Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Expands Corporate Partnership and Commercialization Opportunities
Events this fall include Entrepreneurship Day and Drug Discovery Day
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. – Rutgers, the flagship public research university in the state of New Jersey, is providing leadership in economic development by expanding its programs for corporate partnerships and commercialization.Rutgers has a long history in commercialization, from a partnership with Merck that led to the discovery of streptomycin to the founding of Teoma, the company that later became Ask.com. Most recently, the FDA approved a new HIV drug, rilpivirine, based on collaboration between Rutgers Board of Governors Professor Eddy Arnold and Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica.
With nine startup companies created from university technologies in just the last fiscal year, Rutgers is among the nation’s top entrepreneurial universities. Active collaboration with early-stage venture funds is assisting Rutgers in moving technologies to marketplace more efficiently.
“Among our outstanding faculty are numerous researchers who are true leaders in their fields, operating state-of-the-art laboratories, and we’re working harder and smarter to extend these powerful resources to commercial interests in New Jersey and beyond,” said Michael J. Pazzani, vice president for research and economic development at Rutgers. “Given today’s challenging business environment, Rutgers is applying more creativity and energy than ever before to our role in economic development.”
The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development oversees the following programs and events designed to enhance the innovation ecosystem around Rutgers.
- Rutgers has opened a web portal for the corporate community, through its Office of Research Alliances, http://www.ora.rutgers.edu, and email address, frontdoor@rutgers.edu, where corporations can learn how to build partnerships with Rutgers including hiring its graduates, developing R&D partnerships, using advanced equipment, and licensing technology.
- Rutgers Office of Technology Commercialization has increased its budget for patenting with a goal of patenting 50% more inventions in the current year. The office conducts a CEO-in-residence program which brings entrepreneurs to Rutgers to create the nucleus of new companies commercializing Rutgers technology. With support from Johnson & Johnson, the office maintains a proof-of-concept fund to finance efforts by Rutgers researchers to commercialize their discoveries and new technologies.
- Rutgers will hold a campus-wide event, Entrepreneurship Day, on Nov. 14, 2011, inviting the investment and corporate community to interact with students and faculty. Organized by Richard Mammone, associate vice president for New Ventures, it will include panels of investors, entrepreneurs, faculty, and students discussing how to move ideas out of the laboratory and into the marketplace.
- Rutgers will hold Drug Discovery Day on Nov. 3, 2011, highlighting faculty and centers conducting research on all aspects of the drug discovery process. The event features guest speakers and Rutgers faculty presenting collaborative efforts leading to cutting-edge discoveries in fields ranging from cancer to antibiotics for drug-resistant infections, from Rutgers-led startup companies to mid-sized development stage biotechs to fully-integrated, world-leading biopharmaceutical companies.
Rutgers also has an extensive portfolio of economic development programs that help small businesses throughout New Jersey.
- The Rutgers-Newark Small Business Development Center helps entrepreneurs and business owners start and grow sustainable, successful small businesses through the delivery of appropriate training and technical assistance services and programs.
- The Rutgers-Camden Technology Campus is a science and technology incubator/accelerator established to support early-stage companies in Camden as they create economic wealth through commercialization of science and technology, development of new business ideas, attraction of capital investment, and creation of new jobs. The incubator supports its early stage client companies by providing an array of strategic business development services, operational guidance, and infrastructure support.
- The Rutgers EcoComplex in Bordentown, N.J., helps green companies commercialize and market their ideas. The center offers access to applied research and demonstration capabilities and facilitates the commercialization of new technologies that address pressing environmental and energy issues.
- The Food Innovation Center in Bridgeton, N.J., provides business and technology expertise, as well as production facilities, to small and midsized food and agricultural businesses in New Jersey and nationwide.
Of particular importance for New Jersey’s future economic growth is the ability of the state’s higher education institutions to work in partnership with industry. The important role that Rutgers University plays in advancing New Jersey’s innovation and economic development future reflects the demands for connecting the assets and activities of higher education in today’s global knowledge-based economy.
Media Contact: Ed Tate
267-934-3475
E-mail: edward.tate@rutgers.edu