Tech Transfer at SUNY

Scott MacfarlaneSUNY Upstate Medical University

Syracuse, NY

SUNYState University of New York

New YorkThe Empire State

.

State University of New York

SYRACUSE, NY

• Largest system in US

• 64 campuses• 465,000 students• 88,000 faculty• 7,660 degree

programs• $10.7B budget

SUNY Research

SUNY Research Foundation

• Separate corporation supporting almost $1B in SUNY research thru:–Research contract administration –Commercialization support services

SUNY Innovation Assets

Buffalo Hub

Binghamton Hub

Albany Hub

Stony Brook Hub

Upstate Medical

Downstate Medical

SUNY TTO Hubs

Buffalo Hub

SUNY TTO Hubs

Buffalo Hub

SUNY TTO Hubs

Buffalo Hub

SUNY TTO Hubs

Buffalo Hub

SUNY 2010Tech Transfer Performance

• $891,199,555 in research expenditures• 50 Licenses and options (554 active

licenses)• 16 Licensing FTEs• 260 Invention disclosures• 5 startups• 114 new patents (55 issued)• $13,124,377 License income

How does SUNY compare?SUNY• $891,199,555 research• 16 Licensing FTEs• 50 Licenses• 260 disclosures• 5 startups • 114 new patents, 55

issued• $13,124,377 income

Stanford• $805,973,770 research• 17 Licensing FTEs• 90 Licenses• 467 disclosures• 12-15 startups• 376 new patents, 180

issued• $65,466,286 income

We could do better

Why not better already?SUNY has been in an unvirtuous cycle

Less revenue

Fewer patentable inventions

Fewer disclosures/inventions

Inadequate funding

Fewer patents filed

Big gap between lab & mkt

Academically research focus

Fewer licenses

• Fewer disclosures = fewer patentable inventions on which to file patents

Unvirtuous Cycle

Less revenue

Fewer patentable inventions

Fewer disclosures/inventions

Inadequate funding

Fewer patents filed

Big gap between lab & mkt

Academically research focus

Fewer licenses

• Inadequate funding = fewer patentable inventions filed as patents– SUNY spends only 1/3 of AUTM average

Unvirtuous Cycle

Less revenue

Fewer patentable inventions

Fewer disclosures/inventions

Inadequate funding

Fewer patents filed

Big gap between lab & mkt

Academically research focus

Fewer licenses

• Academic focus = fewer disclosures and bigger gap between lab and market

Unvirtuous Cycle

Less revenue

Fewer patentable inventions

Fewer disclosures/inventions

Inadequate funding

Fewer patents filed

Big gap between lab & mkt

Academically research focus

Fewer licenses

• Fewer patents filed and big gap between lab and market = fewer licenses

Unvirtuous Cycle

Less revenue

Fewer patentable inventions

Fewer disclosures/inventions

Inadequate funding

Fewer patents filed

Big gap between lab & mkt

Academically research focus

Fewer licenses

• Fewer licenses = less revenue and fewer relationships with companies– Less money to support patenting and TT

Unvirtuous Cycle

Less revenue

Fewer patentable inventions

Fewer disclosures/inventions

Inadequate funding

Fewer patents filed

Big gap between lab & mkt

Academically research focus

Fewer licenses

• Fewer disclosures, fewer licenses, and less revenue = less funding– No reason to increase funding for TTOs

Unvirtuous Cycle

Less revenue

Fewer patentable inventions

Fewer disclosures/inventions

Inadequate funding

Fewer patents filed

Big gap between lab & mkt

Academically research focus

Fewer licenses

• Failure to patent and pursue disclosed inventions discourages innovators– Discouraged innovators are less interested in

commercialization, and file fewer disclosures

Unvirtuous Cycle

Less revenue

Fewer patentable inventions

Fewer disclosures/inventions

Inadequate funding

Fewer patents filed

Big gap between lab & mkt

Academically research focus

Fewer licenses

SUNY IS NOT ALONE

• 60% of TTOs earned less than $3M• More than 50% of TTOs bring in less

money than their operating costs• Only 16% of TTOs are self-sustaining

Most University TTOs Do Poorly

SUNY, $13M

Stanford, $65M

60%

What is SUNY doing to improve?

