Fueling tech transfer
By Kevin Robinson-Avila / Journal Staff Writer on Mon, Jun 3, 2013
The University of New Mexico has become a prime breeding ground for high-tech startup companies.
UNM inventions licensed to private investors and entrepreneurs through the Science and Technology Corp., the university’s technology transfer office, have led to creation of more than 60 new businesses since the STC launched in 1995. In fact, when the current fiscal year ends on June 30, UNM will have achieved an annual record in startup formation, with nine new companies created.
Nearly three dozen are operating in New Mexico, including 29 scattered around Albuquerque. That includes everything from biotechnology companies trying to commercialize new drugs and medical devices to hardware and software firms developing cybersecurity and other systems.
Some now have dozens of high-wage employees. About 30 people, for example, work at nanoMR Inc., which is commercializing UNM technology to rapidly detect and identify blood infections. Another 30 work at IntelliCyt Corp., which sells a super-fast cytometry system invented at UNM to do cell analysis for medical diagnostics and drug discovery.
But despite such success, STC President and CEO Lisa Kuuttila says it’s not enough. She wants to see a lot more companies taking UNM technologies to market, and she wants them to grow into flourishing businesses that offer scores of high-paying jobs.
http://www.abqjournal.com/main/20634...-transfer.html