Vanderbilt transfers tech into profit

Vanderbilt University has said its commercialisation earnings have quadrupled over a three year period – reaching more than $24.5m for the fiscal year ending 30 June.

Several licensing agreements boosted profits at Vanderbilt’s tech transfer unit, the Vanderbilt Centre for Technology Transfer and Commercialisation (CTTC), over the past year. These include a licence with pharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) for new drugs tackling Parkinson’s disease, one with BMS peer AstraZeneca for schizophrenic drugs, and a further agreement with motion and control tech firm Parker Hannifin for a lightweight mechanical exoskeleton.

In total, CTTC executed 82 license transactions, a 60% increase on the average performance of the unit over the past three years.

Alan Bentley, assistant vice chancellor for tech transfer at Vanderbilt, said: “Due to annual fluctuations in our business, we look at three year averages for our metrics. Though fiscal year 2013 revenues achieved a new high, we have made great strides in other key areas, such as inventor engagement and transactional efficiency,” adding, “the real significance lies in the formation of strategic partnerships with world leaders in the biopharmaceutical and engineering industries.”