CU spinoff companies raised $106M in funding during FY 2015

BOULDER — Companies spun out of technology at the four-campus University of Colorado system raised nearly $106 million in follow-on funding during CU’s 2015 fiscal year that ended June 30, according to new stats released by the school this week.

That funding includes money from federal grants, venture capitalists, state funding and other programs.

While some years — such as 2013, which saw CU spinoffs raise $200 million — have seen higher totals, CU associate vice president for technology transfer Kate Tallman said this year’s figures were in line with most years across all funding categories. She said years such as 2013 where there’s a spike are usually due to one company receiving a major equity investment that skews the numbers.

The 2015 fiscal year was highlighted by multiple events, including InDevR securing a $15 million grant from the Department of Energy, a $15 million funding round by GlobeImmune and an $8 million funding round by MiRagen Therapeutics.

“We don’t get too concerned when we’re missing that one event on any given year as long as our companies are getting that early-stage funding that allows them to move forward,” Tallman said in a phone interview Wednesday.

Thirteen new startups inked exclusive option agreements with CU to bring technology from the school into their companies, including 10 from the Boulder campus and three from the Anschutz medical campus in Aurora.

Those 13 bring the total number of companies formed based on CU technology to 155 since 1994. Of the 155, 114 are still operating, including 110 with headquarters or research operations in Colorado. Twenty-three have been acquired by public companies, and two others have had initial public offerings of their own. The school still has equity in more than 60 companies.

CU reaped $3.3 million in revenue from royalties and equity liquidations tied to spinoff companies during the 2015 fiscal year. That’s down a bit from years such as 2012 and 2013 when the school pulled in $32.8 million and $16.5 million respectively. But Tallman said those two years in particular were buoyed by CU selling off future royalty streams tied to products at various spinoffs for one-time lump sums to mitigate against the risk of those products not catching on in the marketplace.

But Tallman said years such as 2013 could soon be more common. That’s because CU in 2002 made a commitment to begin beefing up its technology-transfer efforts. Because many of the spinoffs from CU are bioscience companies, it can often take 10 years or more before their products begin producing revenue streams. Tallman said the expanded number of startups spun off from the school in recent years should begin creating increased royalty streams in coming years.

“Within five to 10 years from now, we should be able to get to $15 million per year based on the pipeline that we’ve built in the last decade,” Tallman said.

The 13 startups spun off from CU this year is on the high end, with the average usually around 10 in recent years, Tallman said. So far in fiscal year 2016, two startups have spun off from the school, though Tallman expects about 10 before the fiscal year is complete. The 10 spun out of the Boulder campus this year was a spike, about double the normal year.

“We’ve continued to see a lot of activity and continue to have attractive new spinout opportunities,” she said. “We have a lot in the pipeline.”

The 13 startups spinning off from CU technology during the 2015 fiscal year included:

Allander Biotechnologies, CU Anschutz: Developing novel therapeutics for oral mucositis.

Click Nucleic Acids, CU Boulder: Developing novel nucleic acid synthesis.

Clinical Logic, CU Anschutz: Developing digital-health solutions for infection control in hospital settings.

Gaugewear, CU Boulder: Creating wearable technology and smart apparel for athletic performance and occupational safety.

Kelvin Thermal Technologies, CU Boulder: Developing thermal management technologies to control temperatures in advanced electronics.

Mallinda, CU Boulder, developing a fully recyclable, moldable hard plastic polymer for use in a variety of applications, including sports equipment.

MyRoomSolution, CU Boulder: Developing dispute-resolution software for university housing.

Orbital Micro Systems, CU Boulder: Developing microwave sensor satellites for space-based weather observation.

PRAAN Biosciences, CU Boulder: Developing single-molecule sequencing of human genomes.

Popneuron, CU Anschutz: Developing software that supports neuroscience-related research tools.

Red Cloud Communications, CU Boulder: Developing optical communication components.

SilLion, CU Boulder: Developing advanced materials for improved battery longevity.

Ubifocal, CU Boulder: Developing extended depth-of-field optics for correcting presbyopia.