Prium Brussels 0809 Vub Site Visit Loosvelt

From fundamental research to structured technology transfer – the VUB model

Dr Hugo Loosvelt

R&D Department, Technology Transfer Interface


Regulatory background and institutional background

Belgium: a federal country

Flemish, French communities have legal competency over subsidised education

Flemish region Walloon region Brussels capital region

Flemish community French community German speaking community

VUB



‘Flemish’ Universities: subsidised by Flemish community

• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven – Leuven: ~30000 st

• Universiteit Gent – Ghent: ~28000 st

• Universiteit Antwerpen – Antwerp: ~10000st

• Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Brussels: ~9500 st

• Universiteit Hasselt – Hasselt:

Each university forms an association with 1 or more colleges (Bologna harmonization of higher education landscape)

30 Colleges in Flanders: (‘hogescholen’, similar to ‘fachhochschule’)



Regulatory background:

• US: Bayl-Dole Act of 1980 requires US universities to put into use (‘obligation’) the intellectual property rights (‘gift’) generated from their federally funded research

• no equivalent in Belgium / Flanders until 1998: IP rights belong to the inventors

• 1998: University decree, art 169 ter:

“De vermogensrechten op vindingen die, in het kader van hun onderzoekstaken, gedaan worden door personeelsleden van de universiteit … komen uitsluitend toe aan de universiteit …”


R&D in Flanders and @ VUB

Technology life cycle

Program driven Project driven

Embryonic Potentialgrowth

Growth Mature Aging

IndustrialIndustrial ProductProduct

Generic

technology

Joint research

ProprietaryFunding, economic impact, visibility, …

Risky, fundamental research

strategic research, consortia

Bilateral, industrial, application driven



Funding matrix in Flanders

Channels of funding open to all R&D actors or in interuniversity

competition

Intra-university

channels of funding

Fundamental Research

FWO

BOF

grantholders project

Strategic ‘basic’ research

SBO

Management and

funding-instruments for basic- and applied

research Society impact Industrial impact

IOF

?

project

grant-holders

project

Industrial

research - IWT (R&D) - contract research



Strategic research organisation Flanders•IMEC

To perform R&D, ahead of industrial needs by 3 to 10 years, in microelectronics, nanotechnology, design methods and technologies for ICT systems

•VIBResearch institute, study of the functioning of the human body, plants and micro-organisms

•IBBTResearch institute, ICT and broadband applications

•VITOTechnological research, energy, environment, material research,

earth observation


Camel antibodies: case study @ VUB

Practical laboratory session…examine antibodies…in blood samples from camels (crazy idea…)

1991: wild west of biotechnology … introduction to Prof Hamers group: diversity of subjects, creating new talent -> excellent setting for discoveries

VH

VLCL

CH1

CH3

CH2

VHH

CH3

CH2Conventional Antibody

Heavy and light chainsBoth chains required for antigen

binding and stability

Heavy-Chain Antibody

Only heavy chainsFull antigen binding capacity

and highly stable

What they found: antibodies devoid of light chains



- spotting the possibilities of the camel antibodies!- laboratory: constant shortage of cash- not yet an era where publication pressure was so high…

Luckily in this order !! Visionary at a time where the dominant feeling among professors was a reluctance or even a fundamental objection against valorisation of research results

* ‘Hamers1’ patent was filed(Hamers, Casterman)Immunoglobulins devoid of light chains (priority date 21/8/1992)

* Publication in Nature. 1993 Jun 3;363(6428):446-8



Expanding patent portfolio: patent costs soon became considerable: inventors turned to the VUB

Agreement on transfer of the patent to the VUB (1995) and distrubution of possible income from the patentsStarting negociations without confidentiality agreement with Unilever

BUT:

Unexperienced university in valorisation of research results (no technology transfer cell) Unexperienced researchersNo framework/ ruling regarding IPR

Actions/ results:

-> Licence-agreement VUB with UNILEVER (1997) on ‘Non-healthcare’ applications -> Unilever starts filing patents around nanobody technology



Start Vlaams Interuniversiteit instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB)

Advantages

Dangers

- light weight central administration dedicated to specific R&D theme- R&D done in university lab -> recruiting new talent- best from each R&D domain are involved- bridging gap between different monodisciplinery research domains- balanced/mixed leadership between industry and university- coherence of action- high performance

- rules for new entries, exits of research groups- delicate balance between internal competition and collaboration- fragmentation of IP portfolio between universities and institute



* Lab of Raymond Hamers becomesVIB department

* Agreement VUB-VIB: -valorisation strategy is carried out in partnership-VIB takes lead-Distribution of income



* Licence to Ablynx: diagnostics & therapeutics * 5 mio € capital * External CEO + 4 researchers VIB/VUB* Start of several government funded research projects with VIB/

VUB department* Ablynx becomes a biopharmaceutical company that further

developes the NANOBODY ® technology

Creation of AblynX



• > 160 employees

• Successful IPO on Euronext Brussels, nov 7th 2007

• Extensive IP portfolio: > 200 patent applications and patents in > 50 patent families worldwide

• Active protection of knowhow and trade secrets

• NANOBODY ® and NANOCLONETM

AblynX currently:



Learning curve has lead to:

