The Spinoff Prize 2021

Start-up companies spawned at universities are transforming research findings into commercial offerings for biomedicine and technology.

The start-up Bilitech hopes organoids could be used as an alternative to liver transplants, to save lives and money.

The start-up C2i Genomics is hoping to improve liquid biopsies with its platform for detecting rare tumour DNA in blood samples.

The start-up Cambridge Photon Technology is developing photovoltaic materials that take full advantage of the Sun’s spectrum.

Start-up GrayMatters Health wants to improve treatment for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder by combining two neuroscience techniques.

Start-up company HighT-Tech has developed a technique to make alloys that could improve catalysts or be used to build better batteries. The company is the winner of The Spinoff Prize 2021.

The start-up Neuronostics is using the brain waves of large numbers of people to assess an individual’s risk of seizure disorders more quickly and accurately.

The start-up ONA Therapeutics is developing an antibody directed at cells that initiate metastasis in cancer.

Start-up Sibylla Biotech has developed a drug-discovery platform to look for protein folding intermediates to target therapeutically.

Here are ten university spin-offs that just missed making the final eight in the 2021 Spinoff Prize competition, but are worth keeping an eye on.

One year on from their nomination, Nature finds out what progress these young companies have made.

Our annual survey highlights startups tackling intractable viruses with new vaccine design, engineering a reliable source of platelets, universalizing cell therapies, improving cancer screening, developing RNA-editing platforms and targeting protein–RNA interactions. Michael Eisenstein, Ken Garber, Caroline Seydel and Laura DeFrancesco report.

Meet the people who advise researcher entrepreneurs on patents, licensing, business plans and commercial partnerships.

Want to get ahead in business? Entrepreneurs need to be resilient, patient and strong team players, says Barbara Domayne-Hayman.

Implications for bioentrepreneurs.

With record levels of funding, German start-ups are building the nation’s strength in innovation.

A detailed look at the economic impact of university-licensed life science startups across the United States reveals vast differences in the effectiveness of different regions to create ventures and sustain them as viable entities.

An analysis of Massachusetts Institute of Technology intellectual property licenses in the life sciences not only provides a window on commercialization success but also a case study for transparency in understanding technology transfer performance.

Some practical advice on how to protect research that you are seeking to commercialize.