‘Spin-outs’ are companies formed thanks to the concerted efforts of both academics and research commercialisation teams. Translation of ideas born in the university’s labs and libraries into commercial products which provide real solutions to our world’s problems is more often than not associated with assiduous work from these parts and require additional help from third party players. Grant funding from bodies such as Innovate UK and Welcome Trust are often at the core of supporting key stages of this journey.
Bristol spin-outs have secured £3.8M worth of grants in 2018 alone according to a Beauhurst article published last month. To name only a few, iComat, Zentraxa and Rosa biotech are spin-outs examples in Bristol who have recently secured grant funding.
The University of Bristol ranks 5th after Imperial in the top UK universities by number of grants secured by spin-outs and 6th after UCL in the top UK universities by value of grants secured by spin-outs in 2018 (Beauhurst, May 2019).