Above: Image courtesy of the Duke Office of the President.

Have you ever wondered how groundbreaking ideas become real-world products? Duke University is constantly generating countless ideas with world-changing potential, but most of them need more time and resources before they are ready to change the world. For example, a compound that shows potential therapeutic effects must undergo rigorous testing before it’s distributed as a medication. At Duke, the Office for Translation and Commercialization (OTC) helps make these ideas a reality. 

The History and Role of the OTC

The OTC is part of Duke’s Office for Research and Innovation (OR&I), a university department focused on developing, applying, and promoting Duke intellectual property and intellectual capital. With guidance from OR&I and support from its own staff, the OTC works to advance DRI’s mission with a focus on intellectual property and capital derived from research.

While OTC has a unique role at Duke, it is part of a larger network of university technology transfer centers around the country, ranging from California to Raleigh and Chapel Hill, the other cornerstones of the Research Triangle. These centers equip universities to transform research discoveries into market-ready products, maximizing their societal impact while generating revenue. They trace their origins to the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act, which granted universities the legal rights to discoveries made via government-funded research. As an overwhelming share of university research is at least partially federally funded, Bah-Doyle massively increased the value a university could extract from its research.

How OTC Supports Faculty and Innovation

As a university technology transfer center, the Office for Translation and Commercialization provides support at every step of the research translation process. They do this by mustering a diverse set of programs, people, and resources that provide almost everything a faculty member could need to make their ideas a reality. Here’s how most faculty collaborate with them:

Generally, someone with a business idea first interacts with the OTC by filing an invention disclosure. This document notifies Duke University of the item’s existence, detailing its development, contributors, and potential applications. The OTC then conducts a patent and intellectual property review to determine if the item can be patented and perform a basic market analysis, ensuring the idea is worth pursuing intellectual protection for. If an idea passes these two tests, the filers and an OTC representative collaborate to determine the best strategy for protecting the intellectual property (IP), a process that usually involves patent attorneys and the U.S. Patent and Trade Office.

Once intellectual property is secured or close to being secured, the OTC helps the filer find the best way to commercialize the IP. Many faculty prefer to license their discovery to an existing company rather than found a startup, which is a huge investment of time and resources. The OTC connects these innovators to potential licensors and provides marketing support, including research briefs that describe the innovation and its impact. Currently, the OTC has over 500 innovations available for licensing and has facilitated hundreds of license agreements.

For faculty who want to launch a startup, the OTC offers additional support. The office leverages the Duke community, including Duke Capital Partners, Duke New Ventures, and Duke External Partners, to find potential investors for Duke startups. Beyond financial support, they provide strategic guidance on marketing, assist with business strategy, and connect start-ups to potential employees and staff, fully equipping innovators to run a successful company.

Above: A photo of a past event hosted by the OTC. Image courtesy of the OTC.

The OTC’s Impact

In Fiscal Year 2024, the OTC generated a total of $82.6 million in revenue. In the last five years, Duke start-ups have collectively raised a total of $2.4 billion, and 126 of them are currently in operation. This impact would not be possible without the efforts of the OTC. 

Beyond supporting startups, the OTC also runs several other programs for Duke students and faculty interested in translation and commercialization. For STEM graduate students and postdocs interested in the business side of STEM, the OTC offers a part-time fellowship program that provides first-hand business experience supporting the OTC’s work. Additionally, the Gilhuly Accelerator Fund provides grants of $10,000 to $100,000 to help inventors bring their ideas to the market. The OTC also organizes educational initiatives such as the Triangle Universities Startup Workshop and the Duke Technology Commercialization Bootcamp to equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools to navigate the commercialization process.

Making Innovation Possible

Duke is a hub of groundbreaking ideas, but few are ready to use the moment they’re dreamt up. The OTC bridges the gap between ideas and real-world applications—whether through intellectual property protection, licensing opportunities, startup support, or funding programs. By providing vital resources and connections, the OTC ensures ideas born at Duke realize their full potential and make a lasting impact on the world.