From fundamental research to structured technology transfer the VUB model

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From fundamental research to structured
technology transfer the VUB model

• Dr Hugo Loosvelt
• RD Department, Technology Transfer Interface

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Regulatory background and institutional background
Belgium a federal country
Flemish community
French community
German speaking community
VUB
Flemish region
Walloon region
Brussels capital region
Flemish, French communities have legal competency
over subsidised education
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Regulatory background and institutional background
Flemish Universities subsidised by Flemish
community

• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Leuven 30000
  st
• Universiteit Gent Ghent 28000 st
• Universiteit Antwerpen Antwerp 10000st
• Vrije Universiteit Brussel Brussels 9500 st
• Universiteit Hasselt Hasselt

30 Colleges in Flanders (hogescholen, similar
to fachhochschule)
Each university forms an association with 1 or
more colleges (Bologna harmonization of higher
education landscape)
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Regulatory background and institutional background
Regulatory background

• US Bayl-Dole Act of 1980 requires US
  universities to put into use (obligation) the
  intellectual property rights (gift) generated
  from their federally funded research
• no equivalent in Belgium / Flanders until 1998
  IP rights belong to the inventors
• 1998 University decree, art 169 ter

De vermogensrechten op vindingen die, in het
kader van hun onderzoekstaken, gedaan worden door
personeelsleden van de universiteit komen
uitsluitend toe aan de universiteit
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RD in Flanders and _at_ VUB

• Technology life cycle

Program driven
Project driven
Funding, economic impact, visibility,
Joint research
Proprietary
Generic technology
Industrial Product
Embryonic
Potential
Growth
Mature
Aging
growth
Bilateral, industrial, application driven
Risky, fundamental research
strategic research, consortia
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RD in Flanders and _at_ VUB

• Funding matrix in Flanders

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RD in Flanders and _at_ VUB

• Strategic research organisation Flanders

• IMEC
• To perform RD, ahead of industrial needs by 3
  to 10 years, in microelectronics,
  nanotechnology, design methods and technologies
  for ICT systems
• VIB
• Research institute, study of the functioning of
  the human body, plants and micro-organisms
• IBBT
• Research institute, ICT and broadband
  applications
• VITO
• Technological research, energy, environment,
  material research, earth observation

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Camel antibodies case study _at_ VUB
1991 wild west of biotechnology introduction
to Prof Hamers group diversity of subjects,
creating new talent -gt excellent setting for
discoveries
Practical laboratory sessionexamine
antibodiesin blood samples from camels (crazy
idea)
What they found antibodies devoid of light chains
VH
VHH
CH1
VL
CL
CH2
Conventional Antibody Heavy and light
chains Both chains required for antigen binding
and stability
Heavy-Chain Antibody Only heavy chains Full
antigen binding capacity and highly stable
CH2
CH3
CH3
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Camel antibodies case study _at_ VUB
- spotting the possibilities of the camel
antibodies! - laboratory constant shortage of
cash - not yet an era where publication pressure
was so high
Hamers1 patent was filed (Hamers,
Casterman) Immunoglobulins devoid of light
chains (priority date 21/8/1992)
Publication in Nature. 1993 Jun
3363(6428)446-8
Luckily in this order !! Visionary at a time
where the dominant feeling among professors was a
reluctance or even a fundamental objection
against valorisation of research results
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Camel antibodies case study _at_ VUB
Expanding patent portfolio patent costs soon
became considerable inventors turned to the VUB
BUT
Unexperienced university in valorisation of
research results (no technology transfer cell)
Unexperienced researchers No framework/ ruling
regarding IPR
Actions/ results
Agreement on transfer of the patent to the VUB
(1995) and distrubution of possible income from
the patents Starting negociations without
confidentiality agreement with Unilever
-gt Licence-agreement VUB with UNILEVER (1997) on
Non-healthcare applications
-gt Unilever starts filing patents around nanobody
technology
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Camel antibodies case study _at_ VUB
Start Vlaams Interuniversiteit instituut voor
Biotechnologie (VIB)
Advantages
- light weight central administration dedicated
to specific RD theme - RD done in university
lab -gt recruiting new talent - best from each RD
domain are involved - bridging gap between
different monodisciplinery research domains -
balanced/mixed leadership between industry and
university - coherence of action - high
performance
Dangers
- rules for new entries, exits of research
groups - delicate balance between internal
competition and collaboration - fragmentation of
IP portfolio between universities and institute
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Camel antibodies case study _at_ VUB

• Lab of Raymond Hamers becomes
• VIB department
• Agreement VUB-VIB
• -valorisation strategy is carried out in
  partnership
• -VIB takes lead
• -Distribution of income

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Camel antibodies case study _at_ VUB
Creation of AblynX
Licence to Ablynx diagnostics therapeutics
5 mio capital External CEO 4
researchers VIB/VUB Start of several government
funded research projects with VIB/ VUB
department Ablynx becomes a biopharmaceutical
company that further developes the NANOBODY
technology
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Camel antibodies case study _at_ VUB
AblynX currently

• gt 160 employees
• Successful IPO on Euronext Brussels, nov 7th 2007
• Extensive IP portfolio gt 200 patent applications
  and patents in gt 50 patent families worldwide
• Active protection of knowhow and trade secrets
• NANOBODY and NANOCLONETM

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Camel antibodies case study _at_ VUB

• Learning curve has lead to
• - valorization policy
• - regulation comprising IP management and income
  distribution
• - technology transfer cell professionalization

