A Synergistic Union, or Selling Out?: University-Industry Relations, Biotechnology, and the UC-Berkeley/Novartis Partnership

This case uses the controversial partnership linking the University of California-Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources and agribusiness giant Novartis to examine the ongoing tensions between higher education’s public mission and its competition for resources in a competitive education and research market. As part of the agreement, the University of California Berkeley's Department of Plant and Microbiology would get access to research funds as well as Novartis' genetic sequencing databases. In return, Novartis held first rights to patent discoveries made over the five-year period.