A bi-annual update on the activities of UMIP, the University’s intellectual property commercialisation company Issue 2, November 2009 UMIP - REPUTATION AND VALUE THROUGH INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ® UMIP CELEBRATES ITS FIFTH BIRTHDAY UMIPNEWS During the event, UMIC and UMIP took stock of the achievements following five years of successful bioscience and technology commercialisation and incubation since the 2004 creation of the new University of Manchester. UMIP is widely recognised in the UK and beyond for the quality of its IP management, with the University investing over £1.5 million in ‘proof of principle’ bioscience projects alone. UMIP Chairman Peter Sanderson addressed the delegates and said: “In addition to helping to secure over £35 million from various sources including share sales and IP grants, UMIP has built a share asset value of £9 million, represented by 20 spin-outs employing over 500 people. These spin-outs alone have an annual combined sales turnover of £17 million, and they’ve also placed about £2 million of research contracts with the University. We currently manage over 150 licence and patent cases, and there’s a very strong pipeline of more to come. UMIP working together with The University of Manchester and UMIC has certainly had five years of positive impact in the northwest region and beyond, and we are looking forward to the future.” Sir William Castell’s plenary address took note of the global economic drivers for new technology and commercial opportunities in food security, bio-fuels and clean technology, with Manchester in good shape to capitalise on these opportunities through its business incubation and research commercialisation activities. Sir William also paid tribute to what UMIC had helped to achieve in the past ten years, pointing to the breaking on the day news of DxS’s £80 million acquisition by German diagnostic testing giant Qiagen. The Manchester Incubator Building provided the first dedicated facility for biotechnology firms starting up in the northwest region. Thirty three bioscience companies are trading from UMIC’s facilities, and have created more than 850 high- value jobs. Bioscience now represents a significant area of economic activity in the northwest, attracting in excess of £300 million in financing and investment deals. Dr Martino Picardo, UMIC’s managing director, commented: “The event has showcased to local and national audiences what vision, focus and hard work can achieve. From the vision in 1999 that Manchester should build and develop world-class biotechnology businesses and facilities to the numerous success stories and wealth creation that our bio-entrepreneurs represent to the city and to the northwest region.” It was celebrations all round recently as UMIP enters its sixth year whilst sister firm UMIC celebrated the tenth anniversary of The Manchester Incubator Building and its own fifth birthday. The two organisations came together for a joint event at the CTF building on Grafton Street on September 23rd which was headed by Sir William Castell, Chairman of the Wellcome Trust. Sir William Castell with Dr Martino Picardo, MD, UMIC Sir William Castell with Prof Rod Coombs, VP for Innovation & Economic Development Exhibition in the Atrium Networking over lunch
Transcript
A bi-annual update on the activities of UMIP, the University’sintellectual property commercialisation company
Issue 2, November 2009
UMIP - REPUTATION AND VALUE THROUGH INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY®
UMIP CELEBRATESITS FIFTH BIRTHDAY
UMIPNEWS
During the event, UMIC andUMIP took stock of theachievements following fiveyears of successful bioscienceand technologycommercialisation andincubation since the 2004creation of the new Universityof Manchester. UMIP is widelyrecognised in the UK andbeyond for the quality of itsIP management, with theUniversity investing over £1.5million in ‘proof of principle’bioscience projects alone.
UMIP Chairman PeterSanderson addressed thedelegates and said: “Inaddition to helping to secureover £35 million from varioussources including share salesand IP grants, UMIP has builta share asset value of £9million, represented by 20spin-outs employing over 500people. These spin-outsalone have an annualcombined sales turnover of£17 million, and they’ve alsoplaced about £2 million ofresearch contracts with theUniversity. We currently
manage over 150 licence andpatent cases, and there’s avery strong pipeline of moreto come. UMIP workingtogether with The Universityof Manchester and UMIC hascertainly had five years ofpositive impact in thenorthwest region andbeyond, and we are lookingforward to the future.”
