Campus Research Patented, Benefits All

But Oriel isn't just any RTP corporation -- it's one of 21 for-profit spinoff companies spawned from recent research conducted at UNC by faculty, staff or students.

Chancellor James Moeser said in his Sept. 5 State of the University address he is glad to see spinoff companies emerging and providing a direct impact on the state economy.

"If knowledge is the capital of our new economy, research universities are the source of that capital and will be at the center of thriving economies," Moeser said.

Crowder and Hickey exemplify the path Moeser described.

After they met at a speech by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, the two decided to work together on research that formed the foundation for their company.

Oriel will develop and commercialize a "smart" powder inhaler that uses drug delivery technology to decrease variability of dosage.

"The one really exciting feature about the device is we look at how powder flows, and the inhaler actually incorporates powder-flow physics," Crowder said. "We're working hard to collect some data to essentially show that this is better than what's out there."

Crowder and Hickey worked with UNC's Office of Technology Development to file a patent for their technology.

"Ours was one of the technologies they decided to patent a couple of years ago," Crowder said.

UNC students, faculty or staff who make a discovery or develop an invention must report their invention to the office. If the idea is determined to be patentable and marketable, the office helps the inventors with appropriate proceedings.

"We work with UNC researchers who may have an invention from the very early stages," said Mark Crowell, associate vice chancellor for and director of the Office of Technology Development.

Last year the office received 115 invention reports and filed 98 patents, although multiple patents were filed for many of the inventions.

If a patent is obtained, the discovery will either be licensed to an established company or can be the basis for the formation of a new company. Patents normally take one to three years to obtain, and Crowell said they usually cost between $12,000 and $20,000 to file.

Crowell estimated that 90 percent of UNC inventions are licensed to existing companies and said starting a company is a much more involved process.

"These startup companies are created around an intellectual idea," said Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and graduate studies. "The motivation for us is not the money but making sure we get these ideas out."

In the 2001 fiscal year, the University made $1,214,980 from inventions.

Forty percent of income from inventions goes to the inventor, 40 percent goes to the department where the invention was developed and 20 percent goes to the Invention Management Fund, which pays for patents.

Chemistry Professor Holden Thorp's spinoff company, Xanthon Inc., has successfully built a company off the first patent he worked with the Office of Technology Development to file.

Thorp discovered a way to electrically detect the presence of a gene. "This provides a tool for pharmaceutical research," he said.

Xanthon currently holds numerous patents and has about 40 employees.

Not only are these companies and the research that forms them profitable for the University, officials say they have a distinct economic impact in North Carolina.

"We certainly believe there are economic benefits for the community and state as a whole," Waldrop said.

Waldrop cited University research that resulted in the expansion of DuPont's Bladen County facility and the creation of 100 new jobs.

"Ultimately, we want to do even more to get Carolina-created technology into the hands of the public, and our goal is to create our own venture capital fund and incubator space to further stimulate this kind of activity," Moeser said in his speech.

Though officials admitted UNC is fairly new to spinoff companies, they said they are enthusiastic about future development and confident about the resources offered to inventors.

Crowder said support from the University was integral in the formation of Oriel.

"This obviously didn't happen in a vacuum."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.