Calling the University's technology transfer program a "powerhouse," the Philadelphia Business Journal recently reaffirmed that Penn's program is one of the best in the nation.
Generating $30 million in income for the University in 2002, Penn's Center for Technology Transfer started its endeavors in 1986, was reorganized in 1995 and gained national prominence by 2002.
Located at 31st and Chestnut streets, the center hopes to train the business development executives of tomorrow by offering Penn faculty, graduate and post-graduate students an opportunity to receive support for their research expenditures and startup companies.
According to staff writer Peter Key of the Philadelphia Business Journal, Penn received a ranking of No. 8 in the country for total sponsored research expenditures. Most of the companies started at Penn are life science firms.
In order to establish these startup companies, the tech center assists faculty with invention disclosure submissions -- the first step to gaining funding for an innovative idea.
"The number of disclosures has constantly gone up year after year after year," said Tom Fitzsimmons, director of startup business development.
In 2002, the CTT helped 12 startup companies enter into the commercial world. Yet two years later, the number of companies formed more than quadrupled, to 51 startups.
One such startup was Robert Sigafoos of the Veterinary School, who licensed Sigafoos Series Horseshoes to Sound Horse Technologies. These horseshoes help reduce the stress that results from the typical nailed-in horseshoes and ultimately helps to prevent lameness in horses.
Sigafoos is just one example of the center's success. The CTT has helped promote success by recruiting faculty, promoting economic growth, generating income and helping faculty create closer bonds within the technology industry.
Since CTT's reorganization, Center Managing Director Louis Berneman has watched the program's success skyrocket.
He added that the center currently receives around 30 submissions a month. Each of these disclosures are marked confidential upon submission.
The disclosure method "is a rigorous process that looks for technical merit, protectibility and [where the idea] fits into the faculty's overall area of technology," Fitzsimmons explained.
Only approximately 50 percent of these disclosures are approved. Those that make the cut typically require approximately $2 million in government and private research funding.
Despite these costs, the program generates millions for the University and through this income, the center hopes to help the Philadelphia region -- as well as the rest of the nation and the world -- by producing new companies and in turn expanding the job market.
Likewise, it follows that there is also an array of companies that have so far been approved.
Ophthalmology professors Richard Stone and Alan Laties are just one example of a successful endeavor. Stone and Laties developed a pharmacological approach to managing nearsightedness, a problem that impacts 25 million people worldwide.
"This area of study has become a major research interest for me, and I have had significant research funding," Stone said.
Stone added that both he and Laties have through their research "found a series of drugs that influence refractive development and prevent nearsightedness in laboratory animals."
The tech center staff continues to look forward to more successful endeavors such as that of Stone and Laties and praises the changes it has conducted thus far.
Recognizing this success, Berneman said in an interview with the Philadelphia Business Journal, "I can tell you that between 1986 and the way Penn does things today, it's 180 degrees of difference."
