Duke University ranks 24th worldwide for patents granted to academic institutions
DURHAM, NC — 11 March 2025
A unique approach to error correction in quantum computing. A novel way to use immune modulators to improve enzyme replacement therapies. A new method to detect cervical pre-cancers with a low-cost medical device.
These are just three of the 111 Duke inventions that were granted U.S. patents in 2024. This places Duke University as #24 of the Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted Utility Patents in 2024, published today by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Released annually by NAI since 2013, the Top 100 Worldwide Universities List ranks the top universities holding U.S. utility patents to highlight the important research and innovation taking place within academic institutions. Duke moved up five spots in the rankings from the year before.
Patents are an important piece of intellectual property that provide protection for innovators striving to turn research into real applications. Many products and services we use on a daily basis – Google, vitamin D-fortified milk, cancer treatments, high-definition television, and much more – were invented in university labs and the patenting and technology transfer process have helped bring those benefits to society.
There are also economic benefits beyond the technologies themselves, with academic research contributing “up to $1.7 trillion in gross industrial output and 5.9 million jobs since 1996,” according to nonprofit group AUTM. This is a massive return on the investment for the American people and the global community that often starts with federally funded research.
Of the 111 patents granted to Duke inventors, 53 are based on projects that receive substantial federal research funding. Duke is committed to delivering value back to the U.S. taxpayers through commercialization of this research.
“The NAI patent ranking speaks to the strength of Duke research,” said Eric Wagner, Director of Legal Affairs at Duke’s Office for Translation & Commercialization (OTC), which handles all intellectual property created by Duke employees.
“I’m proud of the variety of inventions we receive from across Duke’s campus and medical system,” said Diane Busch, Patent Agent at OTC.
Duke has been a leader in not only inventions and patents but also in successfully commercializing these inventions. From a household sponge infused with cleaner to the first stent in bioabsorbable properties, patented inventions from Duke researchers have made positive impacts on people’s lives.
More recently, two inventions with Duke roots have received FDA-approval and are poised to tackle big healthcare challenges: Humacyte’s bioengineered regenerative blood vessels and Servier’s new brain cancer drug Voranigo, the first in decades for this indication.
Through OTC, Duke is supporting inventors with translational funding, intellectual property protection, start-up creation, and even investor connections so that research – and the patents they produce – can make a societal impact faster.
Have an invention? Start your innovation journey by disclosing to OTC.