Isis Innovation
Encyclopedia
Isis Innovation Ltd is a British technology transfer
company, wholly owned by the University of Oxford, located in Summertown, Oxford
, England.
Isis provides researchers with commercial advice, funds patent applications and legal costs, negotiates third-party licences and spin-out company agreements, and identifies and manages consultancy opportunities for University of Oxford academics. Isis works on projects from all of the University's research divisions: medical sciences, mathematical, physical & life sciences, humanities and social sciences.
Isis works with University researchers to develop new business opportunities, identifying and sourcing investment, management and professional services. Since 1988 Isis has assisted in the formation of more than 70 University spin-out companies, generating over £2 billion in unquoted and quoted market valuations for the University of Oxford.
Notable spin-outs include:
Oxford University Consulting (OUC); which arranges consultancy services providing third-party clients access to expertise from the University’s academics to enhance innovative capability and to manage the contractual and administrative aspects of consultancy, minimising the administrative burden while protecting personal interests of the academic and those of the University. Areas of expertise include (but are not limited to) problem solving, data analysis, expert evaluation, due diligence, management and business development. OUC also helps Oxford University departments in hiring out specialist services and facilities to private companies by managing the contractual and financial aspects on behalf of the departments. OUC’s activities meet the ISO 9001
quality assurance standard.
Isis Enterprise; established as a separate business division in 2004, Isis Enterprise offers consulting expertise, training and advice in technology transfer based upon Isis Innovation’s success as the University of Oxford’s technology transfer company. Isis Enterprise works with other universities, research organisations and governments around the world to develop their technology transfer activities, as well as helping private businesses improve research & development processes and technology scouting. In 2009 Isis Enterprise set up an office in Hong Kong to facilitate the growth of academic and governmental technology transfer activity in the Asia Pacific region.
, bringing together researchers and inventors, Oxford spin-outs, technology transfer professionals, local companies, venture capital groups and some of the world's most innovative multinationals. The society allows companies to have a “window” on Oxford science and fosters links between business and the academic community. Members receive an advance notification of all patent applications marketed by Isis, invitations to networking opportunities at formal OIS dinners, customised research presentations and bespoke seminars for technology roadmapping and strategic planning.
The Isis Angels Network (IAN) introduces private investors and seed/venture capitalists interested in investing in spin-out companies from the University of Oxford to investment opportunities. IAN is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, established by Isis in 1999.
Isis Innovation also administers the Oxford University Challenge Seed Fund (UCSF), which was launched in 1999 with investment from the UK Treasury, Wellcome Trust and Gatsby Foundation. The £4 million Oxford UCSF has invested in over 100 projects, ranging in size from £1,700 to £250,000. The overall objective of the UCSF scheme is to enable universities to access seed funds in order to assist the successful transformation of good research into good business.
In 2010, Isis Innovation – in conjunction with the University’s ‘Oxford Thinking’ campaign – created the Oxford Invention Fund (OIF). The open fund allows anyone to donate money which goes towards helping create prototypes or proof-of-concept models from ideas and technologies developed at Oxford to improve the transfer into a commercial setting.
Isis manages the licensing of copyrighted Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) questionnaires via its Isis Outcomes brand. These questionnaires, developed within the University, are used for academic and commercial clinical studies into a variety of illnesses, including Parkinson’s Disease and Endometriosis
. The negotiation of sales agreements for biological and physical science materials such as cell lines and antibodies are also handled by Isis Innovation.
Isis has strong links with all the parts of the University involved in technology commercialisation and enterprise. These include: Research Services; Begbroke Science Park
; Oxford Science Enterprise Centre; and Entrepreneurship Said at the Saïd Business School
. Oxford Spin-out Equity Management (OSEM) was created in 2008 working closely with Isis Innovation and the University of Oxford’s Finance Division to manage the University’s shareholdings in its spin-out companies and optimising returns on University investments.
