Yeda R&D — Weizmann Institute's Technology Transfer Company

Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., founded 1959-60 as the technology-transfer arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, is frequently described as the first university technology-transfer company in Israel and one of the first in the world; Weizmann scientists disclose inventions to Yeda, which patents and licenses them to industry, returning royalty income to inventors and reinvesting the remainder in the Institute.

Licensed inventions include the multiple-sclerosis drug Copaxone (with Teva), the MS drug Rebif (with Merck Serono), and antibody technologies underlying Humira, Erbitux and Vectibix. Weizmann states products/IP from its research generate roughly $37 billion a year in global licensee sales; independent business-press coverage separately reports over $2 billion in cumulative Yeda royalties across a six-year period. In January 2020, Yeda and Deerfield Management formed Orchard Innovations LLC, with Deerfield committing up to $130 million over ten years for Weizmann drug-development projects.

Published patent counts vary sharply by source (roughly 500 vs. ~2,200 patent families, depending on whether the count is active or cumulative historical filings), and Yeda's own website was unreachable for direct verification during evaluation, so some figures rely on secondary business-press coverage rather than Yeda's primary disclosures.