This is probably a naive question but isn't that the point of having developers on staff? The researchers aren't coders and vice versa, so having researchers produce prototypes that are productized by engineers makes sense to me.
Researchers/Scientists with their hard earned PhDs should only concentrate on doing cutting-edge "researchy" stuff. It is hard enough that they should not be asked to learn all the intricacies/problems inherent in Software Development. That is the domain of a "Professional Software Engineer".
