Research collaboration and development of intellectual property with the University of Southampton in the field of asthm
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ords: Synairgen plc, Southampton, collaboration, spin-out, asthma, COPD
Dr Sue Edwards Contract Manager (Biomedical/ Chemistry), University of Southampton, Research Support Office, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK Tel: +44 (0) 2380 598342 Fax: +44 (0) 2380 593585 Email: [email protected]
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Research collaboration and development of intellectual property with the University of Southampton in the field of asthma and COPD Stephen Holgate and Sue Edwards Date received: 11th October 2005
Abstract The University of Southampton, one of the UK’s top ten research universities, has an active enterprise agenda encompassing commercial licensing, spin-out creation, commercial research collaboration, consultancy and staff development. Southampton aims to be a recognised world leader in its interactions with industry while maintaining the ethos of a leading academic centre of research and teaching excellence. This paper explores the creation of and ongoing relationship between Southampton and Synairgen plc, a spin-out from the University founded on its expertise in the field of asthma and COPD, as a case study of the benefits and balances to be found between academic, enterprise and corporate agendas.
SOUTHAMPTON AND SYNAIRGEN In June 2003, Synairgen was spun out of the University of Southampton’s School of Medicine, founded on intellectual property in the asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) field from the Allergy & Inflammation Research Division (AIR) headed by Prof. Stephen Holgate. Synairgen is located in close proximity to the School of Medicine, and its three founding members retain their university positions. Southampton University and Synairgen enjoy a productive and synergistic research relationship where recognition of each other’s primary drivers and constraints has enabled positive outcomes for both. In October 2004 Synairgen plc’s shares were admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market. Synairgen raised £10m (before expenses) and, in order to meet institutional demand, the university sold 400,000 shares for £0.5m, leaving the university with a balance of 3,600,000
shares, representing 16.6 per cent of the issued share capital. AIR is a highly successful research group which has, for several years, attracted significant levels of industrially sponsored or collaborative work, frequently involving disease-related human tissue and of significant mutual benefit. The scientific attractiveness of such projects to the university and commercial attractiveness to the collaborators is clear and, as ever, such collaborations require careful negotiation and management with respect to differing desires for publication and intellectual property rights. The university was aware, however, that it had significant intellectual property, developed outside such collaborations and using noncommercial funding, the value of which was not being realised through such collaborations. In seeking to balance the university’s parallel aims of continued high-ranking research publications, a
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