Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

From Badger Herald Wiki

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling.

This article needs additional citations for verification.

This article may need to be updated.

Founded in 1925, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is a private, non-profit organization that processes, patents and licenses inventions produced by University of Wisconsin faculty and staff. Using the royalties produced by these inventions, WARF funds millions of dollars of research and other programs at UW each year, reducing the university's reliance on federal grants.

Contents 1 Responsibilities 2 Process 3 Major breakthroughs, projects 3.1 Rickets, Vitamin D 3.2 Warfarin 3.3 Stem cells 3.4 Wisconsin Institute for Discovery 4 External links 4.1 Notable articles 4.2 Other resources

Responsibilities

According to its website, WARF was founded in 1925 to support scientific research at UW by managing the commercialization of researchers' inventions to produce funding to put back into the university and WARF's endowment.

Data from 2008 on the site says WARF has:

• Processed about 6,000 inventions
• Obtained 1,900 patents
• Produced more than 1,600 licensing agreements
• Given more than $990 million back to UW, which has been used to support:
  • More than 54,000 research projects
  • Named professorships
  • Graduate fellowships
  • Faculty retention
  • Building projects all over campus

Today, WARF manages hundreds of patents in the U.S. and abroad, provides the opportunity to license more than 1,000 technologies, maintains hundreds of license agreements and holds equity in dozens of companies relating back to UW.

Process

Any UW researcher can submit an invention to WARF for consideration, assuming they are OK with handing ownership over to the foundation. WARF then evaluates the invention for its patentability and commercial value. If accepted, the researcher is provided an attorney to aid in the patenting process. WARF then handles all tasks involving commercialization and licensing of the invention. While WARF owns each invention, 20 percent of the gross licensing revenue each produces is returned to the inventor.

Major breakthroughs, projects

Rickets, Vitamin D

WARF's first major success came in the form of a 1923 discovery that Vitamin D concentration increased in food exposed to ultraviolet light. As lack of Vitamin D was a severe cause of rickets-a softening of the bones in children-the breakthrough nearly eliminated the disease after it was licensed to companies that produced goods such as cereal and milk.

While the original Vitamin D patent is long expired, further breakthroughs in the area, chiefly by professor Hector DeLuca, continue to drive a large majority of WARF's income.

Warfarin

Developed in the lab of UW researcher Karl Link, warfarin debuted in 1948 as a rodent poison. The substance was patented by, and named after, WARF. In 1954, warfarin was approved for use in humans as an anticoagulant. By working as a blood thinner, it is used to treat cardiovascular diseases and is the anticoagulant most commonly prescribed in North America.

Stem cells

Through sub-organization WiCell, WARF is a major provider of stem cell resources to researchers all over the world. WARF's prominence as a distributor dates back to 1998 when now-UW School of Medicine and Public Health professor James Thomson's lab produced the first viable human stem cell lines.

In August of 2001, former president George W. Bush announced the federal government would only fund already existing stem cell lines for research. After WARF, which held the patent to UW's developments, claimed all of the qualifying lines fell under its patent (the final tally was they patents for five of 72 lines worldwide), an agreement was reached with the National Institute of Health. The deal allowed WARF to retain its commercial rights but allowed NIH to distribute the cells. WARF also agreed to make the cell lines accessible for non-profit researchers. While stem cells were available from institutions all over the world, UW's lines were especially well-established and accessible, making them among the most commonly distributed.

In October of 2005, UW's WiCell Research Institute, led by Thomson, was selected to house the National Stem Cell Bank, which would house all federally accepted stem cell lines. While the bank's contract with the federal government will expire at the end of February, WiCell will continue to distribute a wide variety of cells.

Wisconsin Institute for Discovery

The Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery is a research space currently under construction on the UW campus that is intended to facilitate cross-discipline collaboration on research projects. While the building project was proposed by the state, it first became possible after a $50 million donation from the Morgridge family, which will fund the private half of the building. The other half, the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, was made possible by a $50 million donation from WARF.

The building is scheduled to open in December of 2010.

External links

Notable articles

• WARF gives NIH scientists access to stem cells
• WARF, Geron reach settlement
• Morgridge, WARF to fund WID
• Feds uphold stem cell patents
• Researcher's non-WARF royalties stir controversy
• Some fear grad school restructuring could affect funding

Other resources

• WARF site