OHSU commercial collaborations have surged

Sponsored research income from industry rose nearly 50 percent in fiscal year 2008 and is up close to 250 percent from five years ago

PORTLAND, Ore. – Industry research collaborations – or sponsored research agreements – entered into by Oregon Health & Science University produced income in fiscal year 2008 of nearly $10 million, the OHSU Office of Technology & Research Collaborations (TRC) reported today.

That represented a 48.6 percent increase over the $6.7 million produced in the previous fiscal year and a 243 percent increase over the $2.9 million total five years ago.

Altogether, 109 industry-sponsored research agreements were signed in the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, up from 70 the previous year, a 55.7 percent increase. This was the sharpest increase in the number of agreements in the last five years, a period in which a total of 329 sponsored research agreements have been signed.

Sponsored research agreements cover projects on which OHSU plays a role, either through basic research or testing, in furthering the development of potential commercial products. TRC manages industry collaborations and research commercialization for the purpose of developing new medical therapies, diagnostics or devices that benefit the general public.

"These numbers reflect an increasingly vibrant entrepreneurial culture at OHSU in which partnerships, such as one we've forged with Intel to help people maintain their independence as they age, are flourishing," said Daniel M. Dorsa, Ph.D., OHSU's vice president for research. "Gains of this magnitude would not have been possible without the Oregon Opportunity, which combined state funds and private donations to pay for research facilities and infrastructure at OHSU that are among the most advanced in the country, and for the recruitment of world-class scientists who are blazing new trails in biomedical research."

Arundeep Pradhan, the director of TRC, described OHSU's ongoing collaboration with Intel Corporation as "an emerging model for creating effective university-industry collaborations because it enables both the company and OHSU to achieve their respective objectives. It is a prime example of the pragmatic approach we have taken in negotiating with industry, and it is that approach which has helped enable us to achieve the gains we have."

Intel's Digital Health Group has sponsored studies by OHSU researchers which focus on technological innovations to enhance independent living for the aging and to detect early markers of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases. The group is developing and testing technologies to assess cognitive and motor changes, to support instrumental activities of daily living, and to provide automated coaching to help people live healthier lives with the ultimate aim of translating the findings into health-related products, services and personalized medicine.

Intel is providing more than $3 million for the project, which involves placing sensors in the homes of scores of seniors. It is coordinated by OHSU's Oregon Center for Aging & Technology, one of the National Institutes of Health Edward R. Roybal Centers for

Research on Applied Gerontology dedicated to developing technologies that optimize the health and quality of life of older people.

Other key measures of OHSU's progress in moving discoveries toward commercialization during the last fiscal year:

• Thirteen patents were issued to OHSU innovators, up from 10 the previous year and 9 the year before for a total of 55 in the last five years.
• Sixty-seven patent applications were filed, up from 66 the previous year and 49 the year prior for a total of 307 in the last five years.
• Invention disclosures for the fiscal year totaled 108, down from 133 in fiscal year 2007 and 115 the prior year. Invention disclosures over the last five years totaled 869.
• One hundred ninety seven (197) commercialization agreements – which cover development of products based on intellectual property developed and owned by OHSU – were signed in FY08, up from 91 the previous year and 89 the year before. Overall, a total of 545 commercialization agreements have been signed in the last five years.
• The university's income for the fiscal year from commercialization agreements was $4.7 million, up from $1.2 million the previous year. Of that total, $3.8 million consisted of a one-time sublicensing fee received from Novacea, Inc., an OHSU start-up company.
• A total of 442 material transfer agreements (MTAs) were completed versus 358 the previous year and 329 the year before. MTAs are short-term contracts governing the exchange of research materials – ranging from cell lines, cultures and proteins to pharmaceuticals, reagents, software and data – with corporate researchers or researchers at other non-profit institutions. A total of 1,646 MTAs were completed in the last five years.
• Seventy-nine non-disclosure, or confidentiality, agreements were signed in fiscal year 2008, compared with 76 the previous year, 51 the year prior for a total of 316 over the last five years. Non-disclosure agreements govern how recipients, generally businesses, can use proprietary information provided by an OHSU researcher to protect patent rights.

Increases in both MTAs and non-disclosure agreements reflect the open and collaborative nature of OHSU faculty in working with colleagues in industry as well as other academic institutions.