Oak Ridge is Lab Breeder Reactor for Spinoffs
Published Apr 08, 2001
Theragenics has teamed up with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to produce radioactive materials used in helping to control prostate cancer.
As a pioneer in medical implant technology to control prostate cancer, Theragenics has a unique relationship with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). To boost production capacity, the Atlanta-based company has leased technology and equipment at ORNL, which previously had been used to make atomic warheads.
According to Theragenics chairman and CEO Christine Jacobs, the ability to make nuclear products in Oak Ridge, combined with plants in two other counties, gives the 20-year-old company the option to increase capacity. By doing this, the company will be able to boost its supply of radioactive material or “seeds” used in helping to control prostate cancer as well as introduce new products for use in coronary disease and eye disorders.
“This could be one of the most significant developments for us since we went public in 1986,” Jacobs says.
But Theragenics is not the only company ORNL is helping these days. ORNL is on a mission: to conduct basic and applied research and development to create scientific knowledge and technical solutions that strengthen the nation’s leadership in key areas of science, increase the availability of clean energy, restore and protect the environment, and contribute to national security. Through this effort and with the help of U.T.-Battelle – which has been managing ORNL on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy since April 2000 – ORNL has formed a new, unique partnership to spin off new companies in Tennessee to spur economic growth.
With some 1,100 pieces of intellectual property, ORNL formed a partnership with Technology 2020, a public-private partnership located in Oak Ridge to establish the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth (CEG), and announced a goal of creating 10 new companies a year from lab-based technology. Since April 2000, 12 new Tennessee companies have been formed. Technology 2020 links CEG companies with ORNL resources that can share technical expertise, and provides the companies with assistance in preparing business plans, applying for grants and loans, marketing and advertising, and other aspects of starting a business.
TennBase, a Powell, Tenn.-based firm involved in software for manufacturing set-up and optimization, is one of these CEG companies.
“I was interested in finding a business opportunity and thought Technology 2020 would be a good place to start looking,” recalls Everett L. Stewart, president of TennBase. “I attended a meeting of the Tennessee Business Alliance, where I met people from Technology 2020 and the Tennessee Technology Development Corp.”
From there, Stewart discovered opportunities and further contacts that led him to technology transfer possibilities.
“I was impressed by the business nature of the people involved with Technology 2020,” he says. “They were patient. They made sure I understood the technology and was comfortable with the opportunity.”
Jan Haerer, director of technology transfer at ORNL, says that ORNL has been involved in several new initiatives for economic development. In addition to the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth initiative with Technology 2020, she points to the Technopreneurial Leadership Center at the University of Tennessee as being the first of its kind in the nation to give graduate students actual experience in forming and running a company.
“The goal is to teach people how to become entrepreneurs,” she says. The concept was based on the college’s slogan – “Come for a degree, leave with a company.” ORNL provides licensed technology to Technopreneurial Leadership Center student teams who have formed new companies. Student teams have formed 13 new Tennessee companies, and several have already executed licenses for ORNL technology.
“We originally thought the program, which was started in the fall of 2000, would appeal to college-age students,” Haerer says. “But we soon found that our students were not only in their 20s, but their 30s, 40s and 50s. Now other Tennessee colleges are looking at adopting the program across the state.”
Venture capital is always a primary concern for start-up companies. In the past, Tennessee has suffered from a shortage of venture capital, but ORNL is helping change that scenario as well. Joining with Technology 2020 and the Tennessee Technology Development Corp., ORNL has helped established the TennesSeed Fund, a $40 million investment pool for area early-stage technology companies. The fund is expected to make investments in up to 40 companies at peak activity.
Story by Karen E. Thuermer
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