When it comes to taking discoveries from the lab to daily life, numbers show Tufts often outperforms its peers
ZwitterCo's Alex Rappaport, E17, MISM18, examines membranes in his lab at the Greentown Labs incubator on May 2, 2019. Part of the work of the Tufts Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Innovation is, after a successful patent application, to market discoveries made at Tufts. The ultimate goal: licensing or option agreements that give entities like ZwitterCo the right to commercialize the technology, with licensing royalties paid to Tufts. Photo: Alonso Nichols
A startup company using revolutionary wastewater filtration technology developed by chemical and biological engineering Associate Professor Ayse Asatekin and led by Alex Rappaport, E17, MSIM18, reached a milestone in 2022 by attracting $33 million in funding to scale up its products—one of the largest rounds of Series A funding ever achieved by a water technology company.
The seeds for ZwitterCo’s success were sown in Asatekin’s lab years ago, nurtured by Rappaport as he pursued a Master’s of Science in Innovation and Management, and supported through Tufts’ technology transfer process that brings discoveries to market, generating revenue for Tufts and benefiting society.
Asatekin’s technology is one of the breakthroughs spotlighted in the recently released fiscal year 2022 annual report from the Tufts Office for Technology Transfer and Industry Collaboration (TTIC).
“Our distinctive constellation of schools, interdisciplinary tradition, and entrepreneurial spirit all support discovery across Tufts’ campuses,” says Vice Provost for Research Bernard Arulanandam. “The translation of basic science and transfer of discoveries from the lab to the world are an essential part of our role as a student-centered, research-intensive institution.”
National Science Foundation data that benchmarks performance against research expenditures shows that Tufts outperforms peer institutions with similar research budgets.
Some tech transfer basics: When a faculty member makes a significant discovery, they disclose it to the TTIC, which evaluates its market potential. If appropriate, the TTIC team works with the researcher to pursue patent protection—Tufts filed its first patent application on Asatekin’s technology in 2013—and to market the discovery. The goal is to enter into a licensing or option agreement that gives an entity like ZwitterCo the right to commercialize the technology. If that entity succeeds, it pays licensing royalties and other financial considerations to Tufts.
Early-stage, higher risk profile technologies can often be more challenging to license to large, established companies, notes TTIC’s Senior Director Martin Son. As a result, universities are increasingly promoting startup ventures as promising vehicles for commercialization.
Volatility is inevitable. One year, a licensee’s initial public offering may result in increased income for the university; another year, an unexpected snag in product testing can delay commercialization and the associated revenues.
Despite that reality, in fiscal years 2017 through 2022, national data show that Tufts consistently excelled as measured by inventions disclosures, patent application filings, licenses and options, startup formation, and gross licensing income. National Science Foundation data that benchmarks performance against research expenditures shows that Tufts outperforms peer institutions with similar research budgets.
“Tufts delivers exceptional results for every dollar spent on research,” says Son. “Thanks to faculty, students, and staff, we regularly bring to life new discoveries that make a positive difference in the world, and we can all be proud of that.”
