Transcript Document

Success Factors in Technology Transfer
Oxford Case Study
Tim Cook
Director, Isis Innovation, University of Oxford
Visiting Professor in Science Entrepreneurship, Said Business School
Tim Cook
> BA Physics, DPhil Cryogenics - Oxford University
> HNC Mechanical Engineering - Oxford Polytechnic
> Diploma Accounting & Finance - Institute of Certified Accountants
> Managing Director of tech based companies
(1983 – 90)
7 yrs
> Oxford Analytical Instruments
> Microsystem Design Limited
> Micrelec plc
> Private Investor
(1990 – 97)
> Founding Managing Director Oxford Semiconductor
> Founding Managing Director Oxford Asymmetry
> University Technology Transfer
7 yrs
(1997 – 2007)
10 yrs
> Director Isis Innovation, Oxford University (1997-2007)
> Visiting Professor in Science Entrepreneurship, Oxford University (2006)
Contents
Universities
Academics and Industrialists
Investors and Three Dimensions
Oxford Results and Tricks
Universities in a Commercial Environment
Speakers message
> Knowledge transfer is stimulating communication
between very different cultures
> The cultures will not in general spontaneously
understand each other
> But there has always been the occasional multi linguist!
> Therefore intermediaries are required
> at least to start with
> It only works if the intermediaries have a real
understanding of both cultures
> There is not a single recipe that always works
> But there are some underlying principles
What are Universities for?
> Research & Teaching
> The creation and transmission of knowledge
> These both have a major economic impact
> Creative thinkers (in science, arts and humanities)
> A workforce trained in some useful areas
> But not all useful areas!
University Innovations
> Range from inventions & new processes to new
philosophies & political thought
> Most of this talk is about the former but let’s not forget
the others
They may well have a more profound long-term impact on our lives
Why is it difficult 1 - Academics
> Universities have developed a self consistent set of
values and behaviours which have enabled some of
them to survive and prosper for a long time
(Darwinian)
> This ethos can be summarised as:
> The pursuit, preservation, development and dissemination of
knowledge
> Many of the most successful practitioners in
universities are independent individuals who really
see themselves as self-employed
Why is it difficult 2 - Industrialists
> The commercial world has also developed a self
consistent set of values and behaviours. These can
be summarised under two headings
> Internal coherence
> All members of the company must have the same version of
the master plan and work to it
> Management accountability
> The company is accountable to the shareholders and the
employees to the company
> These are not the same as university values
The Challenge
Commerce
Researcher
> Driven by external needs
> Clear goals with
shareholder commitments
> Commercial confidentiality
> Self directed
> Next step defined by
yesterday’s results
> Free exchange of ideas
“Academics never deliver”
“Industry is out to cheat us”
So we can expect it will be challenging to
build a mutually trusting relationship
Orthogonal Value Sets
2D Intermediary
Commercial axis
Research ->
Products
Licence or
consultancy
Academic axis
€ ->Research
An additional challenge
> If we are talking about spinout companies, rather
than consultancy or licensing there is a third axis
> In addition to academia and industry there are
investors
> Investors are not the same as industrialists
Why is it difficult 3 - Investors
> Investors have yet a third set of values and
behaviours, which again are self-consistent but differ
from both industry and academia
> They evaluate an opportunity, invest, if it doesn’t
perform they get out and try somewhere else
> and what happens to the firm is not their responsibility
> These are not the same as university or industrial
values
The third axis
2D Intermediary
Commercial axis
Research ->
Products
Licence
3D
Intermediary
Spin
-out
Academic axis
€ ->Research
Investor axis
€ -> €€€
To summarise
Academic
Industrial Manager
Investor
Insider
Insider
Outsider
One major interest
One company
Lots of concurrent
activities
• Route is undefined • Coordinated plan
at the start
• Coherent activity
If it’s not working
find a workaround
If it’s not working
fix it
• Evaluate
• Invest
• Monitor
If it’s not working
get out
How it goes wrong
> A company signs a licence with a university
> The company asks for a commitment that
> no-one in the University will work on anything that will
devalue the company’s licence and
> the university will offer the company any improvements that
any of its staff make to the original invention
> A year later a new academic joins the University who
is a greater expert in the field than the original
inventor
> Can the University tell him that all his future work in
the field is restricted for the benefit of the company?
The clash
> This simple case exemplifies the issue:
> The Academic does not see himself as a “bound
employee” he feels he is essentially an “independent
trader”
> On the other hand the company has paid the
University and can reasonably expect that the
University will not devalue the product that it has
sold
The common currency
> The only real common values between these different
civilisations are personal relationships
> What about money?