Sir William Castell’s plenaryaddress took note of theglobal economic drivers fornew technology andcommercial opportunities infood security, bio-fuels andclean technology, withManchester in good shape tocapitalise on theseopportunities through itsbusiness incubation andresearch commercialisationactivities. Sir William also paidtribute to what UMIC hadhelped to achieve in the pastten years, pointing to thebreaking on the day news ofDxS’s £80 million acquisitionby German diagnostic testinggiant Qiagen.
The Manchester IncubatorBuilding provided the firstdedicated facility forbiotechnology firms startingup in the northwest region.Thirty three biosciencecompanies are trading fromUMIC’s facilities, and havecreated more than 850 high-value jobs. Bioscience nowrepresents a significant areaof economic activity in thenorthwest, attracting in excessof £300 million in financingand investment deals.
Dr Martino Picardo, UMIC’smanaging director,commented: “The event hasshowcased to local andnational audiences whatvision, focus and hard workcan achieve. From the visionin 1999 that Manchestershould build and developworld-class biotechnologybusinesses and facilities tothe numerous success storiesand wealth creation that ourbio-entrepreneurs representto the city and to thenorthwest region.”
It was celebrations all round recently as UMIP enters itssixth year whilst sister firm UMIC celebrated the tenthanniversary of The Manchester Incubator Building andits own fifth birthday. The two organisations cametogether for a joint event at the CTF building onGrafton Street on September 23rd which was headedby Sir William Castell, Chairman of the Wellcome Trust.
Sir William Castell with Dr MartinoPicardo, MD, UMIC
Sir William Castell with Prof Rod Coombs, VP for Innovation & Economic Development
Exhibition in the Atrium
Networking over lunch
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The UMIP Premier Fund (UPF) continues toprove the model that the outstandingresearch from The University of Manchesteris capable of sustaining sufficient excitingbusiness opportunities for a VentureCapital (VC) fund of substantial scale(£32m). This view was recently endorsed bybeing shortlisted for the Investor Allstarsgap fund of the year award.
The gap fund category exists to recognisefunds that operate in traditionallydifficult segments of the VC market,where many others fear to tread. Early-stage technology investments is oneof those segments and what we areachieving in Manchester will hopefully goon to stimulate more similar activityacross the UK. With the UPF model,Manchester is leading the way.
One and a half years into the fund, theinvestments we have made so far areprogressing well. Nano ePrint (School ofEEE), Arvia Technology (School ofChemical Engineering) and Myconostica(School of Medicine) have all madeprogress on the performance proxies.Arvia in particular has hit the headlineswith a string of awards with its watertreatment technology and I’m sure we’llbe hearing more from them in the yearsto come.
However, the story of the last six monthsprobably belongs to the UPF’s proof ofprinciple (PoP) investments and its PoPentrepreneurs. PoP investments are £50 -£100k commitments aimed atsubstantially reducing technical risk in acommercialisation project orunderstanding the market better, or most
often both of these. The part of thefund allocated to PoP investments ismanaged by UMIP, with MTI in a supportcapacity, and congratulations must go toUMIP to bringing to the fore somefascinating projects. These include tissueregeneration, medical imaging,diagnostics, IT physical networkmanagement, new dialysis techniques,energy generation and even flyingmachines. These come from a widerange of schools including Materials,Medical, EEE, FLS and MACE. Embarkingon this journey will require hard work,personal development, adapting skill sets,making new friends and doing somequite different activities compared withnormal academic life. Although it won’talways work out and generate financialbenefit, most academics view the processas a positive experience.
MTI is, of course, working hard to add toour substantial commitments to date andwe are on the brink of securinginvestments into a number of UoM spin-outs – but more about those next time…
UMIP PREMIER FUND UPDATE...
UMIP’s Commercialisation Executivesare your first point of call for anyquestions you may have should youhave an idea or observation and arewondering if it has potential value.
If you are working on research that you think has commercialpotential, we would be pleased to hear from you.
