Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee University is UK’s best for spin-out success

The University of Dundee came out on top of a study of the best 100 UK universities for supporting spin-out businesses.

University of Dundee's life sciences building.
University of Dundee's life sciences building.

The University of Dundee has been named the UK’s best for supporting spin-out businesses, according to new research.

It beat the likes of Oxford, Cambridge and University College London to top the newly published list.

The report looked at factors including numbers of patents, spin-out companies created and recent portfolio success.

Spin-outs are companies founded within a university, often to commercialise academic research.

For Dundee, that included the £2.2 billion IPO of Exscientia on the US NASDAQ, one of the largest ever UK university exits.

Dundee the ‘undisputed home of spin-outs’

Dr David McBeth, the university’s vice-principal for enterprise and economic transformation, said: “This award confirms Dundee’s modern status as the undisputed home of successful UK spin-outs.

“The foundations of our success are world-leading life and biomedical sciences research, and innovative entrepreneurial researchers.

Dr David McBeth, the university’s vice-principal for enterprise and economic transformation. Image: Dundee University.

“Our commitment to driving the creation of increasing numbers of high growth potential spin-out and start-up companies is reflected in several infrastructure investments.”

Those investments include a new life sciences innovation hub, part funded by the Tay Cities Deal. It is due to open in late 2024.

Plan to make Dundee a ‘magnet’

After topping the report, compiled Octopus Ventures, one of Europe’s largest venture capital teams,.Mr McBeth said the university’s aim is to become a “magnet” for the life sciences and health sector.

However, he said currently some spin-outs are moving away from Dundee, or indeed out of Scotland, in order to expand.

Mr McBeth added: “We are demonstrating in real-time the sort of impacts that many government strategies seek.

“It is critical that we work with government and its agencies, and vice versa, to create the infrastructure that will help keep these businesses and the jobs they create, closer to their origins.”

Dundee University firm wins £40m deal

Another Dundee University spin-out that has gone on to achieve success is biotech firm Tay Therapeutics.

Formerly known as In4Derm, it spun out from the university’s school of life sciences in 2020.

It was founded by Dr Andrew Woodland and Dr Mark Bell. They aim to develop the next generation of drug therapies.

Dr Andrew Woodland, chief executive of Tay Therapeutics.
Dr Andrew Woodland, chief executive of Tay Therapeutics. Image: Dundee University.

Earlier this year, the company announced a licensing deal with Vyne Therapeutics worth a potential £40 million. That followed a £16m deal in 2021.

It operates from the university’s incubator for businesses and employs 12 people.

Dr Woodland hailed the impact of the university’s support.

He said: “Being able to develop our spin-out company and drug discovery projects within the University of Dundee gave Tay Therapeutics access to cutting edge facilities, world class experts and a unique innovation ecosystem.

“We would not have been able to license two of our projects without the university’s initial support.

“Dundee truly is the City of Discovery, and the University of Dundee is an essential element of that.”

Conversation