tto circle workshop panel i: best practices session on … · 2019-03-07 · transferencia de...

Vicepresidencia Adjunta de

Transferencia de Conocimiento

TTO CIRCLE WORKSHOP PANEL I: BEST PRACTICES SESSION

ON PoC AND START-UP FUNDING

Proof of concept projects as the base for the creation of Spin-

offs.

Javier Etxabe Oria

Head of Intellectual Property Rights and Promotion of Technology-based

Companies Unit

Deputy Vice-Presidency for Knowledge Transfer (TTO)

SPANISH NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (CSIC)

March 7, 2019



2

- Multidisplinary Research in different

technical and industrial sectors. 2017

Data:

- 11.085 Persons

- 3.531 Research staffs

- 1.600 Research groups

- Budget: 737 M€

- National Public Research Organization

belonging to MINECO.

120 Research Institutes:

67 owned and 53 joint

institutes.



3

(PCT YEARLY REVIEW 2018)

A18. Top 30 government and PRO PCT applicants, 2015–2017

1.- COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES (FR)

2. - FRAUNHOFER-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN FORSCHUNG (DE)

3.- INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE (INSERM, FR)

4. - CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE (CNRS, FR)

13.- NATIONAL SPANISH RESEARCH COUNCIL (CSIC, ES)

The Reuters Top 25 Global Innovators – Government

(2016)

1.- Health & Human Services Laboratories (USA)

2.- Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy

Commission (France)

3.- Fraunhofer Society (France)

8.- National Center for Scientific Research (France)

16.- Max Planck Society (Germany)

23.- Spanish National Research Council (Spain)

www.reuters.com/global-innovators-government

71 EPs in 2018



Public research results and patents are in the early stages of development,

and there is little public competitive funding for proof of concept projects.

Private investment or venture capital is not common in public scientific

organizations, with little pre-seed or seed investment; they mainly finance

spin-offs closer to the market.

Proof of concept projects as support for the

creation of Spin-offs in Spain.

However, the investment of proof

of concept projects is mandatory

to improve our technologies and

promote their transfer to pre-

existing companies or spin-offs.



Initiatives for pre-seed or seed funding. CSIC´s

experience in the last decade.

• Traditional Private/Public Initiatives to finance proof of concept projects:

Private foundations (REPSOL Emprendedores, Fundación Botín, Caixa

Impulse, …)

KICs: Raw Material, and Energy; H2020: ERC Proof of Concept

projects.

• Venture Capital of large corporations (AIRBUS, BASF, INDRA,…). Explored

first contacts in 2018.

• Only some Venture Capital Funds work in this step such as Columbus

Venture Partners or Genesis Venture.

• Sporadic Internal CSIC money to finance our own PoC Projects (2012).



• Public Initiatives to create private funds:

In 2016 INNVIERTE (CDTI Program;

http://www.cdti.es/index.asp?MP=15&MS=747&MN=4) established the

first public competitive call for creating, together with European

Investment Fund and BeAble Capital, a 32 millon euro fund to promote

technology transfer and the creation of spin-offs (BeAble Innvierte KETS Fund FCR). This fund has been operative since 2017.

B-able invests in seed and the early stages of technologies born in

universities and research organizations in Spain (mainly in

nanotechnology, advanced materials, photonics, micro and

nanoelectronics).

CSIC has been a B-able relevant partner since the beginning and several

Spin-offs have been created.

A new call is being prepared for 2019

New Spanish initiatives for pre-seed or seed funding

(Technology Transfer Funds)




In 2018 the Fond-ICO Global (Instituto Oficial de crédito)

promoted the first call that included a specific item for

technology transfer: “This modality seeks to finance

companies (spin-offs) that are based on certain

technologies developed primarily in research centers and

universities in the early-stage.“. Fond-ICO Global

approved the followwing funds which will be operative in

2019:

- HEALTH EQUITY SCR, S.A. - Healthequity II FCR -

focused on the health care sector: Biotechnology, medical

devices and health care services.


(Technology transfer funds)




Fond-ICO Global (cont)

- UNINVEST, SGEIC, S.A. - Uninvest Technology Transfer

III, FCR -, focused on nanotechnology, new materials,

agri-food, biotechnology and medical technologies

(~30 M€).

- CLAVEMAYOR, - Tech Transfer Agrifood Fund -,

focused on agrofood technologies (15 M€).

