University Research Sponsored Startups Held Steady in 2009

It may have been the midst of the recession, but that didn’t stop 596 new companies from forming as a result of university research, according to survey data published today (Oct. 4) by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), a nonprofit association of academic technology transfer professionals.

These findings indicate that the Bayh-Dole Act, which enables academic institutions and businesses to retain title to inventions made under federally funded research programs and creates a uniform intellectual property management policy for the federal agencies that fund research, is working, AUTM said. The act was went into law in 1980.

“The data in this survey reveal that universities were able to maintain their level of startup company creation,” says Ashley J. Stevens, AUTM president. “The majority of these startups are located in the licensing institution’s home state, further proof that the Bayh-Dole Act continues to have a positive impact on local economies .”

In 2009 university research yielded the following business results

• 658 new commercial products introduced
• 5,328 total license and options executed, 4,374 of which were licenses
• 596 new companies formed
• 3,423 startup companies were still operating as of the end of fiscal year 2009
• $53.5 billion total sponsored research expenditures
• $2.3 billion total licensing income
• 18,214 total U.S. patent applications
• 8,364 new U.S. patent applications
• 1,322 non-U.S. patent applications
• 3,417 issued U.S. patents

The survey will be published in December.

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