Market-Oriented R&D Commercialization at Research Universities in Malaysia – Insights from Selected Cases

Abstract

Market-Oriented R&D Commercialization Framework (MO-R&D-CF) was used to assess four cases of successful R&D commercialization at three Research Universities in Malaysia. All four exhibited the ability to identify and qualify existing or latent needs of their prospective customers by means of developing and testing specific product or system prototypes in iterative manner with prospective customers: (1) in the case of the non-steroid eczema cream (REMDII), the prototype product was made available to members of Malaysia Eczema Support Community and  the feedback from users was used for further clinical trials to validate the product; (2) in the case of customized prosthetics and orthotics services (BioApps), a full laboratory facility to measure movements, walking profiles, foot pressures, etc. was used to develop customized prototypes that were tested by ready patients at the university hospital; (3) in the case of the fitness, wellness and healthy living solutions provider (UMCH Technology), need qualification was done by means of a pilot project using the prototype system with one of the industry players; and (4) in the case of Primera Red Rice, it was developed to ride on the trend for healthy lifestyle, specifically in addressing the issue of obesity and diabetics among consumers in Malaysia. All four cases clearly indicated the iterative nature of the various stages of MO-R&D-CF as well as the need to work closely with prospective customers and relevant stakeholders before commercial scaling up.