Each CRT project is assessed for the optimal commercialisation route to maximise potential cancer patient benefit. Possible paths include research collaborations, direct licensing, or spin-out companies.

Research collaborations with commercial partners are often used to develop early stage technology, often under an evaluation or option agreement. Provided that the commercial partner funds the research programme they will usually be granted an option to exclusively license the intellectual property created from the collaboration. Collaborations can provide funds to recruit additional researchers, purchase equipment or enable academic researchers to access the complementary skills available within the company.

The most common commercialisation route is the grant of a licence to a commercial partner. Occasionally where there is a strong portfolio of intellectual property, CRT will investigate the possibility of forming a start-up company. (Click here for a list of CRT’s start-up companies).

Whichever commercialisation route is chosen, CRT’s in-house legal team prepares high-quality, robust agreements that clearly define the expectations, intentions and obligations of all parties. The legal team is experienced in structuring, negotiating and drafting a wide variety of agreements on behalf of its academic partners. On average, CRT concludes around thirty licensing or collaboration agreements each year.