The Mayo Clinic has ranked No. 1 among research institutions in the U.S. for bringing its innovations to market, according to a new report.
Heartland Forward, a nonprofit that works to improve economic performance in a 20-state center region of the U.S, released a report this week that places the Rochester, Minn.-based health care system as the top spot for technology transfer – that is, spinning off technology developed in the institution to commercial uses.
The new report stated that the Mayo Clinic’s top ranking was due to its medical and life sciences research, which produced the most startups and invention disclosures of any of the other institutions evaluated by the nonprofit. Examining 2017 through 2019, Mayo Clinic formed an average of 12.3 startups per year and recorded about 548 invention disclosures per year, according to data provided by the nonprofit. The institution also averaged about $822 million in total research expenditures per year, the data show.
A research institution, as defined by the nonprofit for this ranking, includes hospitals, private research institutions and federal labs that are either government-owned or operated by contractors, the report said. The Boston Children’s Hospital ranked second, followed by Philadelphia-based Wistar Institute.
The ranking includes research institutions that reported their results to the Association of University Technology Managers Inc., or AUTM.
Lake Forest, Calif.-based Tenex Health Inc., now acquired, is an example of a startup spun off from Mayo Clinic.
The report also placed the University of Minnesota 10th among U.S. universities for its efforts in technology transfer, otherwise known as technology commercialization. It noted that the university’s strengths include the number of startups it's launched and the average number of licenses and options issued. It also noted that the university's spun-out startups largely stay in Minnesota, "contributing to the local economy."
Minne Inno reported in August that the university launched a record number of startups – 22 – in the past year. The university’s technology commercialization division, through its Venture Center, has spun out over 200 startups since it formed in 2006. Of those that have launched between then and the 2022 fiscal year, 71% are located in Minnesota.
The new report was built upon a previous report released by the nonprofit earlier this year, focused on university tech transfer efforts. That report placed the University of Minnesota as the first among states in the Heartland region and fifth among U.S. public universities.