Technology transfer
Technology Transfer, also called Transfer of Technology and Technology Commercialisation, is the process of skill transferring, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and facilities among governments or universities and other institutions to ensure that...
company, wholly owned by the University of Oxford, located in Summertown, Oxford
Summertown, Oxford
Summertown in North Oxford is a suburb of Oxford, England.Summertown is a residential area, one mile square north of St Giles, the beautiful boulevard leading out of Oxford’s city centre. Summertown is home to exclusive schools and the city’s most expensive houses. On both sides of Banbury Road are...
, England.
Overview
The company was established in 1987 as Oxford University Research and Development Ltd and was renamed Isis Innovation a year later. Isis Innovation and its sub-divisions manage the University's intellectual property portfolio, working with University academics and researchers who wish to commercialise their work by identifying, protecting and marketing technologies through patenting and licensing, spin-out company formation, consulting and material sales.Isis provides researchers with commercial advice, funds patent applications and legal costs, negotiates third-party licences and spin-out company agreements, and identifies and manages consultancy opportunities for University of Oxford academics. Isis works on projects from all of the University's research divisions: medical sciences, mathematical, physical & life sciences, humanities and social sciences.
Patents, licensing, and spin-outs
Isis files, on average, one patent application each week, manages over 360 patent application families and has concluded over 450 licence agreements which has made Isis Innovation "one of the country's most prolific technology transfer offices". According to 2010 figures from WIPO, Isis Innovation is the 8th largest filer of PCT patent applications in the UK and the highest European university applicant. Isis licenses technologies to companies who invest in developing and selling the products in a timely and ethical manner. Licensees are sought from all technology and business sectors on an international basis.Isis works with University researchers to develop new business opportunities, identifying and sourcing investment, management and professional services. Since 1988 Isis has assisted in the formation of more than 70 University spin-out companies, generating over £2 billion in unquoted and quoted market valuations for the University of Oxford.
Notable spin-outs include:
- NaturalMotionNaturalMotionNaturalMotion is a software company with offices in Oxford and San Francisco. Founded in November 2001 as a spin-off of Oxford University, the company specialises in creating animation technology for the game and film industries.-Technology:...
– Film and computer games animation developer, known for their EuphoriaEuphoria (software)Euphoria is a game animation engine created by NaturalMotion based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis, NaturalMotion's proprietary technology for animating 3D characters on-the-fly "based on a full simulation of the 3D character, including body, muscles and motor nervous system"...
software used in Rockstar North's GTA IV. - Intelligent Sustainable Energy – Company creating advanced analysis software for domestic smart meterSmart meterA smart meter is usually an electrical meter that records consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that information at least daily back to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes. Smart meters enable two-way communication between the meter and the...
s - Oxford GlycoSciences – Biotechnology firm founded by Professor Raymond DwekRaymond DwekProfessor Raymond Allen Dwek BSc DPhil DSc FRS is a scientist at the University of Oxford and founded its spin-off biotechnology company, Oxford GlycoSciences Ltd. ....
. - Oxford-Emergent Tuberculosis Consortium – A joint venture between the University of Oxford and Emergent BioSolutionsEmergent BioSolutionsEmergent BioSolutions is a multinational biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. Emergent develops vaccines and therapeutics targeting infectious diseases, oncology and autoimmune disorders. Founded as BioPort Corporation in 1998, the company was named Emergent...
formed to develop a new tuberculosisTuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
vaccine with the aid of AERAS.
Isis Innovation's divisions
Isis Innovation is split into three divisions, dedicated to different areas of knowledge transfer. Alongside the central Technology Transfer group that deals exclusively with disclosures and patent applications from University of Oxford researchers, Isis manages:Oxford University Consulting (OUC); which arranges consultancy services providing third-party clients access to expertise from the University’s academics to enhance innovative capability and to manage the contractual and administrative aspects of consultancy, minimising the administrative burden while protecting personal interests of the academic and those of the University. Areas of expertise include (but are not limited to) problem solving, data analysis, expert evaluation, due diligence, management and business development. OUC also helps Oxford University departments in hiring out specialist services and facilities to private companies by managing the contractual and financial aspects on behalf of the departments. OUC’s activities meet the ISO 9001
ISO 9000
The ISO 9000 family of standards relates to quality management systems and is designed to help organizations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders . The standards are published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and available through National...
quality assurance standard.
