UW among top biotech patent producers

Madison, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin System ranks ninth among the top universities worldwide in biotechnology patents, but ranks lower in transferring that technology to commercial uses, according to a new study.

The study, which included nearly 500 universities worldwide and more than 200 in the United States, was authored by the Milken Institute of Santa Monica, Calif. In terms of number and quality of patents, the University of Texas ranked first and three University of California campuses ranked ahead of Wisconsin.

In a ranking of ability to transfer intellectual property into commercial uses, the UW System and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation ranked 22^nd behind the Big Ten universities of Minnesota, Michigan, and Illinois, while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranked first in technology transfer.

UW-Madison ranked 14^th in publication of biotechnology research, as measured by papers and citations. Harvard University ranked first followed by University of Tokyo and University of London, while California universities hold five of the top 25 rankings.

The importance of collaboration between academia and industry was codified in 1980 with the passage of the Bayh-Dole Act. The law granted universities the right to own, license, and market their faculty research. It became a standard by which many other nations have sought to improve the process of generating and disseminating information. Related stories

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