Tech Launch Arizona registered a new high of 284 invention disclosures in 2018-2019, although the number of new spinouts dropped to 11 from the previous 16.
Tech Launch Arizona (TLA), the tech transfer office of University of Arizona, on Monday announced it processed a record 284 invention disclosures during the 2018-19 fiscal year, up from 275 during the previous period.
However, the number of spinouts produced in 2018-2019 dipped to 11 from 16, while patent filings also fell slightly from 352 to 341. TLA finalised 56 patents and executed 96 licence or option agreements, with the latter figure a decrease from 112 last year.
The office has now generated more than 80 startups since its establishment in the 2012-13 fiscal year, yielding 14 businesses on average each year.
TLA now plans to extend its commercialisation support package through a new executive-on-roster scheme matching early-stage spinouts with suitable executive talent. It is holding talks with 20 other universities which could participate in the program.
The 11 companies launched by TLA during 2018-2019 include fibrotic disorder drug developer Fibronox, edtech spinout Sidecar Learning, augmented reality display developer EarDG Photonics and cancer diagnostics spinout DesertDx and data error correction technology developer Xoralgo.
The others are dust suppressant polymer manufacturer Clean Earth Tech, holographic phoropter developer iCrx, artificial pancreas cell encapsulation spinout Procyon Technologies, cellular research technology creator Scintillation Nanotechnologies, graphene-based ceramics producer Extreme Cer-Nano and probabilistic drug modelling company Intelico Therapeutics.
