Columbia Technology Ventures
Columbia Technology Ventures [1], also known as Tech Ventures, is the technology transfer office of Columbia University [2]. Columbia University is widely recognized by industry as one of the best sources of scientific innovation, and its technology transfer operation has consistently ranked in the top five of universities for the past decade(measured by annual licensing revenues).
Columbia University is a non-profit teaching and research institution, and is not in the business of developing, manufacturing, and selling commercial products. Instead, through the Columbia Technology Ventures office, Columbia works with commercial partners to develop, adapt, and apply University technology for the benefit of society. Commonly, this is done by licensing technologies to industrial partners who wish to develop products or services based on those technologies. In certain situations, it's more appropriate to create a spin-off to bring a technology to market. Columbia Technology Ventures, through its Venture Lab program, provides advisory and other resources to faculty, staff, and students around etnrepreneurial and start-up activity. On average, the office triages more than 300 new invention disclosures from, executes 50-60 license deals, and helps launch 10-12 start-ups each year.
A side-benefit of this licensing and start-up activity is the generation of revenues, which are shared between the inventors and the university. Columbia has reinvested these proceeds into recruiting new faculty, building new research programs and departments, and upgrading and expanding campus facilities. According to the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) 2007 Survey, Columbia University received approximately $136M in annual licensing revenues.
Columbia’s inventions are behind several well-known biopharmaceutical products, including Remicade; ReoPro; Tysabri; Erbitux; Simponi; Zolinza; Synagis; Xalatan / Xalcom; Epogen; Avonex; and Herceptin, as well as consumer products, including the Apple iPhone/iTouch, DVDs, LCDs, VOIP, video-on-demand, and HDTV.
Columbia Technology Ventures employs 49 full-time staff, including 11 PhDs, 8 JDs, and 7 MBAs, at two offices, on Columbia’s Morningside and Medical Center campuses. Columbia Technology Ventures also has a popular program for Columbia graduate students, called the Fellows Program. Through the Program, students gain a solid introduction to and experience with technology transfer while supporting technology marketing activities, e.g. market research/diligence, business planning, technology marketing, etc.
Columbia Technology Ventures has gone through several name changes over the years (formerly known as Science & Technology Ventures (STV), Columbia Innovation Enterprise (CIE), and Office of Science & Technology Development (OSTD)). The office reports into the Office of the Executive Vice President (Robert Kasdin). Orin Herskowitz is the current Executive Director of Columbia Technology Ventures. Previous Executive Directors include Michael Cleare, and Jack Granowitz.
Columbia Technology Ventures has a general mailbox for inquiries: http:\\www.techventures.columbia.edu.
