|
Georgia Tech is one of the top universities in the world for technology transfer and a top producer of startup companies, according to a biotechnology study conducted by the Milken Institute.
Tech was ranked fourth for startup companies, 11th overall for technology transfer (bringing technologies from the lab to market) and eighth for patents filed. Tech also ranked ninth in number of patents in 2005, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
"In 1997, Georgia Tech and Emory University partnered to form an interdisciplinary department of biomedical engineering," said President Wayne Clough. "Our unique relationship with Emory, coupled with our strategic, growing investment in biotechnology and a supportive environment for bringing research from the lab into commercial use, make Tech a top contributor to biotechnology innovation worldwide."
More than 50 companies have been created based on technology developed at Georgia Tech since 1990. In 2004, companies that had graduated from the Advanced Technology Development Center employed 5,500 people and generated $1.7 billion in revenues, according to a recent economic impact study.
"Growth in the number of startup companies based on Georgia Tech innovations reflects the commercial relevance of our research, the support faculty members receive for their commercialization activities, the infrastructure investments made by organizations like the Georgia Research Alliance and the strength of our partnership with Emory University," said Wayne Hodges, vice provost at Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute.
The planned Technology Enterprise Park, located just south of the Georgia Tech campus, will provide space designed specifically for bioscience and technology companies leaving the incubation stage.
"Great science leads to great commercial opportunities, but these biotech companies need a lot of support and space to get their businesses up and running," said Lee Herron, ATDC's general manager of biosciences. "Tech provides a supportive environment for these companies to grow — at both the incubation and post-incubation stages."
CardioMEMS, a company formed from Georgia Tech intellectual property, is one of many biotech startup success stories. The company recently won approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market its first commercial product, the EndoSure sensor, an implantable device that monitors blood pressure in aneurysm patients.
|