Isis Enterprise; established as a separate business division in 2004, Isis Enterprise offers consulting expertise, training and advice in technology transfer based upon Isis Innovation’s success as the University of Oxford’s technology transfer company. Isis Enterprise works with other universities, research organisations and governments around the world to develop their technology transfer activities, as well as helping private businesses improve research & development processes and technology scouting. In 2009 Isis Enterprise set up an office in Hong Kong to facilitate the growth of academic and governmental technology transfer activity in the Asia Pacific region.
Other activities
The Oxford Innovation Society (OIS), founded in 1990, is a forum for Open InnovationOpen Innovation
Although the idea and discussion about some consequences date back at least to the 60s, open innovation is a term promoted by Henry Chesbrough, a professor and executive director at the Center for Open Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley, in his book Open Innovation: The new...
, bringing together researchers and inventors, Oxford spin-outs, technology transfer professionals, local companies, venture capital groups and some of the world's most innovative multinationals. The society allows companies to have a “window” on Oxford science and fosters links between business and the academic community. Members receive an advance notification of all patent applications marketed by Isis, invitations to networking opportunities at formal OIS dinners, customised research presentations and bespoke seminars for technology roadmapping and strategic planning.
The Isis Angels Network (IAN) introduces private investors and seed/venture capitalists interested in investing in spin-out companies from the University of Oxford to investment opportunities. IAN is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, established by Isis in 1999.
Isis Innovation also administers the Oxford University Challenge Seed Fund (UCSF), which was launched in 1999 with investment from the UK Treasury, Wellcome Trust and Gatsby Foundation. The £4 million Oxford UCSF has invested in over 100 projects, ranging in size from £1,700 to £250,000. The overall objective of the UCSF scheme is to enable universities to access seed funds in order to assist the successful transformation of good research into good business.
In 2010, Isis Innovation – in conjunction with the University’s ‘Oxford Thinking’ campaign – created the Oxford Invention Fund (OIF). The open fund allows anyone to donate money which goes towards helping create prototypes or proof-of-concept models from ideas and technologies developed at Oxford to improve the transfer into a commercial setting.
Isis manages the licensing of copyrighted Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) questionnaires via its Isis Outcomes brand. These questionnaires, developed within the University, are used for academic and commercial clinical studies into a variety of illnesses, including Parkinson’s Disease and Endometriosis
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a gynecological medical condition in which cells from the lining of the uterus appear and flourish outside the uterine cavity, most commonly on the ovaries. The uterine cavity is lined by endometrial cells, which are under the influence of female hormones...
. The negotiation of sales agreements for biological and physical science materials such as cell lines and antibodies are also handled by Isis Innovation.
Isis has strong links with all the parts of the University involved in technology commercialisation and enterprise. These include: Research Services; Begbroke Science Park
Begbroke Science Park
Begbroke Science Park is a science park located five miles north of Oxford, England. It is owned and managed by Oxford University. It lies within the parish of Begbroke, although it is only accessible from the village of Yarnton on the A44....
; Oxford Science Enterprise Centre; and Entrepreneurship Said at the Saïd Business School
Saïd Business School
Saïd Business School is the business school of the University of Oxford in England, located on the north side of Frideswide Square on the former site of Oxford Rewley Road railway station. It is the University's centre of learning for graduate and undergraduate students in business, management...
. Oxford Spin-out Equity Management (OSEM) was created in 2008 working closely with Isis Innovation and the University of Oxford’s Finance Division to manage the University’s shareholdings in its spin-out companies and optimising returns on University investments.