University of Warwick secure exclusive global license with a leading agricultural company

Researchers at the University of Warwick have started what they hope will be a long term collaboration with a global agricultural company thanks to an initial introduction through IN-PART.

Note: the industry partner in this collaboration has been kept anonymous to retain confidentiality.

Dr Suzanna Wood is a Business Development Manager at Warwick Innovations, the office responsible for commercialising innovations produced from world-leading research at the University of Warwick. She has worked with the partnership since the start, and explained how the conversation progressed from the initial introduction on IN-PART:

“We published a technology on IN-PART which offered improved plant breeding methods, and were approached by a business development officer from a global agricultural company. I had a call with them and we decided to put a CDA in place. The company scientists then made contact with our inventor and arranged a meeting, to which I was also invited.”

“The meeting was very fruitful and the scientists (from both parties) established regular contact. We started licence negotiations on the technology described on IN-PART, but their discussions also identified a different use for the technology. This constituted a new invention that we had not yet protected and they enquired about a licence for that too.”

“Ultimately the original licence negotiation didn’t go forward, because it wasn’t really a key technology for the company, but they thought the new invention was actually more interesting and we  have concluded a licensing deal on the new invention.”

Dr Wood also outlined what the collaboration could lead to in the future:

“The licence is exclusive and worldwide for [Company X] to develop and sell products using the technology.”

“This interaction has also been the start of a longer-term collaboration. The University of Warwick researcher is now in regular contact with the company and they are already interested in another new technology from his lab, for which we have just started licence negotiations.”

She continued by saying:

“This shows the value of using a trusted platform like IN-PART to actively promote technologies to the right audience. Even when the solution may not be exactly what a company is looking for, it allows them to see the capabilities of our researchers and also gives them access to our team here at Warwick Innovations. We are always keen to make new contacts and help companies connect with the right people in our University.”

Review the University of Warwick’s full technology portfolio on IN-PART.

Read more success profiles and case studies of partnerships initiated through IN-PART’s matchmaking platform for university-industry collaboration.

About IN-PART

IN-PART is an online matchmaking platform that simplifies the initial connection between academia and industry to breakthroughs out of the lab and onto the market.

Launched in 2014, we now work with 250 universities and research institutes worldwide, proactively matching academic research to the most relevant R&D professionals from a network of 5,500+ innovation-driven companies.

Request a demo of our service for universities, or if you’re in a company register for free access.

Copyrights reserved unless otherwise agreed – IN-PART Publishing Ltd., 2020– ‘University of Warwick secure exclusive global license’

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