Tech Transfer Roundup: Inside The Law That Transformed The Research Landscape

Technology transfer from universities and other non-profit research institutions to private sector firms is core to the modern biopharma industry, but before the enactment of the Bayh-Dole Act in 1980, explained former Senate staffer Joe Allen, US companies had little interest in trying to build upon government-sponsored institutional research because of rules that hindered such efforts.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, across all industries three new companies and two new commercial products were being launched daily based on research originating from academia, according to the Association of University Technology Managers’ annual study. One estimate found that the Bayh-Dole Act facilitated the contribution of $1.7tn to the US economy between 1996 and 2017, including the creation of roughly 6 million jobs