Technology Transfer: Return on Research Investment

Benefits and Impact Results from a survey released Dec. 2 by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) indicate that federally sponsored research really does pay off, even if it takes years to do so. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1998, the AUTM survey credits $33.5 billion of U.S. economic activity to technology transfer. That activity included support for 280,000 jobs, issuance of 3,668 new licenses and options, and granting of 3,224 new U.S. patents (see chart). AUTM defines technology transfer as "the patenting and licensing of discoveries and inventions made in academic research and the movement of these research results from the laboratory to the commercial sector for the public good." Much of the initial research taking place at universities is federally funded. AUTM president Louis P. Berneman, managing director of the center for technology transfer at the University of Pennsylvania, describes the technology transfer process as a successful partnership among universities, government, and industry. "These numbers tell a compelling story of how new technology derived from academic research is a fundamental pillar of industrial advancement. Knowledge--its creation, storage, transmission, and application--is the principal source of our increasingly good health, unprecedented growth, and unrivaled global security," Berneman said upon releasing the survey results. The role of universities will be increasingly important in continuing this upward trend in the future, Berneman said. "It truly points to the view of the university as a 'knowledge' factory." Among the life science developments during the year was Food and Drug Administration approval of Panretin™, a topical treatment for Kaposi's sarcoma, a skin cancer common among AIDS patients. The basic biological research on this treatment began in the 1980s with Salk Institute's Ronald M. Evans, who discovered a new class of receptors.1 The process continued with the licensing of Evans' work to Ligand Pharmaceuticals and then strategic partnerships with other pharmaceutical companies, including Allergan, which resulted in the development of Panretin (9-cis-retinoic acid). Also during the year, FDA issued two approvals for use of Taxol® (paclitaxel), one for its use in treating ovarian cancer and another for its use in treating breast cancer. Work on this compound traces back to the 1970s, when it was discovered in the Pacific yew tree bark. Florida State University chemist Robert A. Holton, with funding from the National Institutes of Health, achieved total synthesis in the early 1990s,2 and Bristol-Myers Squibb licensed the work and began production. The paclitaxel story is an example not only of how long it takes some of the research to produce return on investment, but also how income from a license can vary from year to year. Taxol first came on the market in 1992 as a treatment for metastatic cancer of the ovary only, and not as a first-line treatment. After further clinical trials funded through the licensing and the FDA approvals, Taxol had sales of $1.2 billion in 1998. AUTM reports that a total of 385 new products were introduced commercially in FY1998. The products came on the market through either exclusive or nonexclusive licenses granted by the research institutions. The association estimates that licenses produced $725 million in income for the universities in 1998. The technology transfer process resulted in the formation of 364 new companies during the year to develop and market some of those products. Most of those companies (79 percent) were located near the university that sponsored the research. Larry Hand can be contacted at lhand@the-scientist.com. 1. R.M. Evans, "The steroid and thyroid-hormone receptor superfamily," Science, 240:889-95, 1988. (This paper has been cited in more than 4,320 other papers since publication.) 2. R.A. Holton et al., "The total synthesis of paclitaxel starting with camphor," Taxane Anticancer Agents, 583:288-301, 1995.

Technology Transfer: Return on Research Investment

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