University 性闻联播 Leads to Pioneering Discoveries That Spur Economic Growth
BOSTON- January 29, 2009:The 性闻联播 emerges as a national leader in technology transfer, earning nearly $41 million from faculty innovations and discoveries taken from the lab to the marketplace.
The University ranked among the top three institutions in New England and among the top 15 universities in the nation, as measured by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) annual U.S. Licensing Activity Survey.
UMass with $40,738,116 in Fiscal Year 2007 licensing income joins MIT ($61,600,000) in the top tier of New England academic institutions that earn income from technology licenses and spin-off companies.
"As a public research University, our success in developing marketable new technologies is fueled by faculty excellence and innovation. The impact of groundbreaking research at UMass is threefold-faculty research expands the boundaries of human knowledge, that the application of those discoveries better our lives, and foster new technologies and companies that create jobs and fuel the state and regional economy," said 性闻联播 President Jack M. Wilson.
President Wilson also noted the important role that university research plays in spurring economic growth, saying: "As our national and state leaders are looking for short- and long-term measures to stimulate an economic recovery, this national survey demonstrates that university research plays a crucial role in developing new products, new companies and new jobs."
The 性闻联播 earned the Fiscal Year 2007 revenue from the licensing of life sciences discoveries and new drugs, software, clean energy technologies, educational products and other inventions. The lion's share of the University's licensing revenue is derived from life-sciences related discoveries, including new drugs and vaccines, with clean-energy related technologies also accounting for a key licensing revenue stream. UMass licensing revenues are reinvested in the UMass research enterprise, continuing the cycle of research and innovation, and also providing funds for a variety of academic programs.
In recent years, UMass has launched a number of successful spin-off companies which contributed to its Fiscal Year 2007 licensing revenue, including: Qteros, a company formed based on a novel biofuel technology discovered at UMass Amherst; RXi Pharmaceuticals, a discovery-stage biopharmaceutical company pursuing the development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi), co-founded by UMass Medical School Nobel Laureate Craig Mello, Ph.D.; Anterios (formerly Encapsion), which uses nanotechnology to create a small-scale delivery system to more efficiently administer drugs or cosmetics and is based on a discovery at UMass Lowell; and Konarka Technologies, a pioneer in creating new renewable energy sources based on research at UMass Lowell.
The University's annual licensing income has grown dramatically, from only $195,000 in Fiscal Year 1994 to $40.7 million in Fiscal Year 2007. The University's growth in this area is a result of a multi-year, multi-faceted effort by the UMass Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property (CVIP) and a strong commitment from President Wilson who has focused on expanding the University's role as a Massachusetts innovation engine. President Wilson, who earlier in his career launched his own company, has supported the entrepreneurial efforts of UMass faculty and the University's intellectual property commercialization by instituting CVIP grants to faculty and supporting the development of University technology incubators.
Intellectual property licensing income is just one measure of the University's economic impact in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and beyond. With five campuses and more than 60,000 students, the UMass system is responsible for $4.3 billion of annual economic activity and 29,000 jobs in Massachusetts.
Contact:
Robert P. Connolly, 617-287-7073
Libby DeVecchi, 617-287-7023