Yale Bulletin and Calendar

March 19, 2004|Volume 32, Number 22

Yale researchers Thomas Steitz and Peter Moore are shown with Susan Froshauer, president and chief executive officer of Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, a company that develops molecule-based drugs by using the scientists' work with X-ray crystallography to study the structure of proteins and nucleic acids.

OCR works with faculty to bring
discoveries to market

Since Yale's Office of Cooperative Research (OCR) was founded in 1982, the pace and process of developing practical applications from basic research has changed significantly, as has the research environment within the University and the economic environment surrounding the campus.

There is a boom in the development and growth of biotechnology companies nationwide, and a significant investment in biotech-based university technologies. There also is an increasing level of interest in academic research and in funding academic research, notes Jon Soderstrom, managing director of OCR.

"Researchers welcome the opportunity to take on this additional role -- not only making new discoveries but also helping to shepherd them to the product stage where they can have a direct impact on helping patients and the outside world," he says.

Yale's OCR oversees patenting and licensing activities, development of university inventions and contractual relationships between faculty and industry. The office strives to be involved at every stage of the development process -- from discovery to market -- and focuses on those opportunities with the highest potential benefit to both Yale and society.

OCR staff work with Yale researchers to identify inventions that may ultimately become commercial products and services useful to the public. (See related FAQ.) They then work to develop industrial partnerships to license Yale inventions. Another of the OCR's important goals is identifying opportunities for new companies, cultivating venture funding for them and facilitating their development into businesses that become part of the New Haven economy.

Over the last decade, OCR's portfolio has expanded in areas where Yale has made a significant investment in emerging research, such as nanotechnology, biotechnology and biomedical engineering. Currently, areas of potential licensing and business start-ups include new pharmaceutical drugs, drug discovery targets, nanotechnology, and medical devices, such as a mechanical shunt for treating glaucoma and a suite of vascular access devices.

"Some of the fastest growing areas of new business and licensing are medical devices," Soderstrom says. "The reasons are two-fold: It costs less to develop the technology into a final product, and, once the product is approved by the FDA, the company becomes a target for acquisition or licensing to a larger device company."

President Richard C. Levin, a noted economist, has been an outspoken advocate about the important role that universities play in contributing to the strength of the U.S. economy through scientific research that can be converted into new products, processes and services. In recent years, Yale has earmarked over $1 billion to enhance its strength in science, medicine and engineering.

Writing recently about this commitment to enhancing the University's standing as one of the world's premier research institutions in the fields of science and technology, Bruce Alexander, vice president and director of Yale's Office of New Haven and State Affairs, said: "A byproduct of this work is a growing biotechnology industry located near the University, a result of Yale's success in technology transfer efforts and one of the important ingredients in the renaissance of New Haven."

In the last eight years -- with the assistance of scientific founders, investors and city and state government -- Yale has helped locate nearly 30 biotech companies in the New Haven area that have generated more than $1 billion in equity investments. In the past 12 months, that total has increased by more than $360 million. While the companies are at the cutting edge of research on new cures for human disease, they have created new jobs for more than 1,000 people and increased the city's tax base. The complexes at 300 George Street and Science Park serve as home and incubator for a number of new startups -- many based on Yale research that OCR has helped bring to the marketplace.

The University receives the same amount of royalties and fees irrespective of where spin-off companies eventually locate, says Soderstrom, but Yale recognizes the importance of having a strong local economy and a vigorous business climate. By direct involvement in raising capital and developing business plans, Yale can encourage companies to stay in the New Haven area, he adds.

As part of a natural evolution of its mission, OCR is increasingly alert to discoveries with a high potential for improved health or prosperity of the global community, regardless of the financial gain to Yale, says the OCR director. One particular goal is to address rare diseases with very small markets or diseases common in the developing world that hold little or no promise of profitability for private companies, notes Soderstrom -- pointing as an example to the licensing of a series of azole compounds to the Institute for OneWorld Health, a non-profit pharmaceutical company seeking treatments for diseases such as Chagas and leishmaniasis.

"Our researchers are eager to contribute to research on tropical and other diseases," Soderstrom says. "One aspect of our involvement with organizations such as OneWorld Health is to create new models for the interaction between universities and the public that will see these important new treatments realize their full potential."

"The issue of how to raise the necessary resources, both human and financial, to develop the treatment and prevention of diseases found primarily in the economically developing world will continue to be difficult to address," he says. "The need for treatment of diseases such as Chagas or leishmaniasis is obvious. What is not clear is who is going to bear the cost of developing the treatments. Our relationship with the Institute for OneWorld Health represents a unique partnership that could become a new model for developing these life-saving treatments at universities."

-- By Jacqueline Weaver

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale scientist on team that discovered new planetoid

Robert Blocker has been reappointed to third term . . .

Center to foster research on cerebral cortex

Bulldogs' Nate Lawrie busy preparing himself for NFL Draft

Political scientist Ian Shapiro named YCIAS director

Zbigniew Brzezinski . . . to present talk on campus

Magic, comic mayhem prevail in re-telling of old tale

'Digital Cops in a Virtual Environment' will explore . . .

Conference to consider 'The Future of Secularism'

Exhibit features works by artist who combined fact and fantasy . . .

NIDA director discusses complicated causes . . . of drug addiction

Castle Lectures to explore materialism in today's culture

English faculty to present staged reading of 'Pentecost'

'Enclave' to explore architectural aspects of ports of commerce

In Focus: Office of Cooperative Research