Transcript FORTH spin-offs

Entrepreneurship & spin-off
development in FORTH
Prof. A. C. Payatakes, Chairman,
Foundation for Research & Technology Hellas
28 June 2006
The socio-economic dimension
- basic assumptions
• Research and technological innovation
bring growth and welfare
• Exploitation of research results (spin-offs,
licensing agreements, industrial RTD
contracts, patents, new products) is an
indication of the effectiveness of a
society’s investment in knowledge.
• Critical mass is needed to achieve socioeconomic impact (expressed in % of GDP
spent in RTD, nr of patents, VC invested in
high tech, etc)
The contribution of high tech spin-offs
to the national economy
• Infusion of new blood in the Greek industrial
structure that lags behind in innovation and
high added value manufacturing
• Introduction of highly educated staff in
productive positions utilising their dexterities
and capabilities
• Development of extrovert companies in the
economy which needs to go global
• Enhancement of national RTD activities
• Enrichment of the national innovation
“ecosystem”
Does the creation of spin-offs bring
value to Research Institutes?
• It accomplishes one of the main missions of
several Research Centres (including FORTH)
• It contributes to the creation of a market
that needs science and technology
• It brings income (if successful)
• It creates jobs for highly trained individuals,
who cannot otherwise be absorbed
• It helps Research Centres to obtain up to
date knowledge on market needs
How researchers perceive the
exploitation of their results
• Even when they care about the exploitation of
their own research results, they do not feel that it
is their business to bring them to the market
• If they are successful in fund raising and
producing good science, they usually lack
personal interest
• They expect that the main effort of the
commercialisation will be done by others
(supporting mechanisms, mediators, investors)
• Their careers do not depend on the commercial
exploitation of their results
• Past negative experience may lead to prejudice
The experience of FORTH
(Ίδρυμα Τεχνολογίας & Έρευνας)
• Unique experience in Greece in creating
spin-off companies (with share capital
participation)
• 10 technology spin-off companies created
• 8 are still alive (3 of them recently
created)
• 1 big success story (FORTHNET)
FORTH at a glance
• One of the largest Research Centres of Greece
• It reports to the General Secretariat for Research
& Technology of the Ministry of Development
• 7 Research Institutes located throughout Greece:
Heraklion, Rethymnon, Patras, Ioannina
– Institute of Computer Science - ICS
– Biomedical Research Institute - BRI
– Institute of Mediterranean Studies - IMS
– Institute of Electronic Structure & Laser – IESL
– Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology – IMBB
– Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics - IACM
– Institute of Chemical Engineering and High Temperature
Chemical Processes - ICE-HT
FORTH’s commitment to
excellence
• 2,3 publications per researcher per year
• 30 citations per researcher per year
• More than 400 post graduate scholarships per
year
• 253 PhD theses under preparation
• 300 funded projects (in 2005) with a total budget
of 88m€
• Has cooperated with more than 300 industrial
companies in Greece and abroad
• Several world class scientific awards
• Ranked first in the recent evaluation of Research
Centres by international experts (organised by
GSRT)
FORTH’s commitment to promote
exploitation of research output
• Created and operates the Network ΠΡΑΞΗ (HELPFORWARD) in cooperation with the Federation of
Greek Industries and the Federation of Industries
of Northern Greece to promote linkage between
research and industry and technology transfer
• Initiated the creation of 3 technology parks
(Crete, Patras, Thessaloniki)
• 10 spin-off companies and 300 cooperations with
industries in Greece and abroad
• 29 patents (of which 14 national)
• Joint programme of MBA grants with ALBA for
training young FORTH researchers who wish to
create spin-off firms
FORTH spin-offs (1)
• FORTHNET (Greece), telecommunications &
internet services, created 1995, FORTH’s share
11,7%, current FORTH value about 31.000.000
Euros
• ART INNOVATION BV (Netherlands), sales of
diagnostic equipment for art works inspection,
created 1997, FORTH share 13,82%
• MINOS BIOSYSTEMS Ltd (UK), commercialisation
of gene transfer techniques (using the
transposable element MINOS) through the
development of a patent portfolio, created 2000,
FORTH share 30,67%
• IMPERMEABLE AS (Norway), commercialisation of
ground stabilisation techniques with applications
in the oil drilling industry, created 2000, FORTH
share 10%
FORTH spin-offs (2)
• FORTH PHOTONICS Ltd (UK), development of
imaging technologies for non invasive diagnosis
and screening of cancer, created 2002, FORTH
share 18%
• COMPITENT SA (Greece), development of laser
equipment for materials processing, created
2002, FORTH share 15%
• NANOTHINX SA (Greece), high-yield and low-cost
production of carbon nanotubes, created 2005,
FORTH share 15%
• ADVENT SA (Greece), new materials and systems
for renewable energy sources such as fuel cells
and photovoltaic systems, created 2005, FORTH
share 10%
Any trends emerging from these
spin-offs?
• 10 spin-offs are too few for drawing
conclusions.
• Only FORTH Photonics and ADVENT have
received VC financing
• The most recent spin-offs have a long way
ahead
• Only FORTHNET can be considered as big
success story
Our experience from contacting
VCs in Greece
• Too reluctant to take risks (our big success story
was not financed by Greek VCs)
• Lack of experience, lack of in-depth knowledge
about international technology markets.
• Very few are truly interested in high tech
ventures
• Most believe (unjustifiably) that the researchers
involved in the creation of spin-off companies
should leave their Institute. Younger staff can do
that…
• However, willingness to explore opportunities and
discuss further
What we expect from the VCs
• Risk taking
• Knowledge and understanding of the
market
• Provision of business models (we know
the technology but we need substantial
help to bring it to the market)
• Assistance in building the management
team
• Innovation!
Is there sufficient technology
being penetrated in Greece ?
• Not really…(1)
Bussiness R&D expenditures (% of GDP)
1,40
1,20
1,00
0,80
EU25
Greece
0,60
0,40
0,20
0,00
1999
2001
2003
Is there sufficient technology
being penetrated in Greece ?
• Not really…(2)
New EPO patents per million population
160,0
140,0
120,0
100,0
EU25
80,0
Greece
60,0
40,0
20,0
0,0
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
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Is there sufficient scientific work
being produced in Greece? (1)
18
15
12
9
6
3
0
Is there
sufficient
scientific work
being produced
in Greece? (2)
Scientific articles per million
population, 2001
OECD Science, Technology and Industry
Scoreboard 2005
Greece
Is there
sufficient
scientific work
being produced
in Greece? (3)
Relative prominence of cited
scientific literature, 2001
OECD Science, Technology and Industry
Scoreboard 2005
Greece
The way forward and first ideas
• Reliable mechanisms of technology transfer because
researchers are not supposed to know how to transfer their
technologies to the market. Improvement of the entire
innovation system (reliable consultants, legal advisors,
incubators, technology parks, etc)
• Establishment of patent strategies in the Institutes &
Universities
• Strengthening of the University and Research Centre Industrial
Liaison Offices (professional know-how, experience and critical
size are needed)
• Public incentives for seed funding
• Permanent linkage of Greek VCs to foreign VCs in order to
acquire access to market knowledge and business model knowhow)
• Emphasis on high deal flow (rather than looking for THE BIG
DEAL)
• However, development of spin-off companies is just one of the
modes of exploiting research results. Licensing agreements
should be further promoted by Universities and Research
Centres.