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RD in Flanders and _at_ VUB

• Fundamental research VUB management perspective

• No thematic steering initiative of individuals
  and research groups
• Internal quality control based on peers and
  correlated with bibliometry
• Depth of the project reviewing process depending
  on the level of research
• - seed level quality of proposal starters
  investment
• - incubation level matching of externally
  acquired funds
• - excellence level external peer review

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RD in Flanders and _at_ VUB

• Research _at_VUB Focus on excellency

-gt VUB was in 2006 worldwide the fastest growing
university (Times ranking) -gt VUB research
management praised in an international
audit -gt 10 increase of research funding in
2006 -gt 2 years in a row the most succesfull
university in obtaining IWT funding -gt number
of scientic publications increased in 2006 with
11 -gt concentration of IOF-funding in
Zwaartepunten en Groeiers -gt strong presence
in European FP 58 projects in 5 FP (10 mio
Euro) 64 projects in 6 FP (10 NoE, 20 IP)
Co-ordinator in two top projects Diabetes and
Photonics
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RD in Flanders and _at_ VUB

• Excellence centers

Diabetes Photonics Sociology Biotechnology Mu
ltimedia Political sciences Reproductive
medicine Robotics History Cancer Electrochemist
ry Multilingualism Cardiology Food
technology Informatics System engineering
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Technology transfer

• Every university (and SRO) has a
  technology/knowledge transfer office (TTO)
• Mission
• encourage technology development
• transfer of intellectual property to society ,
  mainly industry
• reinvest the benefits in research development

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Technology transfer
Structure and tasks of TTO multidisciplinary

• - university policy regulation
• - support researchers in finding funding
• - management of contract research
• IP management
• work out commercialisation strategies
• stimulation of entrepreneurship
• management of incubation fund
• research parks incubators
• industrial networks

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Technology transfer

• Flemish government (minister economy and
  scientific policy) supports interface function
  in universities
• IOF funding allocation in function of output
• Ph Ds
• publications citations
• external funding for industrial research
• Participation in EU FP
• Patents
• Spin-off companies
• Scientific staff

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Technology transfer

• VUB model ruling
• - IPR on RD results belong to VUB
• - obligation to disclose prior to publication /
  VUB decides wether or not to start valorisation
  dossier / publication might be postponed -gt
  disclosure form
• - valorisation 2 routes primary VUB funded
  (patent fund), VUB leadssecundary route IP
  rights back to researchers, valorisation at own
  cost
• - researchers obliged to collaborate OR primary
  route stopped
• - income from valorisation belongs to VUB
• - distribution netto income 1/3 to patent fund
  2/3 to research group (researchers can apply for
  a personnel fee, max 1/3 of netto income)

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Technology transfer

• Patent portfolio

• gt 50 patent families (application) VUB
• gt 20 patent families (application) with IMEC
• (Interuniversity institute for
  Micro-electronics)
• gt 10 patent families (application) with VIB
• (Flemish Interuniversity institute
  Biotechnology)
• Several patent families (application) with
• other research institutions and industry
• More information on technology offers
  www.vub.ac.be/valorisatie
• or contact rd.interface_at_vub.ac.be

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Technology transfer

• Patent per VTE VUB ranks third in Flanders

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Technology transfer

• Spin-offs seed capital fund BI3
• Imagination- Incubation- Innovation

Aim Provide seed capital for VUB spin-off
companies Partners Fortis Private Equity,
KBC Private Equity, Ethias Leven, GIMB,
VUB Value 6 mio Euro (extendable to 12 mio
Euro) Obtained in 2006 VINNOF
recognition Participations Elsyca, BruCells,
Symbion, Eggcentris, ..
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Technology transfer

• Incubators

Brussels ICAB Incubator Arsenaal Brussel Near
campus Etterbeek Operational in 2008 Flanders
IICB Innovation Incubation center Zellik Near
campus Jette www.iicb.be www.vub.ac.be
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Technology transfer

• VUB spin-offs

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Technology transfer

• Spin-offs per VTE VUB ranks first in Flanders

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Technology transfer

• Research _at_VUB partner for industry

Medium to long term research projects
Contract research Consultancy and testing
facilities Training industrial
residents Contact the technology transfer
interface RD.INTERFACE_at_VUB.AC.BE
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Technology transfer

• Example of industry university collaboration

Software cell Research needs
inventarisation of demand from industry (top
down) Research offers inventarisation of ICT
research at the VUB (bottom up) Formulation
of a strategic research project (submitted at
IWOIB-Impuls program) Future applied RD
projects for industrial partners, based on
results of the strategic research
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Technology transfer

• Technological entrepreneurship educational
  program

Introduce technological entrepreneurship in the
Masters Engineer lt-gt Business
engineer Courses Business administration
lt-gt Technology Entrepreneurship
lt-gt Entrepreneurship for Bus.engineers
Writing of a business plan Start up
of a student business via ETC
(Entrepreneurial Talent Corporation) Partners
PMV, Yakult, Ethias, WTCM, IBM, Fundus, Bank De
Groof, Solvay, Bekaert, Tyco Electronics
Raychem,...
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Technology transfer

• Crosstalks industry university network

• Creating an exchange dynamics
• Encouraging cross-talking and stimulating
  innovation
• Through different formats
• And international publications
• Conferences, science industry lunches,
  workshops...
• Windows by Day, Linux by Night open source
  paradigma
• The Future of Technology
• The Future of our Digital Commons
• Early Warning Signals
• Grenzen van de Geneeskunst
• Early Warning Information Systems
• The Future of Medication in a Patient-Centered
  Health Care
• .........
• http//crosstalks.vub.ac.be

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Technology transfer

• For more information contact the technology
  transfer interface
• rd.interface_at_vub.ac.be
• Thank you for your attention!