Oxford University Seed Fund Sows Success

03 December 2009

A new report from Isis Innovation, the University of Oxford’s technology transfer company, celebrates 10 years of the Oxford University Challenge Seed Fund, showing how the Fund has helped turn research ideas into commercial success stories.

Since it was first launched in 1999 the Oxford University Challenge Seed Fund (UCSF) has awarded £5.7m, financing 102 projects and prompting the formation of 31 spin-out companies and the completion of 51 commercial deals.

Sir David Cooksey, Chairman of the University Challenge Fund Steering Committee, said: ‘This report demonstrates admirably the success of the fund in meeting our original objectives and proving the concept. The Oxford and Isis team have made 102 investment awards, totalling £5.7m, with £1m investable cash at present – impressive from a £4m start. I am delighted that the Oxford University Challenge Seed Fund has proven so successful in meeting its original objectives.’

The report highlights some of the best examples from the last 10 years of where awards from the Fund, of anything up to £250,000, enabled researchers to develop their ideas and overcome the challenges of proving, prototyping and planning their way to a commercial deal or a new company.

The examples include:

Oxitec – Based on technology developed by Dr Luke Alphey and colleagues at Oxford’s Department of Zoology, Oxitec is developing environmentally-friendly insect pest control. In 2001, at a critical time in the company’s development, Oxitec received four awards from the Oxford UCSF totalling £288,775 The company was spun out by Isis Innovation in 2002. It now employs 30 people and is developing products to tackle, amongst other pests: disease-carrying mosquitoes, cotton-eating bollworms and flesh-eating maggots.
www.oxitec.com

Oxford Catalysts – Spun out by Isis Innovation in 2005, Oxford Catalysts was listed on the AIM stock exchange four months later with a market capitalisation of £65m. It is the culmination of 19 years of research at Oxford’s Department of Chemistry by Professor Malcolm Green and Dr Taincun Xiao. In 2001 it received a £124,500 award from the OUCSF to begin optimising catalysts for industrial processes such as producing sulphur-free diesel fuel from waste gas and removing sulphur contamination. It is now leading innovation into catalysts for clean fuels.
www.oxfordcatalysts.com

NaturalMotion – Algorithms developed by Torsten Reil and colleagues at Oxford’s Department of Zoology are at the heart of software from spin-out NaturalMotion that enables videogame characters to interact with and respond to their virtual environment. A £23,500 grant from the OUCSF in 2000 enabled them to start programming and NaturalMotion was spun out by Isis Innovation in 2001. Since then the technology has been used in feature films such as Troy as well as videogames such as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Grand Theft Auto IV.
www.naturalmotion.com

Entrepreneurs and investors interviewed for the report also provide advice on technology entrepreneurship, and the pitfalls and excitement of building new companies.

Torsten Reil, CEO of NaturalMotion, said: ‘We underestimated the time it took to take our first product to market, and the difficulty of making the product work in a real film production environment. Our most important success was winning a large contract with Rockstar Games, makers of Grand Theft Auto IV.’

Mr Tom Hockaday, managing director of Isis Innovation, said: ‘The Oxford UCSF has accelerated the commercial development of many technology projects that benefit society and create opportunities for economic growth.’

The UCSF 10 year report can be viewed here.

For more information:

Renate Krelle
Isis Innovation
T +44 (0)1865 280850
E renate.krelle@isis.ox.ac.uk

University of Oxford Press Office
T +44 (0)1865 283877
E press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk

Notes for Editors

The report, ’Oxford University Challenge Seed Fund; 10 year report 1999-2009’, describes ten cases of successful Oxford UCSF investment projects, followed by analysis and details of all the investment awards made. It is available online at: www.isis-innovation.com/documents/UCSF10YearReport.pdf

The Oxford UCSF held its first Investment Advisory Committee meeting in June 1999, with a starting fund size of £4m made up of £1.4m from UK Government; £1.6m from the charities Wellcome Trust and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and £1m from the University of Oxford.

Three of the spin-outs originally financed by the fund are listed on the AIM markets: Oxford Catalysts, Oxford Advanced Surfaces and Avacta (formerly Oxford Medical Diagnostics).

Isis Project Managers work with Oxford researchers to prepare applications to the fund for amounts up to £250,000 to support initial proof-of-concept, prepatent research, reduction to practice, commercial demonstration, prototypes, business planning support, and spin-out company investments.

About Isis Innovation

Isis Innovation is the University of Oxford's technology transfer company and manages the University's intellectual property portfolio, working with University researchers on identifying, protecting and marketing technologies through licensing, spin-out company formation and material sales. Isis files on average one new patent application each week, has concluded over 400 technology licensing agreements, and established 64 new spin-out companies from Oxford. Isis also manages Oxford University Consulting, which arranges consulting services providing clients access to the world-class expertise of the University's academics to enhance innovative capability. Last year OUC arranged over 150 consulting deals. Isis has established a separate business division, Isis Enterprise, offering consulting expertise and advice in technology transfer and open innovation to university, government and industrial clients around the world. Isis was founded in 1987 and is today one of the world's leading technology transfer and innovation management companies.
www.isis-innovation.com