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The IMPACT-IP project is incredibly important in ensuring that more UK Universities are in a position to spin-out and commercialise their world-leading research. Very few UK universities have their own investment document templates – the work that is being undertaken now to prepare the Deal Readiness Toolkit will be fundamental in standardising the approach to spin-out legals, which will drive the acceleration of ground-breaking research commercialisation.

University innovation holds tremendous untapped potential, yet approaches and agreements still vary wildly between universities. This project aims to standardise spin-out processes and dramatically streamline technology transfer. By consolidating templates and best practices, this pilot programme promises to reduce transaction times, lower legal costs, and improve deal consistency. Ultimately, strengthening the UK's position in translating academic breakthroughs into real-world impact.

SETsquared's Deal Readiness Toolkit is an excellent resource which makes a streamlined spin-out process accessible to all.  The Toolkit builds best practice and standardises the approach to spin-outs, allowing universities, founders and investors to establish transformative companies smoothly and efficiently so they can get on with developing and commercialising their cutting-edge technologies.  We're confident that the toolkit will optimise the opportunities for successful commercialisation of innovative academic research and increased investment across the UK.

VWV are very proud to have played a lead role in the development of the Toolkit, working very closely with two other forward-thinking law firms, three venture capital investors (each specialists in spin-out investment) and the six research commercialisation teams.  A great deal of work has gone into this to create a toolkit of template documents and playbooks that I genuinely believe will transform and expedite the spin-out (and spin-out investment) process.  We are already working with potential spin-out companies from the SETsquared universities who will benefit greatly from the collective effort! Exciting times ahead!

IMPACT-IP is the result of collaboration between experienced stakeholders within the technology transfer community, from university commercialisation teams, to legal counsel and investors. The Toolkit includes playbooks and deal readiness documentation, which will enable parties to quickly understand each other's viewpoints. This should therefore fast-track reaching deals and accessing investment, facilitating scale-up and growth in the dynamic UK technology space.

I fully expect the IMPACT-IP Deal Readiness Toolkit to be an absolute godsend to all professionals working in the university technology transfer sector. Why re-invent the wheel when you can refer to, and implement, the Toolkit which helpfully provides you with many of the “spokes” to that wheel in a very convenient reference repository! A techtran executive can refer to the Toolkit and quickly consider IP due diligence, IP ownership agreements, and other important issues underpinning university-derived IP, and how its commercialisation can be achieved to maximise its value, be that by a spin-out or licensing opportunity

Intellectual Property (IP) plays a critical role in unlocking innovation and achieving research impact. The Deal Readiness Toolkit is bringing together the knowledge of numerous IP professionals,  with decades of collective experience, into an easily accessible format that has the potential to become the go-to resource for universities.

Spinning out a biotech company is a complex, multidisciplinary process with many moving parts. The Deal Readiness Toolkit is an invaluable resource for founders navigating this journey. It provides clear guidance, practical checklists, and best practices to streamline the process, helping founders prepare for investor scrutiny and avoid common pitfalls. This comprehensive toolkit consolidates insights from expert advisors across the technology transfer spectrum - from discovery, legal, and IP to investment, licensing, and commercial development. I highly recommend it to any aspiring founder looking to commercialise their scientific discoveries.