U N I V E R S I T É L I B R E D E B R U X E L L E S , U N I V E R S I T É D ’ E U R O P E

&Research

Business

connecting

I. About us

R&D policies from European, national and regional authorities are increasingly based on the commitment from academic research institutions to economic growth. Consequently, leading universities have embarked on this pursuit, through patent filing, licensing technologies to existing companies and creating spin-offs from laboratory research.

ULB TTO, as part of the ULB’s Research Administration, was founded in 1991.

ULB TTO is made up of a multidisciplinary team of 17

highly-specialized professionals

our mission: • Supporting researchers in setting up research projects

• Managing research collaborations between the university and its external partners (industry and public institutions)

• Transferring R&D technology (patents, spin-offs, etc.)

• Managing the ULB’s Intellectual Property (IP)

• Supporting R&D projects

• Contributing to local and regional economic growth

Director 1

Scientific Advisors 7

Legal Advisors 2

Business Developers 3

Communication Advisor 1

Administrative Assistants 3

For each project, a team of 3 partners (a scientific advisor, a business developer and a legal advisor) work together in a business-oriented mindset in order to:

• Provide support for researchers in fundraising and protecting the outcome of their research;

• Develop joint research projects with industrial partners.

For many years, the ULB has been supporting initiatives to facilitate the creation of spin-offs:

• 3 incubators (EEBIC, Solvay Entrepreneurs, Biopark Incubator 1) offer training, coaching and consultancy in order to support researchers throughout the entrepreneurial process;

• The Theodorus Investment Fund, created in 2006, is specifically dedicated to setting up university spinoffs, by investing and facilitating fundraising during the initiation phase;

• The ULB is a leading university located in the heart of Brussels, the capital of Europe. The ULB is inherently international: 21,000 students (29% of whom come from abroad); 16% international staff. The ULB is a founding member of UNICA, a network of universities from the capitals of Europe, and plays a leading role in international R&D and mobility programmes.

• The ULB is internationally acknowledged and has received prestigious awards on numerous occasions for its academic excellence: 3 Nobel Prizes, 1 Fields Medal, 1 Abel Prize, 3 Wolf Prizes, 4 European Research Council grants, 2 Marie Curie Awards and many key national prizes;

• The ULB is a multi-disciplinary university covering all major fields and study cycles, composed of 11 faculties, 3 schools and 1 institute;

• The ULB lives up to its social, societal and scientific responsibilities with utmost commitment by combining broad-based teaching with high-level research, encompassing more than 3,500 researchers and 500 research units. The ULB is a key-player in the economic development of the regions in which it is based (Brussels and Wallonia)and comprises 25 spin-offs, 1 academic hospital (Erasme Hospital), 1 cancer research institute (Jules Bordet Institute), and an extensive hospital network.

Business developer

Legaladvisor

Project fundraising

IP protection

Research

Industry

ResearchprojectsConnecting research and business

Scientific advisor

R&D projects and technology transfer

II. About the technology trAnsfer Process

The technology transfer venture starts when a researcher believes that his/her outcomes may be of commercial interest.

What are technology transfer solutions?

The most common technology transfer solutions are: research contracts, patents, license agreements, and the creation of spin-offs.

A research contract allows the development or transfer of technology directly with industry, either through research efforts or by providing scientific services. The research project is funded in part or wholly by a company. The latter receives specific rights and/or access to the intellectual property generated as a compensation for its scientific input and funding. Within the scope of its research and educational mission, the university ensures researchers remain entitled to publish their scientific results.

A license agreement allows the transfer of technology, granting the licensee the rights to develop and commercialise related products and/or services under predefined conditions.

Should researchers want to commercialise the outcome of their research, they may set up a spin-off. A spin-off is a privately-owned company based on the commercial value of academic research, benefitting from any associated IP.

Research Intellectual Property (IP)

Innovation(research contracts,

patents, and spin-offs)

III. fActs & fIgures

A. Patents

The protection of IP can be achieved through patents filing, among others.

In 2010, the ULB applied for 20 patents, thus contributing to the patent portfolio of 115 active patents. the number of applications has remained constant since 2006.

Portfolio size 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Patent families 7 17 14 10 21 21 19

Active patent families

44 53 62 65 73 93 103

The ULB offers a very diverse portfolio. While still dominant in the fields of Health and Biotechnology, our portfolio has expanded in the following fields: medical apparatus, chemistry/materials and engineering devices (sensors, fibre optics, etc.)

ULB Patents Portfolio

Engineering devices(Physics, Telecommunications,

Optics, Mechanics)

Chemistry / Materials

Medical apparatus

Diagnostic and predictive markers

Cell therapy

Biotechnologies / Health

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

16

9

14

13

5

46

b. licensing

In 2009, 5 license agreements were signed. Moreover, 6 letters of intents and 1 pre-agreement are expected to materialise into license agreements in 2010. In the first quarter of 2010, 3 new agreements had already been signed.

similarly to patents, the number of license agreements and pre-agreements has been on the rise since 2006 and now exceeds one third of our patent portfolio (well above international benchmarking standards).

Evolution of license agreements

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

22

2003

0

22

2004

1

23

2005

1

24

2006

3

27

2007

3

License agreements

Cumulative sum of license agreements

41

2009

5

2008

9

36

c. spin-offs

from 2006 to 2010, 12 spin-offs have been created, totalling 25 since 1991.

Evolution of ULB spin-offs created

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

12

2003

1 1 10

13

2004

20

Number of spin-offs created

Number of active spin-offs

Bankruptcy

2005

0

15

2006

3

0

3 2

16

2007

00

19

2008

20

3

02009

23

3

2010 (april)

25

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 20092010 (1st Q)

Creation of companies 1 2 1 3 0 3 3 3

Existing companies 12 13 15 16 19 20 23 25

ulb spin-offs

DecisDevelopment of computer applications on data visualization resources ICT optimization

Euroscreen Biopharmacy

Lambda X space optics and optics methodology

Biotech tools

Biotech toolsProduction of devices for the diagnosis and treatment of immune diseases

Optimal design Software applications for logistics

Micromega dynamics Vibration deadening system

Unibioscreen Cancer diagnosis

Henogen Experimental allergology

Brucells (ULB-VUB) Immunology

Delphi Genetics DNA engineering

Euro Heat Pipes Thermal regulation of spatial devices

Aliwen Vegetable agrotechnology

ulb spin-offs

DNA Vision Molecular biology

Mentis Artificial Intelligence

Bone therapeutics Cellular therapy

HMS Archaeological sites management

NoLink & Everyone Mobile telephony

MHBelgium & MHMadagascar

Sea cucumber aquaculture

Epsynomics Breast cancer prognosis

ETT Endoscopic devices

MDB Anesthaesia and physical therapy devices

OvizioWater quality assessment through holographic microscopy

SQR TechnologiesComputer services based on quantum technologies

Decision Sights Support to multicriteria decision aid

Bioxodes Immunology

IV. netWorks & contActs

ULB TTO is a member of the lieu network, which gathers TTOs from the Belgian French-speaking universities and higher education institutions. The Lieu network creates and strengthens ties between the academic world, industrial partners and public instances, by improving the visibility of the academic portfolio. ULB TTO is also a member of the Proton and ASTP networks.

Please contact us should you have any further queries.

We would like to thank the TTO team and Head of Research Department for their valuable input and advice.

Production and editing : Frederique Margraff

Publisher : Isabelle Lefebvre, ULB TTO, Avenue F.D. Roosevelt, 50, CP 161, 1050 Brussels

Third Edition, printed June 2011