continue simplifying administrative procedures and avoiding the application of outdated processes. HCM City hopes that after three years of piloting, the programme will bring at least 10 science and technology products to market and increase the commercialisation rate of intellectual property to 8-10 per cent. — VNS