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Mark RahnInvestment ManagerMTI Partners (Managers of the UMIP Premier Fund)
www.theupf.com
ConformetrixA new dimension in drug discovery
NANO ePRINT - PRINTED ELECTRONICS
Conformetrix, based in the CoreTechnology Facility on GraftonStreet, is a drug discoverycompany at the cutting edge ofligand-based drug design. Theydesign new drugs by copyingthe templates provided by otherligands, ranging from marketeddrugs through to the naturalmolecules those drugs mimic, forexample, hormones and othersignalling molecules. This is aworld-first capability that allowsthe rapid development of newdrugs for any disease target.
Conformetrix’s technologyplatform is built on a substantialbody of intellectual property,including patent applications,
proprietary software tools andassociated know-how developedat The University of Manchesterwith initial help from a £60kproof-of-principle award fromUMIP. It provides a new andcomplementary strategy toexisting drug discovery processesthat will increase success rates andopen up previously intractabletargets to rational design.
Conformetrix are now looking topartner with key leaders in thepharmaceutical industry andhave identified approximately 70GPCR & ion-channel targets.These are membrane-boundproteins that control much of thebody’s signalling that regulate
everything from blood pressurethrough to appetite, rather likemolecular switches. They becomedisrupted during disease and aretherefore important interventionpoints for any potentially newpharmaceutical. This represents amulti-billion dollar marketopportunity and Conformetrixoffers a unique competitiveadvantage in pre-clinical drug discovery.
Dr Gordon Barker, CommercialDirector, comments: “This is agame-changing technology forthe pharmaceutical industry –finally addressing the unmetneed for accurate data on thebioactive shape of drugs.”
CONFORMETRIX – RATIONAL DRUG DESIGN
UMIP has assisted Dr Hobbs El-Sobky fromthe School ofMechanical, Aerospaceand Civil Engineering(MACE) transfer aninnovative pipelineextrusion and welding
system to a pipeline construction company based in Alberta, Canada.
The system utilises a dynamicextrusion die to extrude highstrength composite pipessuitable for the oil & gas andwater industries, coupled with acomplementary welding processbased on friction heating.
The extrusion die utilises severalinternal moving elements tocreate three types of flow of thecomposite melt in order to
control the molecular and fibreorientation processes. The frictionbased welding system produces acontinuous weld with excellentmixing across the interface.
Trials of the process havedemonstrated its reliability andsimplicity, which initiallyattracted the company to Dr El-Sobky’s technology, togetherwith the high internal pressurecapacity of the extruded product.
The technology has securedmore than £700K of fundingfrom sources including EPSRC,DTI, Sekisui Chemical Co. andother companies.
The company is set to gain fromthe shift away from traditionalpiping materials, particularly inthe North American market.
Plastic pipelines are beingincreasingly sourced in a bid toalleviate problems associatedwith poor installation, whichhave plagued the pipelineinstallation industry over many years.
Development and testing of theprocesses have commenced, witha view to achieving certificationand conducting field trialswithin two years.
UMIP licensing manager, ClareArkwright, comments: “It’stestament to the innovativedesign of this technology thatthe Canadian company isinvesting several million dollarsto take this system to market,recognising its potential value.”
Following his recent retirementfrom the University, El-Sobky,who continues his academicresearch and teaching as aProfessor of Design andInnovation in Augsburg,Germany, said: “The researchcontinues and brings theprospect of cooperationbetween Industry, Manchesterand Augsburg.”
DYNAMIC DIES – A NEW CONCEPT IN EXTRUSION OF REINFORCED PLASTIC PIPELINES
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Nano ePrint Ltd is set to be apioneer in the printedelectronics industry, a marketexpected to reach $300Bnduring the next 20 years. Aspin-out from Professor AiminSong's group within the Schoolof Electrical and ElectronicEngineering, it is based in high-specification laboratories inUMIC’s Manchester Incubatorbuilding on Grafton Street.
