U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Commission (USISTC)

Recognizing the potential for greater cooperation, President Clinton established in March 1993 a U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Commission. Its mission is to encourage high-tech industries in both countries to engage in joint projects; foster scientific exchanges between universities and research institutions; promote development of agricultural and environmental technologies and assist in the adaptation of military technology to civilian production.

In 1993, the United States and Israel each committed $5 million annually for three years, for a total of $30 million. The American contribution was made without requiring additional appropriations. Approximately half of the U.S. money comes from the Department of Commerce, with the other half coming from the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Defense, State, Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Commission is co-chaired by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Israel's Minister of Industry and Trade. The Commission includes representatives from U.S. and Israeli government agencies and ministries (the Environmental Protection Agency, the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Health and Human Services, State and Defense and their counterpart Israeli Ministries). The Commission also has a joint high-level advisory panel comprising private sector representatives from both countries, including leaders from academia and industry. The commission meets twice a year, once in the United States and once in Israel. It is administered on a day-to-day basis by the Commission's Executive Director at the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration.

The Commission has established the U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Foundation, a nongovernmental organization to disburse grants funded jointly by the U.S. and Israeli governments and following a single set of rules and regulations — agreed upon by both countries — for making grants. (See Current Projects). The Foundation is funded annually as part of the budget of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Currently, the Commission’s efforts are focused in three areas: biotechnology/life sciences; information technology; and harmonization of standards and regulations. Binational strategic panels established in each of the above areas are working on many joint projects involving the private sectors of each country.

Removing Barriers to Cooperation

One major goal of the Commission is to facilitate private sector high-technology cooperation by working to eliminate regulatory and bureaucratic barriers in both the United States and Israel. The Commission serves as a bridge between the government agencies in both countries working to achieve harmonization of product development and testing standards. This low-cost effort has eight task forces to enable the private sectors of Israel and the U.S. to collaborate more easily. Approximately $4 million is devoted to this program from the Commission's $30 million budget.

The benefits to the United States of this program include:

• Encouraging private companies in the U.S. to collaborate with Israeli companies to develop, manufacture, and sell new products jointly.

• Reducing barriers to the free flow of technology and products between the U.S. and Israel.

• Helping producers bring goods to the market faster, lowering costs and prices.

• Allowing U.S. companies to take advantage of Israel's highly-trained and innovative labor force.

• Offering U.S. industry opportunities to gain access to new technologies.

Task Forces

The USISTC originally had a series of task forces, but these are no longer active.

The Task Force on Food Standards Harmonization assesses the food industry in Israel to identify barriers to trade caused by the absence of regulations or the presence of conflicting regulations. The task force is working with the FDA, the USDA, U.S. food industry representatives, and Israeli counterparts to reduce the impediments to cooperation by standardizing regulations, such as those for food packaging and labeling. In December 1996, a workshop in Israel trained the Israelis on U.S. standards and discussed opportunities for cooperation.

The Task Force on Commercialization of Military Technologies, in cooperation with the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense, is assessing the opportunities for civilian, commercial application of existing military technology developed in Israel. Once the top prospects are chosen, the task force will help identify U.S. strategic partners for adapting the technologies and developing a marketing strategy. The task force has inventoried Israeli technologies, such as, lasers, sensors, environmental technologies, and biotechnology, which could be readily adapted for commercial use and easily declassified. In February 1997, U.S. experts toured 11 Israeli defense facilities to evaluate possible commercial product applications from existing defense-related technology. The panel members are preparing a report.

The Task Force on Cosmetic Standards is developing a standard for cosmetics production in Israel. There are three competing standards for selling cosmetics in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. Israel currently has no standard, but possesses a wealth of resources for producing cosmetics, including scientists with a wealth of experience in cosmetics research and development. Developing an Israeli standard will enable American companies to take advantage of Israel's labor and other resources. Research, development, and production facilities in Israel will give American producers easy access to the growing Israeli, Middle Eastern, and European markets for sun screens, shampoos, and other cosmetics. The first cosmetics standards training program was held in Israel in October 1996.

The Task Force on Energy and Environmental Standards Harmonization, in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency and Israel's Ministry of the Environment, is studying the use of pesticides, offering workshops in Israel to harmonize laboratory standards and other regulations, holding a workshop on renewable energy resources, and sponsoring a session at the 5th World Congress on Chemical Engineering. A hazardous waste management training program was held in Israel in November 1996.

The Task Force on Legal, Patent, & Intellectual Property Rights is addressing intellectual property rights issues faced by companies in both countries when doing business with the other. A workshop for small- to medium-sized Israeli companies is planned for 1997. It will include a training program conducted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on intellectual property rights procedures.

The Task Force on Telemedicine is addressing the potential for U.S.-Israel cooperation in this new technology. Telemedicine enables doctors to examine and perform procedures on patients from a remote location. In other words, for many procedures, the patient does not need to be in the same room or even the same city or country as the doctor. The U.S. and Israel are world leaders in this field. The Task Force is focusing on cost-effectiveness, existing technological capabilities and opportunities, the clinical needs telemedicine can meet, and how to support telemedicine projects.

