Harvard University has introduced ExpressPath, a new technology licensing model designed to help startups bring university research to market faster. The initiative simplifies licensing agreements, establishes pre-defined financial terms and aims to reduce the lengthy negotiations that can delay commercialisation.
Launched by Harvard’s Office of Technology Development (OTD), ExpressPath covers three technology pathways: Engineering & Technology, Medical Device, and Software. The program offers financial terms benchmarked against those of peer universities, alongside a simplified licensing agreement. Researchers, startup teams and investors can review the terms and agreement through the OTD website, providing greater transparency and predictability from the beginning of the commercialisation process.
The initiative forms part of Harvard’s broader strategy to streamline the journey from laboratory discoveries to commercial products and services. In the coming months, OTD also plans to introduce initiatives designed to make it easier and clearer for industry partners to fund research in Harvard laboratories.
“The ExpressPath model is one part of Harvard’s broader effort to make it easier for research discoveries to move beyond the laboratory and into the world,” said Harvard’s Senior Vice Provost for Research John Shaw. “By reducing uncertainty and creating a clear path to commercialization, we can help researchers, founders, and investors move promising innovations forward more effectively and at a faster pace.”
Researchers can begin by reviewing the three ExpressPath licensing pathways, including their eligibility requirements and licence terms. Startup teams interested in the programme work with OTD to determine the most appropriate pathway. Once eligibility and suitability are confirmed, OTD and the startup team can move towards executing a licence without the typical negotiation phase that often delays commercialisation.
“We want the licensing process to move faster so startup teams can focus on the hard work of commercializing early-stage technology and building a company,” says Sam Liss, OTD’s chief technology development officer and associate provost. “Based on my discussions with faculty, researchers, and investors, it’s clear that the ExpressPath model will greatly simplify and streamline licensing.”
Three Licensing Pathways for Different Technologies
ExpressPath provides specific licensing routes for three broad categories of innovation:
- Engineering and Technology: Covers instruments, quantum technologies, advanced materials, coatings, hardware, electronics, artificial intelligence algorithms, robotics, energy, environmental technologies and other physical science innovations.
- Software: Offers two licensing tracks to accommodate the different needs of startup teams.
- Medical Devices: Covers healthcare devices, excluding traditional therapeutics and biologics.
To develop ExpressPath, OTD reviewed hundreds of technology licences at universities across the United States. It also consulted external stakeholders, including MassVentures, a venture capital firm and economic development agency for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that funds early-stage technology startups. Other investors and entrepreneurs also contributed to the process to help ensure the licensing terms reflected fair market benchmarks.
Reducing Licensing Delays and Legal Costs
Traditional university technology licensing can be a lengthy and expensive process. Negotiations may take more than six months and involve tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. By providing pre-defined, benchmarked financial terms and a simplified agreement from the outset, ExpressPath aims to reduce this process to a matter of weeks, or potentially less.
“Simply put, ExpressPath removes the haggling,” says Liss. “It’s really a different paradigm for how licensing will be done at Harvard for eligible startups.”
The standardised approach is also intended to make the process more consistent for entrepreneurs and investors. Instead of negotiating terms on a case-by-case basis, eligible companies will be able to work from pre-established conditions.
Russ Wilcox, an investor and entrepreneur who has navigated the licensing process about half a dozen times, described licensing as a “big bottleneck” for funders and entrepreneurs. He explained that the process can create a chicken-and-egg problem for emerging companies: investors generally want evidence that a licence is secured before committing funding, while startups need funds to undertake the licensing process.
“I think ExpressPath will have benefits for everybody” who needs to pursue licensing, Wilcox says, saving both time and money, and providing investor confidence in the licensing process. He expects the programme’s ease could allow more startups to grow from university labs because VCs will see fewer potential barriers to licensing intellectual property from them.
“Anything that makes it more likely that a great company can get going faster, using less capital to get started, is a good thing for innovation,” says Katie Rae, CEO and Managing Partner at Engine Ventures, who has served on several OTD entrepreneurship committees.
After licensing, “the real work” begins, according to Rae: “Then you have to go make a company out of it.” By lowering the barriers that come before, she says, “Harvard is listening and investing in the translation phase of innovation — it is fundamental to the economy.”
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