- valorization policy

- regulation comprising IP management and income distribution

- technology transfer cell: professionalization



Fundamental research: VUB management perspective

•No thematic steering – initiative of individuals and research groups

•Internal quality control based on peers and correlated with bibliometry

•Depth of the project reviewing process depending on the level of research:- seed level: quality of proposal; starters investment- incubation level: matching of externally acquired funds- excellence level: external peer review



Research @VUB: Focus on excellency-> VUB was in 2006 worldwide the fastest growing university

(Times ranking)-> VUB research management praised in an international audit-> 10% increase of research funding in 2006-> 2 years in a row the most succesfull university in obtaining IWT funding-> number of scientic publications increased in 2006 with 11%-> concentration of IOF-funding in ‘Zwaartepunten’ en ‘Groeiers’-> strong presence in European FP

* 58 projects in 5 FP (10 mio Euro)* 64 projects in 6 FP (10 NoE, 20 IP)* Co-ordinator in two top projects: Diabetes and Photonics



Excellence centers

Diabetes Photonics SociologyBiotechnology Multimedia Political sciencesReproductive medicine Robotics HistoryCancer Electrochemistry MultilingualismCardiology Food technology

InformaticsSystem engineering


Technology transfer

Every university (and SRO) has a technology/knowledge transfer office (TTO)

Mission: • encourage technology development• transfer of intellectual property to society , mainly industry• reinvest the benefits in research & development


Technology transfer

- university policy & regulation

- support researchers in finding funding

- management of contract research- IP management &

work out commercialisation strategies- stimulation of entrepreneurship- management of incubation fund- research parks & incubators- industrial networks

Structure and tasks of TTO: multidisciplinary


Technology transfer

– Flemish government (minister economy and scientific policy) supports ‘interface’ function in universities

– IOF funding: allocation in function of ‘output’* Ph D’s

* publications & citations

* external funding for industrial research

* Participation in EU FP

* Patents

* Spin-off companies

* Scientific staff


Technology transfer

VUB model: ruling

- IPR on R&D results belong to VUB

- obligation to disclose prior to publication / VUB decides wether or not to start valorisation dossier / publication might be postponed -> disclosure form

- valorisation: 2 routes primary: VUB funded (patent fund), VUB leadssecundary route: IP rights back to researchers, valorisation at own cost

- researchers obliged to collaborate OR primary route stopped

- income from valorisation belongs to VUB

- distribution netto income: 1/3 to patent fund; 2/3 to research group (researchers can apply for a personnel fee, max 1/3 of netto income)


Technology transfer

Patent portfolio> 50 patent families (application) VUB

> 20 patent families (application) with IMEC

(Interuniversity institute for Micro-electronics)

> 10 patent families (application) with VIB

(Flemish Interuniversity institute Biotechnology)

•Several patent families (application) with

other research institutions and industry

More information on technology offers: www.vub.ac.be/valorisatie or contact [email protected]


Technology transfer

Patent per VTE: VUB ranks third in Flanders

0

0.05

0.1

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Technology transfer

Spin-offs: seed capital fund BI3

Imagination- Incubation- Innovation

Aim: Provide seed capital for VUB spin-off companies

Partners: Fortis Private Equity, KBC Private Equity, Ethias Leven, GIMB, VUB

Value: 6 mio Euro (extendable to 12 mio Euro)

Obtained in 2006 VINNOF recognition

Participations: Elsyca, BruCells, Symbion, Eggcentris, ..


Technology transfer

IncubatorsBrussels: ICAB

Incubator Arsenaal Brussel Near campus Etterbeek

Operational in 2008

Flanders: IICB

Innovation & Incubation center ZellikNear campus Jette

www.iicb.be

www.vub.ac.be


Technology transferVUB spin-offs


Technology transfer

Spin-offs per VTE: VUB ranks first in Flanders

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Technology transfer

Research @VUB: partner for industry

* Medium to long term research projects

* Contract research

* Consultancy and testing facilities

* Training & industrial residents

Contact the technology transfer interface

[email protected]


Technology transfer

Example of industry – university collaboration

Software cell:

* Research needs: inventarisation of demand from industry (top down)

* Research offers: inventarisation of ICT research at the VUB (bottom up)

* Formulation of a strategic research project (submitted at IWOIB-Impuls program)

* Future: applied R&D projects for industrial partners, based on results of the strategic research


Technology transfer

Technological entrepreneurship: educational program

Introduce technological entrepreneurship in the Masters Engineer <-> Business engineer

Courses Business administration <-> Technology Entrepreneurship <-> Entrepreneurship

for Bus.engineers Writing of a business plan Start up of a student business via ETC (Entrepreneurial Talent Corporation)

Partners PMV, Yakult, Ethias, WTCM, IBM, Fundus, Bank De Groof, Solvay, Bekaert, Tyco Electronics Raychem,...


Technology transfer

Crosstalks: industry – university network

Creating an exchange dynamicsEncouraging cross-talking and stimulating innovationThrough different formatsAnd international publications

Conferences, science & industry lunches, workshops...

•Windows by Day, Linux by Night: open source paradigma•The Future of Technology•The Future of our Digital Commons•Early Warning Signals•Grenzen van de Geneeskunst•Early Warning Information Systems •The Future of Medication in a Patient-Centered Health Care

•.........

http://crosstalks.vub.ac.be


Technology transfer

For more information contact the technology transfer interface:

[email protected]

Thank you for your attention!

Prium Brussels 0809 Vub Site Visit Loosvelt

Education

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