CSIC has signed agreements with these three funds and

is already exchanging information about CSIC

technologies. A fourth fund is underway with our

collaboration.


(Technology transfer funds)



UNIT 1 TRANSVERSAL Administrative management of agreements Coordination of internal quality system

IPR matters

Research Agreements

Comercialization

Spin-offs/EBTs creation

UNIT 2 TRANSVERSAL Legal Suport Economic management

TTO´s Structure

- 4 TT Technicians

(PhD): 80% to IPR and

20% to EBTs matters

- 1 TT Technician (PdD):

100% to EBT matters.



• Unique management of the CSIC technological portfolio by

the VATC: a unit for the protection of results (UPR) that

evaluates all CSIC technologies from the beginning together

with the EBT and Comercialization units (CSIC patent

portfolio contains approximately ~300 priority patents at all

times).

Structure and Strategy in the VATC for promoting the

creation of Spin-offs.

Agro

2% Food

6%

Biotech

28%

Engineering

and physical

technologies

16%

Materials

12%

[NOMBRE DE

CATEGORÍA]

[PORCENTAJE]

Pharmaceutical

products

12%

Chemistry

8%

CSIC PORTFOLIO PATENT ACCORDING TO THE TECHNICAL

DEVELOPMENT SECTOR

Agrarian and

veterinary sector

9% Food

10%

Biotech

7%

Physical and

microelectronic

technologies

9% Energy

6% Materials

15%

Chemistry

11%

Health

33%

CSIC PORTFOLIO PATENT ACCORDING TO THE INDUSTRIAL

SECTORS OF APPLICATION



• The internal evaluation of technologies not only includes the

study of patentability, but also the degree of development or

maturity; new lab experiments can be requested by de UPR,

schedule for potential improvements are stablished, etc.

• It is associated with a proactive selection of CSIC

technologies for the creation of a Spin-off by the UPR&EBTs

unit, at the same time that the CSIC entrepreneurs' initiatives

are received in the EBTs unit.

• Also, the UPR&EBTs unit is in constant contact with

investment funds in order to promote and jointly evaluate

the CSIC technologies, even before their protection.







• This presentation of technologies to investment funds is

carried out autonomously by the UPR&EBTs Unit. At the

beginning, it is not necessary that the researcher has decided

to be an entrepreneur, although he always participates in the

evaluation at all times.

• The objective is for each technology to be a new company.

The EBT unit currently manages 20-25% of the CSIC patent

portfolio.

• Some of the technologies are even being promoted at the

same time by both routes, either by contacting pre-existing

companies or by contacting investors.



Pros and cons of different channels to finance proof of

concept projects

Premises Technology Transfer Funds Public or Private calls for PoC

Projects

Schedule continuous submission and evaluation of

technologies specific dates and periods

Investment

incremental by milestones (proof of

concept, pilot plant and pre-industrial

phases)

limited to the PoC project

Sector more open, wide areas limited, mainly biomedicine

sector

Researchers juniors/seniors seniors

IPR matters Patents are obligatory, but

investment in disruptive ideas is possible Patents are obligatory

Initiative TTO (IPR technician) TTO and researcher

Creation of

the Spin-off

at the same time that the PoC project

starts

mainly after completing the

PoC project

You can always choose between both options



0 50 100 150

A1999

A2000

A2001

A2002

A2003

A2004

A2005

A2006

A2007

A2008

A2009

A2010

A2011

A2012

A2013

A2014

A2015

A2016

A2017

A2018

Accumulated CSIC EBTs

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Y2014

Y2015

Y2016

Y2017

Y2018

Distribution of the CSIC spin-offs according to

the financing of proof of concept projects.

EBT created with Poc Projects from TT funds



Systematic and proactive identification and evaluation of CSIC

technologies for the creation of a Spin-off by the UPR&EBTs unit.

Collaboration with third parties (funds) as soon as possible to

evaluate technologies and define a proof of concept project is

essential (without exclusivity).

The different forms of financing of proof-of-concept projects

should be explored and the most optimal one selected

according to the characteristics of each technology/project.

Technology Transfer Funds can be considered a good

opportunity for PROs and universities - all parties learn from the

other side, information and opinions are shared, … - even when

the decision to create the spin-off is negative.

Best Practices



THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

tto circle workshop panel i: best practices session on … · 2019-03-07 · transferencia de...

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