 When you consider things that have profoundly impacted your life, chances are "technology transfer" doesn’t come to mind.
Life-saving medicines, electronics, and even some foods on your kitchen table would still be just ideas if it weren’t for technology transfer—the process of taking discoveries from research labs and turning them into products that change our lives for the better.
“Technology transfer is the process of moving information, materials, skills, know-how, and inventions from the laboratory to the public,” says Richard Cox, director of the Office of Technology Transfer at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. “At Notre Dame, we help University researchers identify market applications for their new technologies, and then protect, market, and license the rights to their new inventions to companies that will turn them into new products and services for the marketplace.”
Making tech transfer work smoothly is a bit of a science in itself, mixing and matching relationship-building, problem-solving, and creative deal-making to find the perfect home for a new technology or prototype, where it will hopefully blossom into a commercial success. Tech transfer steps include:
• Disclose the invention/intellectual property to the university
• Protect the intellectual property (IP) with patents
• Assess its commercial potential
• Undertake technical and market evaluations
• Develop an IP management plan and licensing strategy
• Market the technology to find interested parties
• License the technology to an existing company, or
• Launch a start-up company and secure additional funding
It’s a challenging road and not all technologies make it. Even the most promising new technologies rarely are market-ready and require significant additional investment, research and market development.
“Most university research funding doesn’t support this extra work, which means we must find other ways to fund the commercialization path, or find licensees who are willing to invest in the technology,” adds Cox.
Because tech transfer is not always successful, many tech-transfer offices take a portfolio approach to boost their chances of success. “We seek to license as broadly as possible, especially across the physical and life sciences,” says Cox. “We are exploring promising technologies in aerospace, nano tools and materials, integrated circuit designs, gene transfer, cancer vaccines, antibiotics, and biometric identification.”
Creating partnerships that work
Successful tech transfer depends on building strong relationships — putting the right people together to create a committed team that has the shared drive and creativity to turn a dream into reality. A good example is EmNet LLC, a spin-off resulting from joint research conducted by the University of Notre Dame, Purdue University, and the City of South Bend. EmNet has developed a proprietary set of tools, equipment and infrastructure that enables real-time monitoring and control of sewage overflow systems. By partnering with Notre Dame faculty, EmNet has created a one-of-a-kind system that will save communities around the world billions of dollars in reduced infrastructure costs.
 Errant Gene Therapeutics (EGT), a Chicago pharmaceutical firm, specializes in developing drugs to fight "orphan diseases"— illnesses that only affect a small segment of the population and therefore are not targeted for research by major pharmaceutical firms. EGT has licensed promising technology from Notre Dame that will be used to treat thalassemia, an incurable disease that prevents bone marrow cells from producing normal hemoglobin. Other gene therapy research is being conducted for refractory prostate cancer and sickle cell anemia.
Another tech-transfer success is SorbaShock, a Fort Wayne-based Notre Dame start-up company, founded in 2006. Its core technology was created by Dr. Timothy Ovaert, a professor in the University of Notre Dame’s department of aerospace and mechanical engineering. This revolutionary flooring product was designed to help prevent injuries during falls by the growing elderly population by cushioning the body at acute points, reducing the potential for broken bones.
Building communities
Having a reputation for robust tech transfer attracts the resources that are necessary to support new business activity—capital, talent, legal, financial, and other services.
“This cross-fertilization of ideas and growth of an entrepreneurial mindset gives skilled technical people new avenues for practicing their craft and generating ideas for other new ventures,” says Cox.
Robert Lowe, CEO of Wellspring Worldwide, a tech-transfer management firm, agrees.
“Tech transfer can create a giant industry in the backyard of a community,” he says. “Seventy-six percent of all companies spun out of university research stay in the state. They set up offices near universities, create high-paying jobs, and attract supporting businesses.”
A community’s long-term commitment to tech transfer, including providing the infrastructure necessary to support research and development, leads to steady economic growth. For example, University Research Park in Madison, Wis., was established in 1984 to foster tech transfer and start-up companies. Today more than 100 companies are located in the park, many of them spin-offs from UW-Madison. Total local economic impact of these tech-transfer successes is about $650 million, creating nearly 8,500 jobs and over $45 million in tax revenue.
The positive energy that results from tech transfer — the mindset, as Cox calls it — eventually takes hold within the community, creating a deeper pride and “can do” attitude that is definitely noticeable.
“People know we get things done here that make a difference in the world,” says South Bend Mayor Stephen J. Luecke. “That’s a good feeling. When companies check out South Bend as a possible place to do business, they see the spirit and vitality of the community, and they like that.”
“The future for tech transfer in South Bend is bright,” adds Cox. “The commitment of the university, the city, and the state to Innovation Park at Notre Dame and Ignition Park speak to the optimism for growing this region’s tech economy. There are some great programs for supporting tech-based ventures at state, regional, and local levels, as well the world-class infrastructure needed to run R&D. This support will have significant impact on the growth of tech-based ventures in South Bend, St. Joseph County, and the surrounding region, especially in nanotechnology, alternative energy, biotech, and wireless communications. In fact, two of our most exciting advanced opportunities are in alternative energy and human health.”
Tech transfer at the university level will be an increasingly important tool in building South Bend’s regional economy.
“We need to put more business activity into play in the Midwest, especially in high-growth, tech-oriented sectors such as computers, information technology and life sciences, for our region to truly prosper,” says Patrick McMahon, executive director of Project Future, an economic development organization in South Bend. “South Bend is actively supporting Notre Dame’s research efforts by building top-notch infrastructure and creating partnerships to enhance the university’s research and tech-transfer efforts. We will be able to analyze a situation quickly, make recommendations, and provide customized support to move forward with real solutions that will bring the best technologies to market in a timely yet cost-effective way.”
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