My profound apologies for sending the news about university technology licensing in RTF format, which can't be translated by the system. Here it is, without the coding. Strictly embargoed until February 18, 1998 after 1 A.M. EST CONTACTS: Michael Odza (press) 415/883-7600 Daniel E. Massing (Survey Chair) 607/257-1081 Marvin C. Guthrie (AUTM President) 617/726-8608 Karen Hersey (AUTM President-Elect) 617/258-8577 SURVEY SHOWS SMALL COMPANIES ARE BIGGEST USERS OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH INNOVATIONS Universities Move Science from the Laboratory to the Marketplace, Supporting 212,000 Jobs and Contributing $24.8 Billion to the Economy Norwalk, CT-The sixth annual licensing survey released by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) confirms that the transfer of research conducted at academic research institutions to companies plays a vital role in the U.S. economy. AUTM estimates that sales of products developed from inventions made in the course of academic research and licensed to industry amounted to $20.6 billion in 1996. Furthermore, licensee companies, including 248 new ones, invested an estimated $4.2 billion prior to sales to bring the early-stage inventions to market. The combination supported an estimated 212,500 primarily high-wage, high-skill jobs in 1996. "The Survey data illustrate that the private sector is expanding its partnerships with universities and other nonprofit research institutions, as Congress hoped when it gave us control over our patents," commented Marvin C. Guthrie, president of AUTM, and vice president, patents and licensing, Massachusetts General Hospital. "I am especially gratified that small companies took nearly two-thirds (64%) of all the licenses granted last year, just as Congress intended." The nearly 300-page Survey presents a comprehensive profile of academic technology transfer, the process by which, following the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-517), universities and other nonprofit research institutions find private sector partners to take on the commercialization of federally funded research discoveries and innovations. It includes reports from 131 U.S. universities (including 89% of the top 100 research universities), 26 teaching hospitals and other nonprofit research institutions, 14 Canadian academic institutions and two patent management firms. The data enhance our understanding of one of the major pathways by which the nation's investment in basic academic research is translated into public benefits. The Survey reports that research institutions received 10,178 disclosures of inventions from their researchers in 1996, resulting in 3,261 new patent applications. Institutions reported negotiating 2,741 new licenses or options to commercialize academic discoveries. Licenses are the agreements that define terms and conditions for the right to develop inventions into commercial products. The cumulative total of active licenses, signifying that the industry partner is pursuing commercialization, reached 12,951 in 1996. Reports from a subset of institutions that have provided data every year since 1991, when the survey began, help shed light on trends. Technology transfer appears to be more efficient in 1996, with research expenditures in support of academic research upon which licensing depends rising at an average rate of 6% annually since 1991, not inflation-adjusted. Meanwhile, licenses executed at these institutions have increased 75% since 1991, or 12% per year, on average. While not every innovation succeeds in the market or even in reaching the market, many of the active licenses have or will result in highly significant new products or processes, sometimes laying the foundation for new companies, or even entire industries. In particular, the biotechnology industry has depended on academic research since its beginnings in the early 1980s. Newly available data in the 1996 edition of the Survey confirm how crucial technology transfer is to meeting medical needs: 67% of the active licenses and an even larger percentage of the license income received by institutions (86%) drew upon research in the biomedical and other life sciences. Universities reported more detail this year on their level of activity as equity investors in start-ups or small companies. Universities generally accept an equity position partially in lieu of licensing fees to permit start-ups to direct the cash conserved towards faster commercialization. The Survey shows that in 1996, 167 licenses, about six percent, included equity participation for the institutions. The president-elect of AUTM, Karen Hersey, Intellectual Property Counsel for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, commented, "The Survey confirms that research universities are effectively translating theory into practice to the enormous benefit of the public. The volume of technology transfer activity demonstrates that industry not only needs the creativity and innovation of academic research, but values our active participation in the process of building partnerships." AUTM is a nonprofit, professional membership society with over 1,800 members working in 250 academic institutions and an equal number of companies. Web site: http://autm.rice.edu/autm. The Survey is available printed in summary or full report form. The data are also available in electronic format. To order, contact AUTM: 49 East Avenue, Norwalk, CT, 06851-3919, phone 203/845-9015, fax 203/847-1304, e-mail: xxxxxx@ix.netcom.com. #### -- Best Regards, Michael Michael Odza Celebrating ten years of assisting tech transfer professionals via Technology Access Report and Intellectual Property Advice (for researchers) 8 Digital Dr., Suite 250 Novato, CA 94949 800/733-1516 (415/883-7600) FAX 415/883-6421 xxxxxx@techaccess.com
