Cambridge Enterprise 04/05 income up: consultancy 'more focussed'
Cambridge Enterprise, the University of Cambridge's commercialisation arm, reported overall income increased by 7% to £4.3m in the 12 months to end July 2005, according to the just released annual review.
There was record income from licences, which reached £2.7m, compared to £2.2m in 2003/04, while consultancy income was down at £1.6m from £1.8m.
Cambridge Enterprise returned £2.1m of royalty income to inventors and departments, bringing the total returns over the last six years to £5.0m and £4.4m respectively from licensing activity.
Cambridge Enterprise's mission is to help University of Cambridge inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs make their ideas and concepts commercially successful for the benefit of society, the UK economy, the inventors and the University. But it is kept on its toes because as University Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research, Professor Ian Leslie, said recently: "academics ultimately have a choice about working with Cambridge Enterprise or not.”
It received 127 invention disclosures in the year to end July last year from staff spread across the 800-year-old University, interim director Dr Anne Dobrée said in the report. This was second decline in a row from 2002/03's peak of 150 through the previous year's 141. The number of patent applications filed also declined, to 41 from 61.
Other activity remained at broadly similar levels. Forty commercial licence deals (previous year 41) and 70 consultancy contracts (91) were completed. There were three spin-outs (5) - Camfridge, Enecsys and Enval - and 30 (28) start-ups formed, each using the services and support of Cambridge Enterprise.
Cambridge Enterprise, University of Cambridge is split into four line sections: The highlights:
Life Sciences (Head: Dr Alastair Hick)
A number of technology areas were strong during the year with successful commercialisation deals signed. Of particular interest were a range of software products for use in diagnosis of cognitive disorders, management of patient information, and research into patients in neurocritical intensive care, that were all licensed to commercial partners and generated income.
Physical Sciences (Head: Dr Malcolm Grimshaw)
In addition to seeking out new licensees, maintaining and developing relations with existing licensees and spin-outs is an important part of the work, and the year saw a number of new technologies licensed to such companies, including Cambridge Display Technology, Plastic Logic, TeraView and Metalysis.
Cambridge Enterprise also worked with Metalysis to revise the licence structure relating to the FFC process, to streamline relationships and to help Metalysis to complete a new investment round.
Cambridge Enterprise Seed Funds (Fund Manager: Bill Matthews) / Business Creation (Manager: Dr Peter Luebcke)
The funding operations expanded with responsibility for the Venture Capital Fund as well as the Challenge Fund. The combined fund provides greater resources for investment in start-up companies founded by academics.
The two funds have invested in 40 companies over the last decade and have seen four of the companies go one to stock exchange listings. In 04/05 there were a further five investments in Delta G, Camfridge, Inotec AMD, British Stem Cell Registry and Lumora.
The Challenge Fund made its first realisation by placing some of its Smart Hologram shares with external investors. Of the 20 companies started by the Challenge Fund, 11 have attracted almost £33m in outside investment.
The two funds have substantial funds to continue supporting academic founders in the future, the review said.
Consultancy (Head: Dr Richard Jennings)
Cambridge Enterprise said it intends growing its consultancy services and "has moved from a reactive mode to a more focussed activity" under the recently appointed Dr Jennings. Indeed, Dr Jennings said he found "the diversity of consultancy projects" involved in to be "amazing".
New Director
Since the period covered by the annual review, the University has appointed Teri F. Willey, an expert in commercialising early stage technologies based on university research, as the new Director. US-born Ms Willey has spent five years as managing partner of ARCH Development Partners in Chicago, an early stage venture fund. Previously, she was worked for a subsidiary of the University of Chicago handling licensing and new company development.
She is due to take up her appointment in August.
At a speech last week, Cambridge Cluster angel and highly regarded serial-entrepreneur, Dr Hermann Hauser, welcomed the appointment.
He said he hoped that, together with the recent agreement within the University of a protocol for dealing with intellectual property, "there will now be much more efficient and effective technology transfer than in the past."
30th March 2006
