Commercialising research:

demystifying Isis, IP and

commercialisation

Andrew Bowen, Kerry Antcliffe,

Nikolaos Chalkias, Mark Gostock

Isis Innovation Ltd

Tuesday 24 March 2015

What is Isis Innovation?

Discuss in groups what you understand about

Isis Innovation

Isis Innovation Ltd

A company 100% owned by the University of Oxford

Oxford Technology Transfer IP, Patents, Licences, Spin-outs, Software

Start-ups, Material Sales, Seed Funds,

Isis Angels Network

Oxford Expertise Consulting, Services

Isis Consulting Business Technology Transfer and Innovation

Commercialising research

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Agenda

Technology transfer and IPR

Isis software incubator case

study

Oxford University Consulting group

exercise

Recent Isis news

Isis making news 2014 - Natural Motion

• Isis activities have made big headlines in recent months - you may have

heard success stories such as…

• The sale of Isis spin-out Natural Motion, founded by Torsten Reil in 2001

(ex Dept of Zoology), to Zynga for $527m.

• The University will benefit from more than £30m in cash and shares from

the deal, which will replenish seed funds managed by Isis that will help

launch the next generation of spin-outs

Isis making news 2014 - Nightstar

• Restoring sight – formation of Isis spin-out Nightstar with £12M

investment from Syncona (Wellcome Trust)

• First programme is gene therapy for an inherited form of progressive

blindness (choroideremia) developed by Professor Robert MacLaren at

Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology

Isis making news 2014 - Winners!

• Named Technology Transfer Unit of the Year - after a “Stellar Year.”

• High points of 2014 include - Natural Motion (largest exit since

launching Global University Venturing), raising £1.25M University of

Oxford Isis Fund I and a further £2M on Fund II and hugely successful

year for the Isis Software Incubator

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PATENTS, LICENSING AND

SPIN-OUTS

Summary

• Commercialisation/technology transfer

• Work with new discoveries

• Protect the underlying intellectual property to provide

security

• Find the best route to market

• Return money to the University and inventors

• Create impact

What is Intellectual Property?

• Intellectual Property (IP) can be ideas, information and

knowledge

• In a University context IP is the results and outcomes of

research

• “Intellectual” because it is creative output

• “Property” because is it viewed as a tradable

commodity

• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are specific legal

rights that protect the owners of IP

What are Intellectual Property Rights?

» Innovations, Methods, Processes, Physical Matter,

Reagents, Compounds, Devices

» Logos, Jingles

» Music, Art, Software, Questionnaires, Business

Plans, Databases

» Expert skill, information, knowledge

Trademarks

Copyright

Patents

Know How

What are Intellectual Property Rights?

» Never disclosed or made public anywhere in the world

before the application date

» Not an obvious modification of what is already known

» Capable of being used or made in any kind of industry

» Sufficient detail for others to be able to practise

Novel

Applicable

Inventive

Enabling

Where are the Intellectual Property

Rights?

Discuss the case study in your groups

What can you do with Intellectual Property

Rights?

• Commercialise the technology using two main

routes:

1. Licensing - give an existing company the right to

use the technology in exchange for money

2. Spin-out - set up a new company specifically to

develop/sell the technology

Licensing versus spin-out

Licence Spin-out

Low risk High risk

Relatively low investment Requires a large investment

Doesn’t require a large market Need a large market to justify the

investment

Suitable for technologies that make

small, but significant, improvements

over current products

Suitable for completely new

technologies that don’t fit the current

market stereotype

Best for technologies that are close

to market

Suitable for technologies that require a

lot of money to develop the final

product

Suitable for products with specific

applications

Best for platform technologies that

address a number of different

applications

What would you do with these

technologies?

Discuss the case study in your groups

Chilli Sensor

• Licensed to Bio-X in 2013

• Company already produces a

number of biological/chemical

diagnostics

• Contacts within the food and

beverage industry

• Trials ongoing at a variety of food

and beverage companies

throughout the world

pH Sensor

• Spin-out formed in 2008

• Now called Senova Systems

• Secured $10 million in funding

• Launched the world’s first

calibration-free pH meter in 2012

• Won a variety of innovation

awards

ISIS SOFTWARE INCUBATOR CASE STUDY

BRAINOMIX LTD

The traditional spin-out model?

• IP

• CEO

• $$($)

The (different) approach taken by the

incubator - 3 principles

• All (software) ideas welcome

• (but) No patents

• An emphasis on building a business (rather than

writing a business plan)

Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have

others -Groucho Marx

• 40 ventures admitted to the programme

• 17 incorporated as companies

• 8 completed the programme and are now independent

• £10M raised so far

The Isis Software Incubator in numbers

Brainomix: a medical imaging software

start-up A story of a handful of Scientists and aspiring

Entrepreneurs

• No previous commercial experience

• No knowledge of coding or software development

• Limited understanding of Intellectual Property

• No funding

• …and no idea where to start

• But they had a great business idea

• They were experts in their field

(medicine, neuroscience, neuroradiology) and tenacious!

From 2012…

To 2014…

May 2012 – 1st Meeting, the idea behind

Brainomix

• A company was previously incorporated to execute the idea overseas

• A local Incubator was used but had limited funding to support the

venture

• Software was coded by a 3rd party (also based overseas) under a

contract

• The code (at the time of our 1st discussion) was:

• Incomplete

• Not readily available… due to unpaid fees to the above 3rd party!

• Founders could not articulate whether the ASPECTS method that

they were basing their product was ‘owned’ by anyone or whether

they had considered the FTO…

Challenges

The 1st

year

Some of the Isis contributions along the way

• Intellectual Property review and guidance

• Introductions to professional services at preferred rates

• Introduced Brainomix to their current Chairman of the Board

• Numerous opportunities to present to investors (Oxford Isis fund

also an investor)

• Ensure paper trail is in place for future due diligence

• Many networking opportunities to connect Brainomix to the Oxford

ecosystem and beyond

• Funding for the first few months: operational expenses ~£15k

• Provided premises for the first 10 months

• Mentoring and strategic thinking

• Association with the Oxford’s and Isis’ brand name

Access to Oxford expertise

A great success after just 2.5 years

OXFORD UNIVERSITY CONSULTING

Oxford University Consulting

To help academics identify and manage consulting opportunities

To provide external organisations with access to University expertise

To support departments in arranging external services (including consultancy) work

Academic Consulting and Services

ADVICE

EXPERTISE

SERVICES

£ FEES

“Consultant” Professor/PI/Post-

Doc/DPhil Student/Department

“Client”

Company, Charity, Government

body

Important: Done while employed/studying at Oxford

Oxford University Consulting

Group Exercise

• Examples of academics’ interactions with

external organisations

• In groups, discuss each example and decide what

type of the opportunity exists and who should

the academic be directed to for help?

Consultancy: Licensing and Spin-outs

CONSULTANCY TO:

SUPPORT, ADVISE,

GUIDE, ENABLE

DEVELOP

GROW

Licensed

Technology

New Spin-

out

Working with Isis

Isis Innovation Ltd, Ewert House, Ewert Place, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7SG

T 01865 280830 F 01865 280831 E innovation@isis.ox.ac.uk

Register to receive Isis E-News at: www.isis-innovation.com/news/enews

Follow us: @IsisInnovation

QUESTIONS?

FEEDBACK FORMS

Working with Isis

Isis Innovation Ltd, Ewert House, Ewert Place, Summertown, Oxford OX2 7SG

T 01865 280830 F 01865 280831 E innovation@isis.ox.ac.uk

Register to receive Isis E-News at: www.isis-innovation.com/news/enews

Follow us: @IsisInnovation