Nano ePrint owns a suite ofintellectual property related to aplanar nanoelectronics platformwhich it is commercialising forprinted electronics. Printedelectronics looks to adaptconventional printingtechnologies to createfunctional devices forapplications such as smartpackaging, disposableelectronics, electronic paper andelectronic barcodes.
Whereas other groupsdeveloping printed transistorshave struggled with largefeature sizes of printingcompared to semiconductorprocesses, resulting in largetransistors and low performance,
Nano ePrint has been able toovercome this with its singlelayer planar nano-transistor(PNT) design.
Nano ePrint can fabricate PNT-based electronic devices in asingle layer of thin-filmsemiconductor, deposited on lowcost flexible substrate, using asingle-step patterning approach.This approach allows NanoePrint to retain a compact circuitfootprint and underpins itsproduct development strategyfor printed programmable logic.
Nano ePrint has received over£1M of venture funding fromthe UMIP Premier Fund (UPF),the University’s Seed Challenge
Fund and private investors, andis currently finalising its firstproduct prototype.
www.nanoeprint.com
LATEST LICENSING & SPIN-OUT NEWS
www.conformetrix.com
Final ConceptDesign – FrictionWeld Tooling
Nanoco Group plc, a worldleader in the developmentand manufacture ofcommercial quantities ofquantum dots (fluorescentsemi-conducting materials),has just signed a jointdevelopment agreementwith a major Japaneseelectronics company underwhich it will design anddevelop quantum dots foruse in light emitting diodes(LEDs) in liquid crystal display(LCD) televisions.
Nanoco, which wasestablished in 2001, is a spin-out company of theSchool of Chemistry and hasits headquarters in the CoreTechnology Facility onGrafton Street.
In July, Nanoco was named asthe fastest growing companyin Manchester by Crain’sManchester Business. MichaelEdelman, Nanoco’s ChiefExecutive Officer, has alsorecently been announcedVenture Capital backed CEOof the Year for the Northwestregion as part of the BritishVenture Capital Association(BVCA) CEO Awards.
The announcement of thenew joint developmentagreement continues theNanoco success story.
Under the agreement,Nanoco will receive anupfront payment to developthe technology, as well as aseries of milestone payments
throughout an 18-monthdevelopment programme.On completion of thedevelopment work, the firmexpects to sign a supply andlicence agreement. Thestructure of this agreementis similar to an earlier dealsigned with anotherJapanese corporation whichwas worth $1.2 million overa 12-month developmentperiod. The developmentwork was successful and thesubsequent licenceagreement is expected togenerate a further $8 millionin milestone payments by 31December 2010.
The use of LEDs as thebacklight for liquid crystaldisplays allows a substantial
reduction in the powerconsumed by such appliances.
Nanoco's Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Michael Edelman,comments: “We aredelighted to enter into thisagreement with a majorcompany aimed at using ourquantum dots in LCD TVs.We anticipate signingfurther deals in the LEDmarket. This represents justone of the key areas inwhich we are making rapidprogress in thecommercialisation of our quantum dotdevelopment, scale up andmanufacturing technology.”
NANOCO SUCCESS CONTINUES
FURTHER SUCCESS FOR UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTERSPIN-OUT COMPANIES IN GLOBAL HEALTHCAREPhotoMedex acquires Photo Therapeutics
In March, Photo Therapeutics(PTL) was acquired for $20Mby the US-listed companyPhotoMedex. PTL,established in the late 1990s,is based on patentedtechnology developed byColin Whitehurst, aresearcher at The Universityof Manchester’s PatersonInstitute for Cancer Research,with funding from CancerResearch UK.
UMIP and Cancer ResearchTechnology providedassistance with the formationand development of the company.
PTL develops non-laser lightdevices and associated skincare products for the
treatment of a range ofclinical and aestheticdermatological conditionssuch as acne, photodamage,skin rejuvenation, psoriasis,post-surgery wound healingand non-melanoma skincancer. PhotoMedexdevelops, manufactures andmarkets medical laserproducts and services acrossmultiple specialty areas.
