Univ of Toronto merging tech transfer and commercialization units under Tim McTiernan

The Univ of Toronto has pulled its commercialization arm back inside the university, merging it with its technology transfer operations and appointed Dr Tim McTiernan as its new executive director. The move is in response to a 2004 review of the operations of the Innovations Foundation led by John Manley and is aimed at improving commercialization performance to match its formidable research output.

Innovations at University of Toronto (IUT) combines the former Innovations Foundation and the technology transfer office within the office of the VP research. The new entity will be housed in the MaRS Discovery District with a staff of about 23 and have a budget of $2.5 million to $3 million annually. U of T is a founding backer of MaRS, making an early $5-million investment.

A critical aspect of IUT will be the strengthen relationships with other research and commercialization organizations in the Toronto area. These include affiliated teaching hospitals, MaRS, the Toronto Regional Research Alliance, BioDiscovery Toronto and a National Centre for Biomedical Innovation, the proposed joint venture between U of T, the National Research Council and the Battelle Institute (R$, December 22/05).

"The Manley review recommended integration and it also recommended that we build a culture of disclosure," says U of T VP research, Dr John Challis. "The old Innovations Foundation was outside of any portfolio and was confusing to colleagues … The new structure required a strong foundation and a steady, secure financial base. It was brought inside and is now part of my budget portfolio."

The closure of the Innovations Foundation ends a 26-year run as U of T's commercialization unit. It was established as a separate entity which was affiliated with U of T but had the authority to seek outside funding. Its track record of commercializing promising research has been spotty and under the leadership of Dr George Adams (1999-2004) it pushed company spin-off over licensing by urging university researchers to patent before publishing.

In recent years, budget shortfalls had to be met with a line of credit from the university and Adams departed shortly after the release of the Manley report. He is now president and CEO of Amorfix Life Sciences, an emerging life sciences company focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

"The Innovations Foundation is wound down but exists as a legal entity with a skeleton board. The staff has been transferred to the university," says Challis. "The next step is to work through the IUT with faculty to build a culture of disclosure across campus and the Toronto research environment. That's where Tim's appointment comes in."

The arrival of McTiernan is being pitched as a major coup for the U of T. In a release announcing his IUT appointment, U of T president Dr David Naylor said McTiernan was being courted by several other institutions after the DM position at the Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI) was given to Dr Alastair Glass. McTiernan was a principal architect of the province's research and commercialization strategy which is now being funded and implemented by MRI.

"I'm ecstatic. Tim has expertise in building relationships," says Challis. "He can provide the sort of leadership we need to take this entity to a new level and build partnerships and opportunities. It also signals that U of T is taking commercialization and innovation very seriously and is responding to the recommendations of the Manley report."

In addition to directing the functions previously conducted by the Innovations Foundation, McTiernan will also head up the technology transfer office as associate VP research. The position was previously held by Dr Peter Munsche, who took early retirement last year (R$, May 3/05).

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