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Long known as a worldwide leader in research, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore has now landed kudos for its tech-transfer achievements.
The Maryland Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth recently selected the school's Office of Technology Transfer as a winner in its fourth annual Deal of the Year competition.
The office took top honors in technology and biotechnology for its role in moving academic research into commercial ventures to the tune of spinning out 12 companies and collectively raising $76 million for these ventures over the past year.
The university's technology-transfer staff hopes to maintain this momentum over the coming year.
"We have an additional 21 potential companies in the startup pipeline," said Wes Blakeslee, executive director of the tech-transfer office, in a statement, "many of which will hopefully be spun out in the next 12 months."
Aris Melissaratos, former secretary of the state Department of Business and Economic Development, was hired last year as senior adviser to the university president for enterprise development, with one of his key goals to spearhead more tech-transfer progress. He said in a statement that the office's business launches and fundraising under the leadership of Blakeslee and Glen Steinbach, the office's senior director, administration, took place "in a difficult economic environment, and this speaks to the quality and potential of the science."
"This also is a tribute to the culture change being achieved throughout all schools of the Johns Hopkins University," Melissaratos said.
The university conducted $1.55 billion in science, medical and engineering research in its fiscal 2007, making it the leading U.S. academic institution in total research and development spending for the 29th year in a row, according to the latest National Science Foundation ranking.
The 12 Johns Hopkins startups launched in fiscal 2008 focused on potential medical and public health treatments and diagnostic tools, according to university information. The goals of some of these companies include cancer treatments, tissue regeneration for nerve injuries, stem cell therapy and remediation of polluted groundwater.
Seven of the 2008 startups are in Maryland, with three in the new Science and Technology Park near Johns Hopkins' medical campus in East Baltimore.