Sue D'Arcy, CEO of PTL, said:“We are all excited about theacquisition, it gives PTL theopportunity to leverage thedirect sales force thatPhotoMedex Inc has in theStates and move to the next level with this great technology."
News of the acquisition cameshortly after Epistemannounced its $4m R&D
collaboration with Novartis.Epistem was also spun outfrom the Paterson Institute.
Clive Rowland, CEO of UMIPsaid: “Both companies are atthe leading edge of newtechnological developmentsin extremely importanttherapeutic areas such ascancer and dermatology.Their internationalrecognition is a great successfor The University and for theworld-leading cancer researchand care organisations inManchester like The PatersonInstitute and The Christiewhich all work in partnershipwith Cancer Research UK inthe Manchester CancerResearch Centre.”
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www.nanocotechnologies.com
www.phototherapeutics.co.uk
www.epistem.co.uk
BREAKTHROUGH TECHNOLOGY’S25TH ANNIVERSARY
Pictured outside the ENER-G factory are Alan Barlow,managing director of the group’s Combined Powerbusiness (left) and Clive Rowland.
Spin-out company Arvia® Technology,winners of the Institution of Engineeringand Technology’s (IET) North WestInnovation Award in July, has just beennamed a Global Cleantech 100 companyby Guardian News and Media andCleantech Group™.
Arvia® offers a low carbon, chemical andwaste free process for the onsitetreatment and recycling of industrialwaste water. The technology capturespollutants using Nyex, Arvia’s patentedmaterial and then destroys them byapplying a low-power electric current.Arvia® says this combined function is aninnovation first and also 90 per centcheaper than conventional techniques.
The Global Cleantech 100 is the first everlist highlighting the most promisingprivate clean technology companiesaround the world. Supported by theCarbon Trust, the Global Cleantech 100
recognises companies at the forefront of cleantech innovation offeringsolutions to some of the world’s mostpressing environmental challenges. Some 3,500 companies were nominatedand considered.
Arvia’s CEO, Martin Keighley, said: “Beinglisted in The Global Cleantech 100 is atremendous achievement for Arvia®
Technology, and of course The Universityof Manchester - the origin of thetechnology. Martin continues: “Arvia® isstill young, and relatively small whencompared to many of the othercompanies listed, so this only highlightsthe quality and level of innovation in ourplatform technology.”
www.arviatechnology.com
ARVIA® TECHNOLOGY NAMED AGLOBAL CLEANTECH 100 COMPANY
UMIP SPONSORSAWARDSUMIP would like to acknowledge thededication of researchers involved intechnology commercialisation activitiesand industrial collaborations throughthe introduction of awards and prizes.
In September, UMIP sponsored twoawards at the Faculty of Life SciencesResearch Symposium - an Award for IPInnovation and an Award for IndustrialCollaboration. The IP Innovation Awardwas won by Dr Andrew Almond, CEO ofConformetrix Ltd, a rational drugdesign/discovery company spun out ofthe Faculty by UMIP.
The Award for Industrial Collaborationwas won by Dr Anil Day for his work inthe agribusiness and biopharmaceuticalsectors with companies ranging fromDuPont to Monsanto.
Dr Rich Ferrie, Head of UMIP’sBiomedica team, presented prizes ofnew PCs to both winners.
Sustainable power company ENER-G hasmarked the 25th anniversary of its globalcombined heat and power (CHP)business, launched in 1984 followingpioneering research and developmentwork by Manchester academics.
Founded as Manchester’s first spin-outbusiness, Combined Power Systems (CPS)has since become part of Salford-basedENER-G, which turns over £90 million andemploys more than 700 staff worldwide.
The groundbreaking R&D work wascarried out by a team at UMIST - nowThe University of Manchester – whodeveloped remote monitoring andcontrol systems that made low carbonCHP technology viable on a globalindustrial scale.