> Certainly they all deal in cash but the returns come in
multiple currencies with undefined exchange rates
> Academic return
> Personal cash return
> Personal feel-good return
I would like to spend a bit if time expanding on this
because I believe it is the most important point I have to
make
Academics
> Academics are our shareholders
> Isis Innovation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oxford
University
> Which is owned by the academics
> Academics are our customers
> We only get to transfer knowledge from the ones who choose
to come to us
> Academics are our suppliers
> Our raw materials are their inventions
> So they have big impact on our future prospects
Initiation by researchers
> All Isis Projects start with an approach from an
academic
> Of course we devote much effort to internal
marketing to researchers
> We make them welcome and they participate in all
decisions but
> They have to decide to start any new project
Attracting Inventions
Most attractive
A = fn (S, C)
A = Attractiveness of project
S = Strength of science
C = Commercialisability of academic
Least attractive
Dr Quiet
0%
100%
All the inventions in the University
The Beeson Gregory Project
>
>
>
>
Oxford needed a new Chemistry building costing
The Department had raised
If the University matched it government offered
So the University needed
€90m
€15m
€45m
€30m
> Beeson-Gregory offered €30m for 50% of the University’s
interest in Chemistry spinouts and licences for 15 years
> Was this a good deal for Oxford?
Requirements for intermediaries
> Must understand both value systems
> Ideally should have lived in both
> Must be fluent in both vocabularies
> And able to translate
> Must be trusted by both sides
> So the academics will risk “being cheated”
> And the industrialists will risk “having their time wasted”
Sources of intermediaries
> University technology transfer offices
> As long as they employ bilingual staff
> Diplomatically adept property owners
> Science parks, private developers
> Public sector (government officers)
> If they really do understand both values systems
> The Professionals
> Accountants, lawyers, consultants, investors, etc.
> As long as they can suspend their self-interest long enough for
the creative interactions to start
> Divisive advisors inhibit the process
> Protect their client and kill the deal
Results in Oxford 1997-2007
400
60
Staf f in Tech Transf er
Company
Cumulative licences
Licences, Consultancies
300
330
45
Cumulative consulting
250
280
Cumulative new cos
36
200
30
150
100
15
50
0
0
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Year to March 31st
2004
2005
2006
2007
Staff, Spinouts
350
55
Spinout Managers - The Rowing Boat
Spinout Managers - The Rowing Boat
Cashflow profiles
b
d
a
Cumulative
Net cash in
Time ->
c
The difficulty
> In the long term it is in everybody’s interest
But
> In the short term the costs are from a single party
Culture Change
University
entrepreneur culture
University & its
technology transfer
resource
Local professional
environment
> All three must proceed together but the University must
lead the change because..
> The ideas are in the University
> If University provides TT resource,change will happen faster
> Oxford pre-Isis 1 spin-out every 4 years, post Isis 8 per year
> If the University doesn’t lead, the University may not
receive its share of the benefits
The University
Executive
(policies)
Gene pool
Commercially
active scientists
Other
academics
Tech
transfer
office
Sub-culture in a barter economy
VC’s
Lawyers
Head
hunters
Other
start-ups
PR agents
Specialist
suppliers
Real
estate
Accountants
Leasing
Brokers
Itinerant managers
Consultants
Banks
Students
Message for Government
> We have some great universities
> If you fund research you get more and better research
> If you fund knowledge transfer you get more and better
knowledge transfer
> This gives a better commercial return on the research
spend
> and the return is disproportionately high
> because you are investing in an under-utilised asset (research results)
PS badly managed research, or badly managed knowledge
transfer is a waste of money
but does not devalue properly managed research or knowledge transfer
Success Factors
Do
>
>
>
>
>
Expect it to be difficult
Work hard to understand the different civilisations
Invest in the interface
Use only intermediaries fluent in both value sets
Focus on building trust (particularly with researchers)
Don’t
> Tell them to understand each other (they won’t!)
> Think you will ever get it all right
> Despair
“Managing” your relationship with a university
You
The
University
Like leading an elephant with a thin rubber band
 Walk along with the elephant
> In whichever direction it chooses to go
> Until it gets used to you


Start to pull gently on your rubber band
If you pull too hard or too suddenly
> You will break your rubber band and
> Have no further influence over the elephant
But
> Don’t think you will ever have complete control
Cartoon by Stoney, Ravette Publishing +44 1403 711443 Tony Lopez (Copyright)
Contacts
Isis Innovation Ltd
Ewert House
Ewert Place
Summertown
Oxford OX2 7SG
T 01865 340314
E [email protected]
www.isis-innovation.com