Robert Grass is still enthusiastic when he thinks back to the TechConnect in Houston, Texas. The young company founder travelled to the USA at the invitation of ETH transfer and the Micro und Nanoscience Platform to present his company, Turbobeads, and its products. “For our part, participation was a great success. We made contact with a company with which we can start a joint project.” Although this does not sound like an announcement of success, it is often the first step for spin-offs towards successful business activities. Personal contact with potential business partners, access to risk capital or an agreement with a licence partner from industry are necessary to get a new company going.

Supporting researchers

Finding and establishing these contacts is part of ETH Zurich’s strategy for marketing its inventions. Every year, thousands of research results are published by ETH scientists. In some cases, an invention or a new software is involved. In addition to fundamental research, it is part of ETH strategy to also create direct added value for industry. “We want our graduates to think along business lines,” stresses Peter Chen, Vice President for Research and Corporate Relations.

In order for these ideas to find their way into industry and so into society, ETH transfer supports scientists. The technology transfer office forms the connection between science and business. It supports ETH members to collaborate with industry and deals with inventions, patent applications and licensing as well as incorporating ETH spin-off companies. “Not every researcher knows what is needed to patent his invention,” says Marjan Kraak, Marketing Manager, in charge of marketing ETH patents. In initial discussions, ETH transfer clarifies with the researchers what is behind the invention and whether a patent can be filed from it. Then an assessment is made as to whether the idea can actually be marketed. Is there demand? What is the stage of development? Is a commercial launch foreseeable?

Strict selection

Out of an annual total of some 100 submitted inventions and software, some 50 are pursued. Nevertheless it is a long way to industrial implementation and thus to the commercial application of a research result. Patenting is the first stage. This protects the inventor’s idea. The right to commercial use of a patent can however be transferred to others through an exclusive or non-exclusive licence. However, ETH always remains the owner.

But what can actually be patented? Every invention which is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable. Inventions can be products such as, for example, new yoghurt cultures, machines, or even chemical compounds, such as aspirin for instance. New processes can also be patented, such as the freeze-drying of coffee for example.

“For us it is important that only inventions which have a real chance of being marketed are patented, since the first stages in the patenting process can already cost up to twenty thousand francs,” explains Marjan Kraak. As patenting costs rise considerably again after 30 months, attempts are made to find a licensee within this time. Of the patent applications submitted in 2005, to date it has been possible to market 55 per cent as licences to industry. Of the patent applications submitted this year, the proportion marketed is set to be even higher.

Marketing across all channels

Licence opportunities are marketed in various ways. ETH transfer publishes a brief description of the invention on the internet page of the Swiss Technology Transfer Association (swiTT). All Swiss technology transfer offices have joined forces to present their inventions here. Interested parties also receive information about the latest ETH inventions on the internet platform, Science and Business. The goal of this site is to bring together suppliers and purchasers for the latest technologies. As well as ETH Zurich, the University of Cambridge, the Karolinska Institutet and Imperial College London are also involved.

“In addition, researchers approach their industrial contacts to find out whether they are interested in using the patent. In many highly technical inventions, it is the scientists who know best for which areas this could be of interest,” says Marjan Kraak. Furthermore, ETH transfer has a large number of industry contacts. Potential interested parties are informed in a newsletter specifically about the latest licence opportunities at ETH.

Presentation at trade fairs

Special trade fairs and congresses, such as BIO 2009 in Atlanta or TechConnect 2009 in Houston, Texas, offer a very successful opportunity to present the latest ETH ideas. Over 14,000 biotechnology specialists from 58 countries joined the BIO 2009 alone. A special feature of this meeting is the partnering event. This brings together interested parties with providers at half-hourly intervals for the purposes of presenting their projects. The meetings are arranged using sophisticated software. “There we can target companies from the specialist areas which are interesting for our licence opportunities and for our spin-offs, namely innovation and business development managers, as well as venture capitalists,” points out Ms Kraak.

4,000 participants from 70 countries from the Nanotech sector were present at TechConnect, which was held with the Nanotech and Cleantech conference in May this year. ETH Zurich was present with five technologies and the spin-offs Nanograde, Turbobeads and a spin-off which has yet to be founded. “Contact with potential customers is very valuable. They give direct feedback on our business concept. This enables us to adapt our product. Visiting the trade fair was a huge incentive for us,” says Robert Grass, the founder of Turbobeads, summing up his experiences. “As a result of this experience, we will be visiting another chemistry trade fair again this year.”