Spinouts, much like the rest of the innovation economy, often follow certain trends – major ones you might think of are immuno-oncology, driverless vehicles and cybersecurity. That this, despite the flurry of companies in such sectors, can still pay off for universities and investors alike was illustrated nicely last month when Viralytics, an Australia-based immunotherapy developer spun out from University of Newcastle, agreed to an acquisition by pharmaceutical group Merck for A$502m ($394m).
Viralytics, a publicly-traded company on the Australian…
