Spring Break
Univ. triples yearly number of startup companies
Issue date: 10/16/08
Researchers at Hopkins launched 12 startup companies this year, which is three times as many as last year. The increase came as a result of the University's efforts to increase its presence among venture capitalists who seek to fund early stage biomedical inventions.
At the end of fiscal year 2007, there were 31 existing startup companies based on technology developed at Hopkins.
Wesley D. Blakeslee, executive director of Technology Transfer at Hopkins, explained that the University had made plans for the increased number of startups two years ago.
"[Startup companies] have always been around. But they've come primarily from the outside as opposed to from the inside," Blakeslee said.
The University's recent efforts have been directed toward increasing communication between inventors and those interested in investing in their work.
"You're marketing internally and you're marketing externally that a business opportunity is available. And you get more hits when you do that," Blakeslee said.
Blakeslee suggested that the increase in the number of startup companies in the past few years has been caused by pharmaceutical companies' desires for a more finished product.
"The way that big pharmaceutical companies now look to get their pipeline is that they want to buy later stage things.
It's harder for a company to get the kind of leverage necessary for investing in an early-stage product today," he said.
Blakeslee also pointed out that startup companies benefit the University by bringing in research dollars.
"The nature of the product is that it needs more research, and startups raise money to have that research done," he said.
"Usually, at least some of the research is done back at the University by the inventor."
Steven Kubisen, senior director of Ventures, noted that as a result of its efforts, Hopkins is now attracting investors from across the country.
"In the last couple of years, Hopkins has become a lot more externally focused, so we have venture capitalists coming to visit us from all around the country. The big name guys from Silicon Valley and Boston come periodically to see what sort of opportunities we have here," he said.
At the end of fiscal year 2007, there were 31 existing startup companies based on technology developed at Hopkins.
Wesley D. Blakeslee, executive director of Technology Transfer at Hopkins, explained that the University had made plans for the increased number of startups two years ago.
"[Startup companies] have always been around. But they've come primarily from the outside as opposed to from the inside," Blakeslee said.
The University's recent efforts have been directed toward increasing communication between inventors and those interested in investing in their work.
"You're marketing internally and you're marketing externally that a business opportunity is available. And you get more hits when you do that," Blakeslee said.
Blakeslee suggested that the increase in the number of startup companies in the past few years has been caused by pharmaceutical companies' desires for a more finished product.
"The way that big pharmaceutical companies now look to get their pipeline is that they want to buy later stage things.
It's harder for a company to get the kind of leverage necessary for investing in an early-stage product today," he said.
Blakeslee also pointed out that startup companies benefit the University by bringing in research dollars.
"The nature of the product is that it needs more research, and startups raise money to have that research done," he said.
"Usually, at least some of the research is done back at the University by the inventor."
Steven Kubisen, senior director of Ventures, noted that as a result of its efforts, Hopkins is now attracting investors from across the country.
"In the last couple of years, Hopkins has become a lot more externally focused, so we have venture capitalists coming to visit us from all around the country. The big name guys from Silicon Valley and Boston come periodically to see what sort of opportunities we have here," he said.
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