“Our programs are set up to benefit companies based on OHSU research,” says Arundeep S. Pradhan, associate VP in OHSU’s TTBD office. “Start-ups are just a small fraction of what we do; the majority are material transfer agreements, next are research agreements and collaborations, and then license agreements—40 to 50 a year. Out of those 40-50 license agreements, only three to six a year are to start-up companies. We strive to create a balance but the needs of a start-up are very different from the needs of a company, so terms vary widely.”
Pradhan continues, “The collaborative research originates both from companies and the university; in either case, we work on finding a path and funding that are beneficial to both, whatever shape or form that takes.”
Explore OHSU’s extensive online resources
Wondering how companies find the right people to talk to or whether OHSU can meet a company’s need? Pradhan encourages anyone to visit the
Research Expertise Locator
that shows research areas, faculty, grants, and publications
A key component of spinning out companies from OHSU research is funding. The
Innovation & Seed Fund
(ISF)
is designed to spur the growth of Oregon’s nascent bioscience industry by catalyzing the development and commercialization of inventions created during the course of research at OHSU.
Among the ISF programs are:
-
BioScience Innovation Program
(BSIP) - created by OHSU and the OHSU Foundation, provides proof-of-concept funding for commercially promising inventions. BSIP awards fill a critical gap in the funding of technologies that do not qualify for traditional federal funding, yet are deemed too early for corporate partnership.
-
Springboard Program
– a funding program that covers initial start-up costs such as legal and accounting experts and facilitates business and strategic plan development.
-
Seed Program
- Equity investment syndicated on a 3:1 basis.
OHSU start-up results
OHSU research has resulted in 43 start-up companies since 2000, bringing the total number to 71 since the early 1970s. Of those 43 companies, 30 are currently based in Oregon or were so at one time. Additionally, start-up companies based on OHSU research employ nearly 3,000 people, including approximately 2,400 in Oregon.
OHSU serves as a catalyst for the region's bioscience industry and is an incubator of discovery with more than 4,100 research projects currently underway. Its researchers average a breakthrough, discovery, or innovation every three days.
See how OHSU generates revenue from commercialization and industry collaboration.
Kate McPherron provides strategic communications consulting to
organizations in bioscience, energy efficiency, engineering and high tech.
Kate’s history includes running successful low-budget, tight-deadline product
launches and company introductions; ongoing product/PR management; as well as
writing and coordinating documentation projects for large, regulated companies.
Key to Kate’s work is unearthing, defending and persuading a viewpoint, often
communicating technical information to a less-savvy audience. Contact Kate at kmcpherron@gmail.com