Hopkins lost millions by not capitalizing on research

Johns Hopkins researchers and officials said the prominent research institution may have missed opportunities to invest in and market new technology and startup companies coming out of the school, possibly losing millions in royalties and revenue.

The university's technology transfer office, responsible for licensing new technology developed at Hopkins and helping researchers file patents to protect their work, was overloaded by the number of new inventions and requests for patents each year.

"We couldn't devote the time you needed to do things the way they needed to be done," Wes Blakeslee, executive director of Johns Hopkins University's Office of Technology Transfer, said.

But Blakeslee said a $1 million investment by the university this year to expand the school's efforts could begin to make a dent in getting Hopkins-based technology into the marketplace and pump more royalties into its coffers.

One of the most recent examples of a lost opportunity was the work of Dr. James Campbell, a neurosurgeon and researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Campbell also serves as an advisor to Calif.-based venture capital firm InterWest Partners.

The university waived the rights to seven patents held by Campbell and doesn't have a financial stake in his ventures developing pain management treatments.

This month, Arcion Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical firm founded by Campbell that is developing a topical gel to treat the pain of shingles and diabetes, earned $8.8 million in venture funding. Anesiva Inc., another biotechnology firm started from Campbell's research, went public in 2007 with a stock offering that raised nearly $50 million.

"Hopkins is the No. 1 institution in funding from the National Institutes of Health, but it has traditionally lagged behind in getting breakthroughs translated into the marketplace," Campbell said.

Hopkins is often compared to Stanford University, which has long surpassed its Baltimore counterpart in commercializing its technology.

In 2007, Hopkins handled 282 new reports of inventions, filed more than 300 patents and had 37 patents issued. The university's technology transfer revenue was $9.6 million.

In contrast, Stanford University, which ranks below Hopkins in NIH funding, saw nearly 494 royalty-producing inventions, issued 77 new licenses, and earned $50.4 million in royalty revenue between 2006 and 2007, according to the university's Office of Technology Licensing.

Over the next five years, Hopkins plans to double its revenues, bring its patent filings to more than 400, and handle an additional 100 reports of new inventions each year, Blakeslee said.

To reach its goals, Johns Hopkins University has hired four new licensing agents and four new support staff members to focus on revenue-generating inventions. Later this year, the school plans to hire a team of in-house patent attorneys to handle more legal work associated with patent applications. The school has also hired an intellectual property director to work directly with faculty members and researchers at the university's Homewood campus.

Blakeslee said the technology transfer staff is also securing more office space closer to researchers and lab workers throughout the university.

Aris Melissaratos, senior advisor to the president for enterprise development at Johns Hopkins University, said the school also plans to tap entrepreneurs like Campbell to help generate investment in Hopkins technology.