Creating a virtuous cycle• More disclosures• More patents (more money)• More licenses• More revenue

Creating VIRTUOUS Cycle

MORE patentable inventions

MORE patents filed

SUFFICIENTfunding

INDUSTRIALresearch focus

MORE revenue

MORE disclosures/inventions

MORE licenses

NARROWgap

between lab & mkt

Creating a Virtuous Cycle• Generating more invention disclosures–More TTO outreach and involvement– Proactive customer service– Creating structured academic research

collaboration opportunities

Academic Collaborations• SUNY REACH– 5 SUNY medical campuses– Attracted over $8M in grant funding in 2 yrs– Cancer, infectious diseases, CNS, diabetes/cardiac

• Hill Collaboration– Syracuse U., ESF, Upstate, ~$20k per project

• IIBMST– Technion, Upstate, National Cheng Kung University

Creating a Virtuous Cycle• Changing to greater industrial focus– ‘Friendly’ negotiation strategy for research

contracts– Hiring VP of Industry Relations – Building opportunities for industrial

collaborations

Industrial Collaborations• Create more interactions with business

CNSECollege of Nanoscale Science and Engineering

• University-Industry $14B collaboration– $1B from NY State– 74 000 m2, 300 nm wafer cleanroom (85,000 sq ft)

• Under construction - 46 000 m2 for 450 nm wafer fab

CNSECollege of Nanoscale Science and Engineering

• University-Industry $14B collaboration– $1B from NY State– 74 000 m2, 300 nm wafer cleanroom (85,000 sq ft)

• Under construction - 46 000 m2 for 450 nm wafer fab– 2,600 employees / 200 students– 300 companies (Intel, IBM, SEMATECH, TSMC, …)

Creating a Virtuous Cycle• Changing to greater industrial focus– ‘Friendly’ negotiation strategy for research

contracts– Hiring VP of Industry Relations – Building opportunities for industrial

collaborations– Supporting entrepreneurship• Faculty student training (PSW)• Simplified licensing (‘express’-type)• Incubators and Entrepreneur-in-Residences

SUNY Incubators

CNY BRC

Creating a Virtuous Cycle• Filing the invention pipeline– Generating more invention disclosures• More TTO outreach and involvement• Proactive customer service

– Filing more patents• Reducing patent costs

– In-house patent agents (UB)– Using patent attorney as editor not writer

• Increasing budget for patenting (parity with avg)• Commercially driven patent strategy

Why file more patents?

1 of 189

Generating More Than $1 Million203

2010 Cumulative Active Licenses38,270

• More inventions to license• Become better place to technology

shop• Increasing probability of big winner

Why file more patents?• More inventions to license• Become better place to technology

shop• Increasing probability of big winner–Most successful offices are successful

because of one or several big winners– Very successful licenses generate ‘buzz’

• Picking winners is hard, maybe impossible

Why file more patents?• More inventions to license• Become better place to technology

shop• Increasing probability of big winner–Most successful offices are successful

because of one or several big winners– Very successful licenses generate ‘buzz’

• Picking winners is hard, maybe impossible

Story told by former Amershamemployee: In the mid 1980s, Cetus Corp. offered to sell PCR patent portfolio to Amersham for $20,000. Amershamdeclined, their evaluating scientists saying, “This is very interesting, but who really needs millions of copies of DNA?” 

Three years later Cetus sold the patents to Roche for $300 million.

Winners are rareand hard to pick

1,100 licenses

GE

GenVec

Applera

More startups = more winners

Creating a Virtuous Cycle• ‘Bridging the Gap’ from lab to market– Technology Accelerator Fund• Projects that reach ‘inflection point’• $500,000/year, Up to $50,000 per project• Competitive, among all SUNY campuses

– Product Generation Group• Start with idea, end with product• Industry and university participants (Upstate, SU)• Prototyping funds and support

La Fin