While slightly less than the 16 generated by UC Davis past year, the university remains pleased with the performance of internal tech transfer operations.
University of California (UC) Davis was responsible for creating 14 new spinouts during the 2018-19 fiscal year, down only slightly on the record 16 generated by the university in 2017-2018.
UC Davis supports spinouts through the Venture Catalyst unit of its Innovation and Technology Commercialisation, offering resources such as the option of deferring patent payments and access to market intelligence reports, through a spinout servicing suite branded the Smart Toolkit for Accelerated Research Translation.
Dushyant Pathak, executive director of Venture Catalyst and associate vice-chancellor of innovation and technology commercialisation at UC Davis, said: “By focusing on supporting pre-commercialisation proof-of-concept research and direct engagement with our founding technologists throughout the early stages of startup formation, we are enabling a fertile innovation environment for innovators and entrepreneurs to succeed.”
Much of the latest crop of spinouts are focused on technologies which address key societal needs, the university claimed, in areas including healthcare, agricultural data management, fraud prevention and critical recordkeeping.
Of the 14 spinouts launched last year, 13 have been publicly disclosed. These include data visualisation software developer Agrinerds, fraud detection software creator Bouncer Technologies, neural plasticity drug company Delix Therapeutics, enzyme product developer Digestiva and cancer therapy creator EffectorBio.
The others were named as birth certificate ledger system producer eVitals Technologies, cancer drug developer GalactMed, wheat germ therapy creator Keen Therapeutics, atomic microscopy platform spinout NanoCue, drug discovery platform developer Seven Biosciences, peptide treatment company Sierra Biopharma, cannabinoid-based seizure medication creator Syncanica and pharmaceutical ingredients nanolibrary developer Theranostec.
Highlights from the university’s existing portfolio included US regulatory approval for a postpartum depression injection under development by Sage Therapeutics, and the acquisition of electric drivetrain module manufacturer Efficient Drivetrains by power technology firm Cummins for an undisclosed sum in July 2018.
