Duke Inventions Bring $82.6M in Revenue and Launch 6 New Start-Ups
DURHAM, N.C. – September 18, 2024 – Duke University’s Office for Translation and Commercialization (OTC), which is responsible for managing Duke-owned intellectual property (IP) and supporting Duke inventors, has released its fiscal year 2024 annual metrics. From groundbreaking therapies to new materials, OTC also celebrates 100 years of innovations from Duke inventors as part of the Duke Centennial.
In FY24, OTC brought in $82.6 million in revenue, the result of Duke inventions making it to industry and the market. This revenue is distributed to Duke inventors and their labs, departments, and schools. OTC received 302 new invention disclosures, entered into 63 total agreements, submitted 428 patent applications, and was issued 94 patents.
These annual metrics, while lower than last year’s records, come at a time when the investing ecosystem has been challenging, particularly in biotech. Federal funding for Duke’s research, where innovation begins, is also lower across the university as reported by the Office for Research & Innovation.
“Looking forward, we’re focusing our efforts on outreach to our faculty and clinicians to support Duke innovation and grow the pipeline of Duke inventions, start-ups, and industry partnerships,” said Robin Rasor, Associate VP for Translation & Commercialization. “Tech transfer is an exercise in diligent patience, as evidenced by the decades-long journey of vorasidenib, our newest drug recently approved by the FDA.”
Looking to build a sustainable future of innovation at Duke, OTC is supporting early-stage translational research, funding Duke-affiliated start-ups through Duke Capital Partners (DCP), and investing in rising talent among Duke inventors and across OTC’s internal team.
Through its Gilhuly Accelerator Fund, OTC this year invested $1.2 million across 16 projects. The focus of this fund is to accelerate the commercialization of Duke innovators’ projects through financial and other support of asset development and de-risking activities.
“It really does ‘take a village,’” said Dr. Tobias Straube, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, whose Gilhuly-funded catheter oxygenator project received about $1 million in follow-on funding from BARDA and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
“Key to our success were the ongoing internal small grants and basic business strategy advice that Duke provided us in the early days to coax this project along,” he added, citing extensive support through OTC’s Duke New Ventures (DNV) program, as well as additional support from the Pratt School of Engineering and the Duke-Coulter Translational Partnership.
Duke Capital Partners, the early-stage venture investment arm of Duke University, invested in 18 Duke-affiliated start-ups, a record high. DCP’s 2024 fiscal year total investments came to $12.3 million, a second highest total annual investment.
“Duke Capital Partners recently surpassed a significant milestone in support of Duke faculty founders and the University’s research translation and commercialization initiative. Since our launch in 2015, DCP has invested over $31 million into faculty founded startups,” said Kurt Schmidt, Managing Director of Duke Capital Partners. “This year, we’ve invested in 18 startups, 11 led by bold Duke faculty members.”
Duke New Ventures, OTC’s start-up program for innovators with Duke-owned IP, supported 34 projects, with 6 new Duke companies emerging this year. Three existing DNV startups were acquired: Infinia ML, DaVinci Education, and Tyrata.
OTC also expanded its investment and support of young talent. To support Duke’s translational and entrepreneurial researchers, OTC held several training and networking events, including a Tech Commercialization Boot Camp, Triangle Venture Day, and Life Sciences Entrepreneurial Training Workshop. Many of these events were organized by Duke New Ventures and held in partnership with two other Triangle universities, UNC and NC State, as well as the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and the venture capital arm of Alexandria Real Estate Equity’s RTP operations.
“We have a lot of great talent here,” said Jeff Welch, Director of Duke New Ventures. “Our goal is to set Duke’s entrepreneurial technical founders up for success, focus their efforts, and help them develop efficient start-ups that can bring products to the market. Even in very challenging venture financing markets like the current one, focusing on the nuts and bolts of how to build good companies is a winning strategy.”
Internally, OTC’s three student programs trained a total of 68 students, three of which were hired as full-time staff members at OTC. OTC also brought in additional new talent to its Tech Marketing and Licensing teams.
Looking forward to the next 100 years of Duke, OTC remains committed to bolstering Duke inventors and translational research to bring innovation to the market for the benefit of society.
Want to learn more about the innovation pipeline at Duke and inventor successes? RSVP for the free Invented at Duke 2024 event, evening of Wednesday, November 20th.
