Science and the applications of science from Louis Pasteur to Jacques Monod

Abstract

Jacques Monod's ideas on the applications of science came within the scope of a long tradition at the Institut Pasteur. Louis Pasteur, whose scientific career was characterized by a permanent come and go between science and its applications, long opposed the idea of getting any income from his research, until the financial needs of the Institut Pasteur made him change his mind. As for Jacques Monod, he remained a fervent supporter of basic science during his whole scientific career. However, once he became director of the Institut Pasteur, he realized that the applications of research had to be developed to support the institute from a financial point of view. Thus, he reorganized the valorization of research in the institute, through an incitation of scientists to develop projects with possible applications, and by creating a company, Institut Pasteur Production, for which he had a factory built, and which was in charge of producing and commercializing the vaccines and reagents stemming from the research at the Institut Pasteur.