University of Notre Dame license two assets to Tocris Bioscience through IN-PART

The University of Notre Dame’s technology commercialisation office, the IDEA Center, is now working with Tocris Bioscience, a leading supplier of novel and exclusive tools for life science research, to commercialise fluorescent dyes with applications in research towards guided surgery and disease diagnosis based on a licensing deal initiated through IN-PART’s matchmaking platform, Connect.

Earlier this year, product specialists at Tocris were matched to two assets developed by Notre Dame researchers through Connect, a new fluorescent dye with applications in research towards guided surgery and a portable tool to purify exosomes acting as markers for disease diagnosis.  The specialists at Tocris requested an introduction to the teams behind the research at Notre Dame through Connect, and IN-PART made the introduction and checked in to ensure the conversation progressed. 

Dr Kate Richards, director of intellectual property and contracts at Notre Dame, has managed the discussion with Tocris Bioscience since they were introduced: “Tocris was extremely easy to work with. Their senior product specialist, Joel Cresser-Brown, was very polite and professional.  He provided a template agreement that had agreeable terms, and their legal team approved all requested modifications in a short time frame, allowing us to reach an agreement quickly and smoothly.”

IN-PART also spoke to Cresser-Brown about his experience of partnering with the team at the IDEA Center at Notre Dame, “It was a pleasure working with Kate at Notre Dame. She was friendly, very responsive, and took a pragmatic approach towards licensing, enabling us to move quickly to execute an agreement. We are excited to work with Notre Dame to commercialise these exciting new fluorescent dyes, and look forward to future opportunities through partnering with this institution.”

Speaking about the role IN-PART played in starting the conversation that led to the licensing agreement, Richards said that “Notre Dame did not previously have any agreement with Tocris. This was our first time working with them. Without IN-PART, this connection and agreement(s) likely would not have come to fruition.” 

Cresser-Brown explained how Tocris uses IN-PART to find new assets for their portfolio, “Tocris works in partnership with many scientists within both universities and pharmaceutical companies to introduce the latest chemical tools and research reagents. IN-PART is a valuable platform that enables us to effectively evaluate new technologies for in-licensing. The IN-PART team is efficient at connecting us with inventors and licensing departments to discuss commercialization, and they provide fantastic support throughout the process.”

The IDEA Center disseminates Notre Dame’s technologies and early-stage research to IN-PART’s global network of industry R&D decision-makers through the Connect platform. These 6,000+ companies are in frequent search of opportunities to partner with academic researchers on.  Notre Dame has been subscribed to Connect since early 2020 and has over 60 collaboration opportunities showcased on the platform, all of which are available for licensing and research collaborations. 

The University of Notre Dame is one of America’s leading undergraduate teaching institutions and has historically been at the forefront of research and scholarship. 

You can view the University of Notre Dame’s full technology portfolio on IN-PART.

Read more case studies of partnerships initiated through IN-PART’s matchmaking platforms for university-industry collaboration.

Written by Frances Wilkinson. Edited by Alex Stockham. 

Copyrights reserved unless otherwise agreed – IN-PART Publishing Ltd., 2022: ‘University of Notre Dame license two assets to Tocris Bioscience through IN-PART’

About IN-PART:

We believe brilliant connections can solve real-world problems. We match research pioneers from academia with decision-makers in industry sectors striving for a greater positive impact.

Our goal is to enable connections from around the world to match academic research with industry on a level playing field. Through our intelligent, matchmaking platform we showcase leading university innovations and connect academics with an international community of decision-makers in industry, creating meaningful dialogue and partnership.

Connect, a digital partnering platform for university-industry collaboration.

250+ universities and research institutes around the world currently showcase their research and innovation on IN-PART to find new collaboration partners in industry. R&D teams get free access to the platform (create an account here). There are no hidden costs and we don’t claim downstream success fees.

Discover, a bespoke scouting platform for open innovation.

With the aim of solving a technical requirement or challenge, Discover enables R&D teams to identify new opportunities for commercialisation or to solicit proposals for new research from our extended academic network, which has confirmed touchpoints in 2,400+ universities and institutes worldwide.

Interested in speaking with our Discover team? Request a demo |  TTO or academic? Sign-up for weekly Discover emails.

Image credit: Rene Bohmer / Unsplash Licence