The Task Force on Information Technology is examining the technologies that are vital to the information infrastructure that is becoming increasingly relied upon by our society. Such technologies include electronic commerce, "virtual classrooms," and digital libraries.

The Task Force on FDA Drug and Device Harmonization aims to codify a common set of standards totest drugs and medical devices in both the U.S. and Israel. The Food and Drug Administration is working with the Israeli Health Ministry to adopt American standards for testing drugs and medical devices so that these tests can be accepted by the FDA, and to facilitate joint trials of drugs and devices by American and Israeli companies. A proposed joint trial involving Israel would be the first of its kind between the U.S. and a foreign country of a medical device. The two countries also hope to reach an intergovernmental agreement accepting local inspections of facilities and plants that produce drugs and/or medical devices and formalizing local monitoring in either country. The benefits of a common set of standards include:

• The United States will gain greater access to Israel's pharmaceutical and medical technology sector, which is one of the most advanced in the world.

• American and Israeli companies will be able to form partnerships in the research, development and sale of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

• Israeli pharmaceutical companies will no longer need to undertake duplicate testing in the U.S. to obtain FDA approval to sell their products in the U.S., bringing Israeli medical products to U.S. markets in reduced time and at a competitive cost.

• American and Israeli researchers will be able to conduct coordinated trials in the U.S. and Israel. Israel is an ideal place to conduct tests on drugs and medical devices because:

a) Israel has a highly-skilled scientific community qualified to meet rigorous FDA standards.

b) Israel's concentrated population makes it easier and more cost-effective to monitor and control testing.

c) In Israel, significantly fewer subjects drop out during clinical drug trials than in the U.S., therefore reducing both the cost and duration of these trials.

The Commission is helping U.S. and Israeli government agencies (especially the FDA and the Ministry of Health) to identify differences in regulations and standards. Israeli government ministries and private companies are encouraged to adopt the more rigorous U.S. standards. To reach this goal, the two governments have conducted several training seminars in Israel for health authorities and pharmaceutical companies. As Israelis are trained on FDA standards and practices, the FDA will be able to approve inspections of laboratories, production plants and clinical trials done by Israel's Ministry of Health. Training workshops have already been held on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in medical devices, Good Clinical Practices (GCP), and Good Lab Practices (GLP). These programs, designed to ensure that future drug and medical device testing meets FDA approval, were attended by Americans, Jordanians, Israelis, and Palestinians, and conducted by FDA employees.

Joint Venture Support

The joint venture support program helps to fund cooperative high-risk technology ventures between American and Israeli companies. Six projects are currently under way. Approximately $24 million in grants has been committed to these projects with the participating companies or institutions matching the Commission's funding. An additional $2 million is committed to a Commission program to support joint ventures to carry out research and development on methyl bromide, a common pesticide. So far, three methyl bromide projects have been selected for funding pending ratification by the commission.

The joint venture support program has many similarities to the program administered by the U.S.-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD). Both are designed to encourage private sector U.S.-Israel partnerships to commercialize innovative technologies. There are, however, significant differences. While the BIRD Foundation supports the development of technologies in the final stages toward commercialization, the Science and Technology Commission assists in the commercialization of new technologies with longer lead times to market. These projects involve higher risk and require substantial capital commitments. For this reason, Commission awards are given over a four-year period rather than two, and involve much larger grants than the BIRD Foundation. The average Commission grant is $4 million.

Awards are made subject to strict scientific review by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) in the U.S. and the Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) in Israel. Awards are made on a cost-sharing basis with the private sector companies involved in the project paying at least half the cost. The Commission will be repaid up to the amount of the original award if the project is commercially successful.

The benefits to the United States of the program include encouraging private sector development of cutting-edge technology and giving American companies access to advanced Israeli technology.

Four joint venture projects are currently being funded:

• America's GE Medical Systems and Israel’s ISORAD were awarded $4 million toward the joint development of a compact "nuclear imaging camera." The project will develop high performance imaging cameras that help determine the health of major organs and detect diseases such as cancer. GE's advantage in sales and global distribution and ISORAD's technological advantage enhance the project's chances for success.

• McDonnell Douglas and a group of Israeli companies—Ormat, Elop, Rotem and Weizmann Institute/Yeda will receive funds to develop a high efficiency, modular solar central receiver power generation system.

• America's Silicon Graphics, Ltd. and Israel's Diasonics Ltd. are working together to develop a high-performance, compact and low cost real-time diagnostic ultrasound system using powerful computer hardware and software. If successful, the technology will enhance diagnostic confidence and clinical efficacy.

Biotechnology Seminars

The objective of the Biotechnology Seminar Series is to create an ongoing BioRoundtable that will bring together U.S. and Israeli professionals involved in biotechnology and the life sciences to discuss critical issues in U.S.-Israel science and technology foster development of leadership, alliance and networking capabilities.

The USISTC Biotech Seminar Series is designed for business executives, angel investors and venture capitalists, biomedical researchers, academic institutional leaders, technology transfer specialists, regulatory officials, policy-makers as well as other interested individuals and organizations.

