Partnerships & Acquisitions

On July 28, 2011, the National Science Foundation launched Innovation-Corps (I-Corps), a public-private partnership designed to bring promising research projects out of the lab and into the marketplace. Supported by the Deshpande and Kauffman Foundations, I-Corps was developed in conjunction with the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and is a part of the Obama Administration’s focus on innovation. Through I-Corps, NSF seeks to identify and nurture research capable of transitioning out of academia and the laboratory, and link it into a broader network of entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts. I-Corps requires awardees to attend classes and learn the mechanics of creating a start-up company. Awardees would be required to assess their field and potential competitors, determine their customer base, attract investment, and market their ideas. Critically, this process is meant to enable grantees to define what value their idea or invention adds to the marketplace. While there are many possible outcomes for I-Corps teams, those envisioned by NSF include: start-up businesses, licenses to technologies or products, SBIR proposals, and business plans ready for investor support. Each team will utilize a mentor, who is a volunteer from the private sector with expertise in converting academic research into commercial products and technologies. NSF anticipates awarding one hundred $50,000 grants a year for three years. Each award will be made to a team led by a Principal Investigator (PI). PIs must either be current NSF grantees or have received an NSF award within five years previous to submitting an I-Corps proposal. More information is available at http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/i-corps/ 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Sony Corp. announced at a celebration today (Feb. 10) that it had acquired iCyt Mission Technology Inc., a fast-growing University of Illinois Research Park biotechnology company. iCyt’s flow cytometry machines use electronic devices to count, examine and sort cells and chromosomes for diagnostic and research purposes. iCyt’s customers include university research laboratories, major hospitals, private labs, as well as corporations, such as Monsanto. The Sony acquisition represents a new venture into the health care market for the electronics giant offering potentially new and powerful applications of its optic, data-transmission and Blu-ray disc technologies. Keiji Kimura, Sony’s executive vice president, also cited his company’s bringing “expertise in manufacturing consumer products” to the enterprise. iCyt (www.i-cyt.com), founded in 1995, moved its staff of two into the university’s research park incubator in 2000. In 2005, they moved into the iCyt Building, expanded and added manufacturing and assembly operations in 2007. The company now has 44 full-timeemployees. iCyt founder and CEO Gary Durack continues to lead the new fully owned subsidiary of Sony Corp. of America (www.sony.com). “The University, Research Park and community have all been very supportive of iCyt. They have helped us function like a big company and compete with big players in our industry,”  Durack said. “When Sony was evaluating our business, they appreciated the collaboration with the University and the facilities in the park that support our business. I am extremely thankful to the University, Fox/Atkins Development, our investors and the community for their support,” he added. iCyt has collaborative research projects with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s College of Veterinary Medicine and its Institute for Genomic Biology with the Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana-Champaign (/www.igb.uiuc.edu/facilities&services/scf.html). Local angel investors and IllinoisVENTURES (www.illinoisventures.com), the U of I’s early-stage technology investment firm, provided early-stage funding for iCyt, and Open Prairie Ventures provided additional funding. Avijit Ghosh, University of Illinois vice president for technology and economic development, said iCyt’s fast progress is a 21st century prototype of starting with university-based research, growing the startup at the research park, making smart decisions about growth and taking products to market. “Acquisition by Sony Corp. represents the next stage of iCyt’s growth into a major biotech player,” Ghosh said. The U of I’s research park (researchpark5.wpenginepowered.com) celebrates its 10th birthday this year. Sony news release: http://www.i-cyt.com/news/2010/sony-icyt-merger.htm Contact: Gary Durack                                                Avijit Ghosh CEO                                                                Vice President for Technology and iCyt                                                                 Economic Development (217) 693-4500                                          (217) 265-5440 gary.durack@i-cyt.com                         vpted@uillinois.edu                                                                         Laura Appenzeller Frerichs                                                                         Director                                                                         University of Illinois Research Park                                                                         (217) 333- 8324