Since 1986, the Office of Technology Management (OTM) has been working to protect intellectual property created by the research community of Washington University in St. Louis (WashU). This impact reports highlights the transformative journey OTM undertook over the last decade to become a leader in technology transfer, commercialization, and entrepreneurship both nationally and for the St. Louis region.
Our Mission
The Office of Technology Management pairs cutting-edge WashU research with expertise to create a pipeline of opportunities to benefit society.
Today, OTM has built a pipeline of technologies and startups poised to impact society. Our team evaluates technologies, protects and prosecutes intellectual property, helps research teams advance innovations with a higher likelihood of forming partnerships, and supports researchers in creating new startups to help commercialize their research.
The Achievements
KPIs on the Rise
Since 2014, all key performance indicators within the OTM have steadily climbed.
Disclosures have grown by 85%, patent filings by 92%, and a 70% increase in patent issuance. License agreements and startup licenses have doubled during this time.
During this past decade, OTM has managed close to 10,000 agreements that facilitated the movement of materials and tools to enable research teams to continue their advances in the lab.
OTM Growth
To better serve our researchers and manage activity expansion, OTM has increased licensing and operations headcount and added new functionalities, including in-house patent prosecution capabilities and a New Ventures team to support startup formation. The OTM also restarted a gap fund in 2023 to advance non-therapeutics technologies toward industry and startup partnerships.
Established in 2022 to support startups with sector-specific expertise, education, and investor connections, the New Ventures team has facilitated 45 pitches to venture capitalists, resulting in seven startups with dilutive investments.
Greater Support for Research Teams
The OTM has launched several new programs and initiatives that enable research teams to engage expertise existing in industry and investors. These programs are designed for OTM and research team collaborations that advance the value of individual technology assets.
Are you interested in learning more these programs and initiatives? Reach out to us at otm@wustl.edu
Domain Expert Program (DEP)
The Domain Expert Program (DEP) was established in 2021 to immerse research teams in collaborative conversations with sector-specific industry and investor advisory board members. These mentors share actionable guidance on the commercial potential of a research program, how to de-risk, and how to add value to the technology.
Since DEP began,
- 32 technologies evaluated
- 56 advisory board members engaged
- 12 startups launched
- 4 licensed technologies
- and $7M in follow-on funding for 10 projects
OTM Office Hours
The OTM New Ventures team developed a monthly educational series to highlight current technology transfer and innovation topics and provide research teams with industry insights and tools to support their projects.
Recent Office Hours topics include:
- Funding
- Intellectual Property 101
- Crafting a Life Science Pitch Deck
- Healthtech AI
OTM Outreach
The OTM is continually reaching out to the WashU community, educating our innovators on the services and resources that our office provides. OTM has put together a boot camp for the NRT LinQ STL grant within Physics and Chemistry, and this boot camp has been adapted to newer training grants within the Department of Surgery.
Venture Fellows Program
Sponsored by the OTM and BioGenerator, the Venture Fellows Program provides WashU postdoctoral researchers with a six-month curriculum of experiential learning in venture capital investing and company creation. Participating Fellows work alongside entrepreneurs, investors, and faculty in the St. Louis ecosystem to gain the knowledge, understanding, and network needed to launch a company.
Washington University Gap Fund
In 2023, OTM introduced the Washington University Gap Fund to support translational work that increases the quality and value of promising medical, engineering, and physical science technologies created by WashU researchers.
As of 2024:
The WashU Gap Fund has awarded nearly $487,000 to support translational work on 10 technologies. One technology has received an additional $320,000 in federal research funding. It is licensed exclusively to a startup company that has received third-party dilutive funding, while a venture studio is considering two other technologies within OTM.
Women in Innovation & Technology (WIT)
Founded in 2014, the WIT program was launched to close the gender gap in invention disclosure and commercialization at WashU and raise women’s awareness of the opportunities and resources available at the University.
WIT’s efforts to encourage women researchers to engage in entrepreneurship and to commercialize their technologies have been productive. Invention disclosures with a female lead steadily increased to 22% in 2024, up from 14% in 2020. And, disclosures with at least one female innovator on the team increased to 47% in 2024, up from 39% in 2020.
Celebrating WashU Innovation
Over the last decade, the OTM established two key events to change the culture of the University and publicize successful innovation activity. The annual Celebration of Inventors event showcases WashU’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awardees and the new National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellow and Senior Member inductees. Since the OTM began the campaign to submit nominees for this distinction, a total of 30 faculty members have been recognized by the NAI for their innovation and tech transfer success.
Our fall event, Welcome to the Wall, honors new WashU IP startups by unveiling their logos on our offices’ signature “Startup Wall.” This wall is a key stop on all tours of the Cortex Innovation District, the 200-acre hub of innovation and entrepreneurship that OTM is happy to call home.
The Impact
Increased Faculty Engagement
Faculty engagement with OTM is at all time high. According to the most recent data, 79% of McKelvey School of Engineering and 55% of School of Medicine faculty have led a disclosure to OTM.*
* Based on the average of total tenure/tenure track faculty from 2012-2022 for the School Medicine and McKelvey Engineering.
Patent Success
OTM has grown our team of patent agents and scientists to provide better service, quicker response times, and expanded services to our WashU community. We have broadened our capability to file more patents and be more responsive to our research teams.
In June 2024, the National Academy of Inventors announced that Washington University in St. Louis was ranked among the top 100 U.S. universities granted patents in 2023. WashU was ranked 37 on the list, with a total of 56 U.S. patents. We are proud to note that WashU has been recognized on this ranking every year since 2013.
This national recognition is in addition to another patent milestone by the University, reaching 1,000 issued US patents. In 2024, that number has grown to 1,300 issued US patents.
Licensing and Startup Success
Over the past decade, the OTM has refined a standard set of principles for evaluating technologies. Our licensing team reviews each disclosure for tenets relating to commercial potential, ability to protect intellectual property, and likelihood of partnering. Adherence to these principles has fostered growth in licensing opportunities and eventual commercialization.
As of 2024, over 50 percent of WashU’s intellectual property portfolio has been licensed.*
*Based on OTM active technologies that are currently licensed.
OTM’s efforts have translated to startup success as well. WashU celebrated its 100th startup in 2023, with 60 still active in the last decade.
Learn more about companies based on WashU intellectual property that offer the latest advances from WashU researchers.
Meet WashU’s New FY24 IP Startups
Follow OTM for the latest news regarding WashU’s innovations and faculty startups:
The Future
Launch High-Quality Startups
While increasing the number of startups, OTM provides improved support structures and connectivity to domain experts, investors, and funding sources to launch strong startups poised for a higher likelihood of success.
Expand Engagement & Technology Value
OTM aims to enhance engagement with WashU innovators by offering tailored programs and personalized support, while leveraging resources and funding to de-risk technologies and make them more appealing to industry and investor partners. In FY25, OTM will launch Industrial Roundtables, which seeks to dive deeply into market drivers of specific sectors that have broad applicability to WashU research.
Engage Post-docs and Graduate Students
OTM has actively been working to engage more WashU post-docs and graduate students in tech transfer and startup activities. In FY25, we will launch several programs with this goal in mind.
Improve Communication
We will continue to develop clearer communication strategies to highlight OTM’s value and impact and attract new researchers.
OTM’s progress is a testament to the dedication and hard work of its team and partners. The office remains committed to meeting the needs of our research community to drive WashU innovation forward and create meaningful partnerships that develop WashU’s intellectual property into products for societal impact. We are grateful for the continued support of the University and our ecosystem partners that help to propel the OTM’s mission.
