Download Office of Technology Transfer WHAT WE DO

W H AT W E D O
Office of Technology Transfer
The Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) is
a public-funded non-profit research institution. It
performs basic research on the development and
prevention of cancer and develops concepts for
diagnostics and therapy.
The Office of Technology Transfer works as a competent partner at the interface between research and
industry. By securing and marketing patented and
non-patented research results obtained at DKFZ,
it helps to facilitate their economic utilization and
thus, for example, to bring new anti-cancer drugs
to market.
The question of which exploitation strategy is most
appropriate in a given case - patenting, licensing,
cooperation agreement with industry, business formation - is decided under commercial aspects together
with the researchers involved.
To be successful in marketing a technology, it is important to know the needs of the “customers” from
research, industry, the investment community, politicians, and the media. This requires establishing and
intensifying contacts and partnerships and acquiring
market knowledge, e. g. through company visits, at
conferences and exhibitions, through workshops and
company presentations at the DKFZ or outside of it.
Main tasks of
technology transfer
Material Transfer Agreements
Service
function
Consultancy Agreements
Industry Co-operation Agreements
Invention Disclosures
Patent Applications
Secrecy Agreements
Licenses
Spin-Off Companies
Marketing
Entrepreneurial
function
C O L L A B O R AT I O N S
Collaborations with industry often evolve from contacts between scientists or can be initiated based on
a patent or what is called a “Material Transfer
Agreement”. A temporary exchange of staff, for
example to learn a new technique, or consulting
agreements can also strengthen a collaboration.
The main conditions for successful cooperations are
stipulated in our collaboration guidelines. As a rule,
Focusing on for example, inventions belong to the partner where
customer needs they originate, with the industry partner being granted an option on inventions that stem from the joint
project. The DKFZ receives an adequate share of the
revenues from the exploitation of research results.
This provides additional funding for research.
The clinical activities of the DKFZ are concentrated
at the Clinical Cooperation Units and the Tumor
Center Heidelberg/Mannheim. Translational research
- “from the laboratory workbench to the hospital
bed” - will be further expanded in the next few
years within the framework of a “Comprehensive
Cancer Center” in the form of a joint, interdisciplinary clinical-scientific treatment center.
PAT E N T S
Technology transfer - Patents are an investment in the future. Since the
a discipline that 1990s, the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum has
requires endurance filed patents for over 600 inventions; every year, about
30 to 50 new ones are added. In order to keep patent
costs at a reasonable level, the DKFZ uses stringent
selection procedures to evaluate the economic
exploitation potential of inventions at the start of and
throughout the whole patenting process. Whether or
not a patented technology lends itself to commercial
exploitation is not always a question of high research
quality, since the market is governed by its own laws.
Inventors should also have economic benefits from
their inventions. Therefore, inventors receive 30 percent of the net license royalties.
2.60
Patents and Licenses
1996 - 2002
1.94
1.89
1.9
1.63
1.18
1.06
0.93
0.92
0.85
0.61
0.46
0.33
0.23
Revenues in million EUR
Patent costs in million EUR
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
LICENSES
SPIN-OFFS
Licenses are issued in the form of worldwide and
exclusive licenses. Patent information for interested
potential licensees is available on the DKFZ website.
Basic model of
technology transfer from
research institutes
From the laboratoy The Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum has a
workbench to respectable record of successful spin-offs. Moreover,
application the DKFZ has acquired equity in spin-off companies.
Besides, start-up companies are potential licensees
and collaboration partners.
Research Expenditures
Frequently the company founders are at the same
time the main inventors of the patent applications
in-licensed from DKFZ. In return for out-licensing,
the DKFZ receives a down payment or equity stakes
in the spin-off as well as running license royalties.
The partners attempt to find such terms that prevent
financing problems and liquidity shortages in the
starting phase of the new company.
Invention Disclosures
Patent Applications
Technology Licenses
The ways in which the DKFZ supports spin-off
creation by its staff scientists are stipulated in the
“Guidelines for the Formation of Spin-off Companies”.
Technology Licenses
Yielding Income
Spin-off Enterprises
License Income
Jobs, Competitive Strength
Companies founded
from DKFZ
Technology transfer is The Office of Technology Transfer has established a
a management task network of contacts. Jointly with the inventors, the
Office identifies potential license partners. License payments can be divided in the form of down payments,
milestone payments, and license fees and vary depending on the nature of the invention, its value, development level, and market acceptance. License revenues
flow back into research.
Company
Year Topic
Employees Number (approx.)
PROGEN Biotechnik
GmbH
1983 Diagnostic Tests
and Reagents
MRC Systems GmbH
1996 Minimal Invasive Systems for
28
Neurosurgery and Precision, Radiation
Therapy and Stereotactic Laser of Tumors
A3D GmbH
1999 Antisense Technologies
35
3
mtm Laboratories AG
1999 Test Systems,
(molecular tools in medicine)
Early Diagnosis of Cancer
25
Affimed
Therapeutics AG
1999 Therapeutic Antibodies from
Antibody Libraries
14
Apogenix AG
2000 Exploration of Apoptosis and its
Application for Drugs against Cancer
15
Phase IT AG
2000 Services, Data Mining Platform,
Predictive Clinical Studies
8
Peptide Speciality
Laboratories GmbH
2000 Production of Peptides
2
RZPD German
Resource Center for
Genome Research plc
2000 Collection of Clones Combined
with Bioinformatics
BioSphings AG
2001 Innovative Drugs for Cancer, Virus
Infections and Autoimmune Diseases
4
PEPperPRINT GmbH
2001 Peptid Laser Printer
2
20
WHO WE ARE
Dr. Ruth Herzog, head of the Technology Transfer
Office, molecular biologist with experience in the
pharmaceutical industry in the area of oncology, has
been working at the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ) since 1997.
Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum Heidelberg
Office of Technology Transfer
Dr. Frieder Kern, biologist with a doctorate in chemistry, graduate of the business formation program
“Post-Graduate BioBusiness”, has been on the team
since February 1999;
Dr. Christian Kliem, chemist, exchanged his laboratory workbench inhouse for a desk in the Technology
Transfer Office;
Dr. Anna Lisa Picciolo-Lehrke, biologist, has gathered
three years of experience in technology transfer within the EU project CANCTT;
Peter Piesche, lawyer, has been in charge of the
workpackage “Licensing” within the EU project
“ProTon” (Public research organisations’ Technology
offices network) since January 2003.
Elisabeth Ziegler, patent clerk, has been working at
the DKFZ since 1985 and provides the necessary
administrative support, jointly with Ilka Singer,
patent clerk.
Brigitte Helwerth, patent secretary, and Madeleine
Marquetant, secretary, assist the team in their work.
Im Neuenheimer Feld 280
D - 69120 Heidelberg
Phone: +49 (0)6221-42 29 55
Fax:
+49 (0)6221-42 29 56
e-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.dkfz.de/Techtrans/