Yissum launches licensing campaign to boost Hebrew University innovation
The Express Licensing Campaign will aim to dramatically simplify technology licensing.
By EYTAN HALONYissum CEO and President Dr. Yaron Daniely(photo credit: YISSUM)
A unique licensing campaign making academic research more accessible to industry was launched by Hebrew University's Yissum technology transfer company on Wednesday.The Express Licensing Campaign, announced by Yissum CEO and President Dr. Yaron Daniely at the biennial conference of Israel's Technology Transfer Organization earlier this week, will aim to dramatically simplify technology licensing or acquisition and thereby make cutting-edge research carried out at the Hebrew University easier to identify and pursue for industry partners and entrepreneurs.Yissum leads the field of academic technology transfer in Israel, and was responsible last year for nearly 50% of all technology transfer licensing agreements signed by universities and new company formations.The new initiative seeks to broaden industry reach into intellectual property born out of academic research, offering almost 70 technologies alongside ready-to-sign license contracts drafted in collaboration with leading Israeli law firms.“Yissum’s position as a leader in technology transfer is because we believe in taking concrete steps to ensure lower barriers to commercialization in order to make academic technology available to the community,” said Daniely.“The new express licensing campaign is one example of this plan. We are taking 20% of the available intellectual property estate and making it easily accessible and available for partnering. This is a groundbreaking path to enhance industry collaboration, entrepreneurship, and venture creation."Israel is the second leading nation in technology transfer worldwide in terms of the amount of intellectual property revenue it generates, only surpassed by the United States.To date, Yissum has registered more than 10,000 patents covering 2,800 inventions - ranging from cherry tomatoes to cancer drugs to Mobileye, which was acquired by Intel for $15.3bn last year.The organization has licensed more than 900 technologies, spun out more than 135 companies, and has partnered with industry leaders including Boston Scientific, Google, ICL, Intel and more.Recently, it launched its third seed fund to date, focusing on venture creation from the Hebrew University's top nanotech research innovations. Yissum's funds have established more than 20 start-ups over the last give years.
"We want to move fast and build things, and to do so, we are using all the tools at our disposal – patents, licensing, express licensing, venture funds, accelerators and education – to serve as a bridge between cutting-edge academic research and a global community of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry organizations in need of innovative solutions and products," Daniely said.
