Organizational Forms of University Technology Transfer in Biotechnology

Academic scientists perform cutting-edge research in biotechnology, and university technology transfer plays an important role in translating promising biotechnological inventions into marketable treatments. Much policy and scholarly attention has focused on formal technology transfer, wherein universities patent academic inventions, including those in biotechnology, and then license them to private entities for commercial development. While patenting and licensing certainly play important roles in technology transfer, they are often inadequate in fully transferring a biotechnological invention to outside parties. Among other challenges, even when a patent nominally discloses an invention, academic inventors retain a significant amount of personal, experiential, tacit knowledge that is highly valuable to practicing and commercializing that technology. Transferring tacit knowledge possessed by faculty inventors is a significant challenge in academic technology transfer, and several organizational innovations can help facilitate such transfer. Informal networks, consulting agreements, sponsored research, proof of concept centers, and university spinoffs facilitate greater interaction between academic inventors and commercial licensees and play important roles in transferring tacit knowledge in parallel to formal patenting and licensing, thus accelerating the commercialization of university inventions