Dr Anne Lane, CEO of UCL Business, recognised for building UCL’s excellence in commercialisation

After two decades spent building UCL’s commercialisation company, the award recognises Anne as “one of the most accomplished and long-standing members of the profession in the country”.

Whether by establishing new spinout businesses, or licensing those ideas to established businesses, Anne’s leadership has helped academics go the distance with their breakthrough ideas.

Enabling transformative innovation

In the past five years, UCL Business (UCLB) has helped raise over £1.5 billion in investment for UCL’s spinouts. With this investment comes the chance to create real change. 

For example, UCL is a world-leader in taking biomedical research and discoveries from the lab to the clinic. Advanced therapy spinouts Orchard Therapeutics, Autolus Therapeutics, Meria GTX, Freeline Therapeutics and Achilles Therapeutics are all transforming the lives of patients with difficult to-treat conditions, such as cancer. They’ve collectively raised $795.7 million (£592.64 million) in initial public offerings (IPOs) on the NASDAQ since 2018.

UCL spinouts such as Bramble Energy and Carbon Re are helping to tackle the climate emergency. Bramble is developing advanced hydrogen fuel cell technologies, working with industrial partners in automotive and marine. While Carbon Re’s software platform enables industries to instantly cut energy consumption, driving a reduction in global emissions at the gigatonne scale. 

Other UCL spinouts such as Humanloop are leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, in cooperation with human workers, to help businesses solve problems. 

Accepting her award, Anne commented: “I'm thrilled to have been given this accolade. No-one who receives an award like this does so in isolation. I first joined UCL Ventures, the precursor to UCLB, in 2000, and have led UCLB since March 2019. I have a great team at UCLB supporting me, as well as a forward-thinking, world-leading university in UCL.

“There’s plenty more that needs to be done. I'm determined to continue to drive UCL and UCLB’s mission to translate knowledge and discoveries for the benefit of wider society and the economy for the foreseeable future.”

Innovative funding and commercialisation models

Just as UCL’s researchers generate world-leading research, UCLB has sought to innovate in its own operations to ensure it continues to offer the best possible service.

UCL has funds and commercialisation models designed to support innovation in all disciplines, of every type, and at every stage. 

The UCL Technology Fund, managed by Albion VC in collaboration with UCLB, is dedicated to investing in intellectual property (IP) commercialisation opportunities arising from UCL’s research. It focuses, in particular, on the areas of physical and life sciences.

Portico Ventures is a commercialisation model designed to help UCL researchers set up technology businesses based on non-patentable IP that can thrive in a fast-moving ecosystem.

Apollo Therapeutics, a partnership with leading UK universities and pharmaceutical companies, identifies and advances research that may generate new medicines for areas of high medical need.

The Social Ventures Proof of Concept Fund supports UCL researchers who want to take their innovation and create a social venture that maximises the social value of their work. 

Professor David Price, UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement) commented: “Congratulations to Anne on this richly deserved award. Over the last two decades, Anne has created a sector-leading commercialisation team that plays a critical role in translating UCL’s cutting-edge knowledge and ideas externally to address the significant challenges that society faces.

“UCLB’s winning formula, together with the brilliant multidisciplinary research of UCL, has helped UCL go from strength to strength in this area, and gives us every reason to be optimistic about what can be achieved in the future.”

UCLB sits within UCL Innovation & Enterprise, a group of specialists supporting UCL’s community to realise the potential of their ideas and take them out into the wider world to benefit society and the economy.

Some of the ways it does this are by:

• facilitating partnerships with businesses and not-for-profits
• developing bespoke short courses for professionals and organisations
• providing consultancy to industry, government and policy-makers
• creating startups
• commercialising and licensing discoveries

Links

Find out more about:

• Global University Venturing Lifetime Achievement Award
• UCLB
• Innovation and enterprise support for UCL staff
• Support for external organisations to partner with UCL
• UCL Technology Fund
• UCL spinouts

Photo © UCLB