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Good practice Imported

Dirección de Transferencia y Desarrollo (DTD) — Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Chile · Santiago · See the Chile profile · See the Santiago profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 54% 67/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Chile's top patent-filing institution for 7 straight years (INAPI), UC Chile's transfer office has produced 24+ spin-offs worth US$55M combined and holds 476 active patents, per the university and independent Chilean press — though most figures are self-reported and date to 2018.

476 patents
Active patents (current)
1,005 applications
Cumulative patent applications filed (cumulative)
243 patents
Patents granted (as of December 2021)
24+ companies
Spin-off companies created (2018)
55.2 million USD
Combined spin-off valuation (2018)
23.1 million USD
Spin-off annual sales (2018)
71 projects
R&D projects funded (2018)
6.7 million USD
R&D funding (2018)
Dirección de Transferencia y Desarrollo (DTD) — Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile — Dirección de Transferencia y Desarrollo
Period
2013–present
Keywords
University technology transfer, patent licensing, spin-off creation

Context

The Dirección de Transferencia y Desarrollo (DTD) is the technology-transfer office of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC Chile) in Santiago, established around 2013 to identify, protect and commercialize university research through patents, licensing and spin-off creation.

Objectives

The office aims to convert university research into patents, licenses and spin-off companies, sustaining Chile's leading position in academic patent filing and channeling government R&D funding into applied projects with industry.

Activities

DTD has filed 1,005 cumulative patent applications, of which 243 had been granted as of December 2021, and maintains 476 active patents; it backed 71 R&D projects in 2018 with US$6.7 million in funding (95% from government sources) and supports commercialization deals such as a functional food ingredient licensed to Alimentos Valle Central and a mining-waste-conversion process supported by BHP and Melón.

Results

Per Chile's national IP office (INAPI), UC Chile held the #1 patent-filing ranking among Chilean institutions for seven consecutive years; the office had produced 24+ science-and-technology spin-off companies (2018 figures) with a combined valuation of US$55.2 million and US$23.1 million in annual sales, including GeneproDX, a molecular thyroid-cancer diagnostics company.

Conclusions

The DTD demonstrates a sustained, university-anchored technology-transfer model, though the spin-off valuation and sales figures have not been refreshed in public reporting since 2018 and no independent economic-impact audit has been conducted.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Backed 71 R&D projects in 2018 with US$6.7 million in funding, 95% from government sources; ongoing operating costs beyond that year are not disclosed.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Operating since approximately 2013; #1 national patent-filing ranking sustained for seven consecutive years per INAPI.
Staffing & skills
Operated as a dedicated university technology-transfer office (DTD) within Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Conditions for success

  • Sustained government R&D funding (95% of project funding from government sources in 2018)
  • Structured patent and licensing pipeline with industry partners (e.g., BHP, Melón, Alimentos Valle Central)
  • Long operating history (since ~2013) enabling consistent patent-ranking performance

Where it fits

Governance type
university-run technology transfer office
Scale
institutional (single university, 300+ active technologies)
Income level
high income (Chile, OECD member)

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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