Current Projects

Life Sciences

Following two international summits in May and June 2004, the US-Israel Science and Technology Foundation (USISTF) and US-Israel Science and Technology Commission will be moving forward in the development of a cohesive biotechnology cluster in Israel. Prominent U.S. and Israeli professionals in the biotechnology field met in Tel Aviv in August to discuss next steps.

Following our successful meetings in Israel in May and in San Francisco in June, the USISTF is planning on holding an Israel Life Sciences Association Planning Meeting in Tel Aviv from August 1st-3rd. The activities for this week will consist of:

1. Mentoring activities associated with the Israel Life Sciences Industry Association, as well as planning the kick off activities for the ILSI.
2. Putting the final touches on creating the collaboration between the technology transfer offices.
3. Meetings with government officials to support the “cluster” or “hub” approach, as well as planning some simple activities to try to coalesce a cluster.
4. Promoting the next steps in the finance networking.
5. Promoting the next steps in creating the women’s entrepreneurship network.

Nanotechnology

In March 2004, the USISTF convened a Nanotechnology Roundtable that brought together U.S. and Israeli representatives from government, academia and the private sector to identify factors necessary to set the “climate” for partnership and business creation.

Integrated Security Management Systems

In July 2004, the USISTF began reviewing applications for ISMS pilot demonstration projects. On August 10-12 a small group of Americans and Israelis will meet in Tel Aviv, Israel to develop the preliminary guidelines for the crosswalk of security, EMS, safety, and preparedness standards and elements. This group will develop preliminary draft guidelines for the integrated security management system pilot projects.

On March 10th and 11th, USISTF held a meeting in Washington D.C. whereby environmental and security managers from both the U.S. and Israel had the opportunity to discuss collaborations and possible bi-national pilot program studies on environmental and security management systems. Since this meeting USISTF has closed an RFP for implementing an Integrated Security Management System at various pilot sites in the United States and Israel.

Since December 2004, USISTF has signed 4 Funding Agreements to begin work on implementation of an ISMS at critical infrastructure sites in the U.S. and Israel.

Recipients of Awards for Program in ICET and Dual Use Technologies

• Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel) & San Diego State University (U.S.)
  "Developing the Infrastructure for Collaboration Between the US and Israeli ICET and Dual Use Technologies: The Negev and San Diego Model”
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst (U.S.) and Technion, Israel Institute of Technology (Israel)
  “Collaboration Toward Integrative Information Systems for Homeland Security”
• University of Haifa (Israel) and University of Southern California (U.S.)
  “Virtual Reality Technologies Applied to Therapy and Rehabilitation” Fostering Binational Collaboration and Creating Markets ”
• Maryland/Israel Development Center (U.S.) and Trendlines International Ltd (Israel)
  "The US/Israel Market Development Initiative”

2004 Biotechnology Grants

• University of California, San Diego
  “Building the Foundation for US-Israel Joint Initiatives in Biotechnology”
• LARTA
  “US - Israel Entrepreneurship Program”
• The Enterprise Network (TEN)
  “Building an Entrepreneurial Bridge between Israel and Silicon Valley”
• Chicago Microtechnology and Nanotechnology Community
  “US-Israeli Biotechnology Exchange Using Interactive, Real-Time Video-Based Workshops and Web Archives”
• Bioenterprise
  “A Novel Model for Developing Successful US-Israel Business Collaborations”
• Maryland Israel Development Center
  “The US/Israel Biotech Market Development Initiative”

Homeland Security

In June 2005, the United States Israel Science and Technology Foundation (USISTF), Standard Institute of Israel (SII) and Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) cosponsored the Jerusalem Conference on Homeland Security. The meeting brought together distinguished top executives of large U.S. corporations, influential U.S. Government officials and key players in the U.S. Homeland Security (HS) market with key Israeli players and decision-makers in this market from Industry, Government and the Defense System. Approximately 500 participants attended.

Special sessions were dedicated to the following main topics:

The main objectives of the conference were to:

The Israeli technology community has proven its prowess and established itself as a global technology hub in high technologies and life sciences. Israel can boast some of the world's finest scientific works. This conference seeks to focus and harness Israeli creative and entrepreneurial spirit to promote increased US-Israeli collaboration in the HS market.

Strategic Planning

Israel has not developed a strategic plan for how it will compete in the world economy in the future, and there is a fear that it will be left behind by countries such as China and India. To help Israel prepare for the future, the Foundation commissioned the National Academy of Sciences to prepare a study on the subject.

Contacts:

US - Israel Science and Technology Foundation
1130 17th St. NW, Suite 312
Washington D.C., 20036
Tel. 202.419.0430
Fax. 202.419.0435

Mr. Arnold Brenner
Executive Director
202.419.0431
abrenner@usistf.org

U.S./Israel Science & Technology Commission
29 Hamered St.
Industry House
P.O. Box 50365
Tel Aviv, Israel 61500
Tel. 972-3-517-0963
Fax. 972-3-517-4617
Email. david-w@usil-stc.org.il
edith-m@usil-stc.org.il

Source: US - Israel Science and Technology Foundation