To mark the anniversary, ENER-G hosted aspecial reception on Tuesday 8thSeptember for original spin-out teammember Clive Rowland, now UMIP’s CEO.
Clive commented: “The evolution of theoriginal spin-out business into thesuccessful technology company istremendously satisfying personally anddemonstrates the University’s contributionto business and the environment.”
GLOBAL RECOGNITION FOR THOMPSON AND IPNETMark Thompson, UMIP’sHead of MarketDevelopment, is amongst thetop 250 of the world’sleading IP strategists.
The listing, published byIntellectual Asset Magazine(IAM), identifies individualswho are thought leaders andlead innovators in the world-class services that enable IPowners to maximise thevalue of their rightsportfolios. The IAM teamselected Mark for inclusionfollowing the globalrecognition for his work indeveloping new platforms tomarket technology.
One such platform whichMark has created is IPNet - afree technology portal
which aims to bring together technology seekersand providers.
It enables users to marketnew technologies through aninternational system whichuses a simple but proven e-mail format to communicatethe IP benefits to thosepeople seeking technologies.
The system delivers a feed ofquality technology offers orrequests to subscribers in asuccinct and tailored way,allowing people to review alarge number of technologiesvery quickly. The distinctiveand simple format has beendeveloped and tested overthe last 18 months to ensureit is simple and easy to use.The system is suitable for
SMEs to use to market theirIP, but it is also being used byUniversities includingLancaster, Birmingham,Salford, Bangor, Leicester,Bradford, Leeds and Essexand is being sponsored bycorporate users includingUnilever and BAE Systems.
Commenting on his place inthe listing Mark said: ”Thelist was compiled by bothpeer feedback andprofessional research so it isreassuring to have your workrecognised at all levels. I amparticularly proud to be theonly person from a UKUniversity to have beenselected by the magazine.”
BEHIND THE SCENESIn this column, we will betaking a look behind thescenes to meet some of ourUMIP support staff. In thisissue, we focus on PeterWelsh. Peter is Head ofUMIP’s Legal and IP teamand is responsible for alllegal aspects of UMIP’sactivities. In the fourteenyears that Peter has beenwith UMIP, he has arrangedcontracts for spin-outcompanies, licensingagreements and spin-in arrangements.
Peter, whose links withManchester date back to hisdays as a Law student atMMU, works as part of afour-strong team and withexternal advisors to ensurethat the legal aspects ofevery contract are as close towatertight as possible. Heexplains: ”I typically workwith the venture or licensingmanagers to put in place anycontracts that are requiredto support the commercialactivity. This can involveliaising with the externalpatent agents, agreeing
heads of terms or securingconfidentiality agreements.Obviously the scope of theday to day work isdependent on the exactnature of each job whichvaries from project to projectso there is plenty of changeand variety.”
He continues: ”Occasionally,people can leave the legalaspects of a deal to the lastminute which can result inthe whole process being heldup. If I had one word ofadvice to anyone requiring
the services of the legalteam, it would be to comeand see us sooner ratherthan later so that we canlook at all the legal aspectsin good time.”
The Impact Awards,organised by Unico, the UK’sleading knowledge transfermembership association,were open to all sectors ofresearch that have made anoutstanding impact throughsuccessful knowledgetransfer. They recognise andcelebrate the success ofcollaborative working and
the process of transferringknowledge and expertisefrom the research base ofhigher education and thepublic sector for the widerbenefit of society and theeconomy. Awards were alsomade for a series of novelinnovations in two otheraward categories:
Environmental Impact andPublic Policy and Service Impact.
Dr Rich Ferrie, UMIP’s Headof BioMedica Group, pickedup the Business ImpactAward at the Association’sGala Dinner at BrightonRacecourse in June.
UMIP WINS BUSINESS IMPACT CATEGORY AT UNICO AWARDS
www.theintellectualproperty.net
From left to right, Kim Hayward, BDOStoy Hayward, Lita Nelsen, Director ofthe Technology Licensing Office, MITand Dr Rich Ferrie
