By continuing to break records for licensing revenue, Vanderbilt demonstrates our growing capacity for making a difference in the world
The Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization raked in $96 million in licensing revenue in the 2023 fiscal year, exceeding last year’s record income totals (as measured on a cash basis). That revenue total is the largest amount generated through technology licensing in any year since CTTC’s establishment in 1991.
The achievement comes on the heels of 2022 being a record-setting fiscal year according to the Association of University Technology Managers, which publishes the premier source of academic tech transfer data in the country. The AUTM FY22 Licensing Survey reports that Vanderbilt ranked sixth nationally for adjusted gross income from technology licensing, totaling $86.7 million. This figure is the best showing in the university’s history and suggests that the FY23 $96 million licensing revenue total is expected to rank Vanderbilt in the top 10 for a second year in a row.
These numbers reflect the growth of output and activity being completed by the CTTC. In support of research within the university and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in FY23 CTTC completed more than 1,100 material transfer agreements; reviewed more than 160 industry funding and clinical trials agreements; completed nearly 100 confidentiality agreements; evaluated 183 invention disclosures; filed more than 300 U.S. patent applications; and facilitated the launch of eight new ventures—tying its highest recorded total. The quantity of invention disclosures is more than 10 percent higher than in FY22. As part of the university’s compliance obligation under its federal funding agreements, CTTC reported nearly 150 new inventions to the government and completed nearly 2,000 compliance reports to government agencies.
“While generating knowledge is as vital as it has ever been, a research university in the 21st century needs to translate that knowledge into applicable solutions for society’s most urgent problems,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. “By continuing to break records for licensing revenue, Vanderbilt has once more demonstrated our growing capacity for making a difference in the world.”
Vanderbilt set another significant technology transfer record in FY23 by completing 100 license agreements with industry. This is the first time the university reached triple digits for licensing transactions for Vanderbilt technologies. Vanderbilt also generated $26.1 million in industry research support from technology commercialization efforts, beating its previous record in FY21 by nearly $1 million.
“We are setting new performance standards for high-impact translational research between academia and industry and rapidly propelling Vanderbilt on an upward trajectory,” said C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “With a focus on industry collaborations and a thriving startup ecosystem in a region whose influence is growing nationally and globally, we are fostering stronger partnerships, accelerating discovery and fueling regional economic growth.”
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