Director's Report

When I joined FSU as Director in November 1996, I found a major license with Bristol Myers Squibb for Robert Holton's Taxol Process in place and producing $10 million in revenues; a licensing program with Michael Davidson's photomicrographs with Stonehenge, Inc. in NYC as the major licensee, but no further licensees being sought and a drawer full of patents. While there was a formal patenting program in place, resources had not been committed to an active disclosure, marketing and licensing program.

There was recognition that FSU could serve as an economic engine in the region, but no concerted effort to make that happen had occurred in terms of increasing the linkages with the local private sector in the region and in creating new companies based on FSU technology.

18 months later, at the end of 1997/98, the following has been accomplished:

1. A Strategic Plan has been written and approved by the Board of the FSU Research Foundation;
2. An Office of Intellectual Property Development and Commercialization has been created within the FSU Office of Research under the Vice President Research and resources allocated;
3. A major deal has been completed relocating EURUS Technologies from New York to Tallahassee and arranging a $900,000 loan guarantee with NationsBank;
4. A very large and complex deal has been completed licensing Robert Holton's Taxol analog and related technology into a newly created company, Taxolog, Inc. and a related not for profit Foundation (MDSRF);
5. The Cornerstone Programs have been created and launched with a budget of $ 1.6 million in Year 1;
6. Marketing has begun to FSU faculty staff and students through departmental meetings and other presentations as well as to the corporate partners and the local economic development community;
7. Numerous non-Taxol related deals have been completed where the Office played an essential role. The resulting funding to FSU researchers was:

	1996/97 1997/98 Royalties received: $272,279 $486,501 R&D related to Licenses/Options: $193,002 $430,534 Other funding: $0 $27,001 Total $465,281 $944,036

One of the goals I set was to separate the Office's funding from E&G and SRAD financing. All Office expenses are paid from the 30% FSU institutional portion of the Taxol Royalties. The Office's efforts are thus funded by the success of technology transfer activities only, not directly subsidized by State funding.

Economic Development efforts in the local region have been enhanced by the Office's active participation in:

• InfoPort Florida, as a member of the Planning Committee; Innovation Park, as a member of the Economic Development Council's Advisory Team and Chair of the Marketing/Higher Education subcommittee;
• creation of a specific manpower technology transfer program with Mainline Information Systems Inc, a Tallahassee based private company with current year sales in excess of $ 70 million. Mainline has hired three computer science students;
• preparing the FSU contribution to a SUS organized Report to the Legislature of the State University System's impact on the Florida Economy and Plan for the future;
• participation in the Enterprise Florida Task Forces for Healthcare and Venture Capital;
• participation as a member of the Board of the Florida North Shore Technology Centers, Inc., the local 'incubator without walls';
• participation in the preparation of a 'I-10 Corridor Strategy'

Links between FSU researchers and Industry have been increased through arranging the visit to the campus by three companies and closing 8 licensing/option/research agreements.

We are grateful to the FSU Research Foundation Board and the Vice President for Research for their support which assisted in creating these positive results.

The Future

The first year of the 3 year Strategic Plan has been completed. The Office will have 1 new Licensing Manager in place in 1998/99 as well as updated marketing literature, trade show booth and an interactive web site.

It is expected to have increased non Taxol royalties by a constant 25% rate over the previous year by the end of the third year of the Strategic Plan by June 30, 2000.

The Office promotes the results of FSU research to the industrial community and private sector and provides assistance to researchers, staff and students working to transfer their research results to society. This benefits not only the University, but contributes to the Florida and US economies.

The economic and social impact of university/industry partnerships is gaining wider recognition as governments and universities work to solidify the role of the university as an active and necessary partner in society. Transferring knowledge and technology from the lab to the business community is only one of many contributions FSU makes to Florida and the United States.

In 1996/97 The Florida State University received $29,019,776 in royalties for the FSU/Professor Robert Holton/Taxol Process License with Bristol-Myers Squibb. In addition that year FSU received $882,351 in royalties from other licenses and $193,002 in related R&D contracts. In 1997/98 FSU received $45,147,158 in royalties for FSU/Holton/Taxol, plus $1,492,626 in royalties from other licenses and $430,534 in related R&D.

We look forward to assisting FSU researchers as they transfer the results of their research to society for the public good.

John Fraser, Director
Technology Transfer, Office of Research
The Florida State University

Summary of 1997/98 achievements

Amount of Expenditures from
Industry Research and Development Awards
During the Past Five Years

Invention, Patent, and License Activity During the Past Four Years

Office of IP Development & Commercialization • Office of Research
2010 Levy Avenue, Suite 276-C • Tallahassee, Florida 32306-2743
Phone: (850) 644-9318 Fax: (850) 644-3675 email: jfraser@techtransfer.fsu.edu