The session “Let’s Talk Business – How to Commercialise Breakthrough Research”, which took place on 17 September 2025 during the Research and Innovation Days, highlighted how smart strategy, strong industry-academia collaboration and innovative intellectual asset management can accelerate spinoff creation and commercialisation of cutting-edge research.
The session was moderated by Maria Cristina Russo, Director for Prosperity at the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation at the European Commission. The discussion showed how research commercialisation is achieved in practice, drawing on the experience of the following expert speakers:
- Anne Lane, Chief Executive Officer of the University College London Business Ltd (UCLB),
- Harald Holzer, Managing Director at HIGHEST and Head of Technology Transfer Department at Technical University Darmstadt, and,
- Gilles Requena Chief Patent Research and Policy Officer at the European Patent Office (EPO).
The session was attended by close to 500 participants in the room and more online, representing a wide range of research and innovation stakeholders.
Bringing research results to the market is a must for EU competitiveness
To kick off the discussion, Maria Cristina Russo emphasised the importance of new initiatives – like the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy – that respond to the wake-up call included in the Draghi Report, published one year ago. One of the key priorities stressed in the report for supporting European competitiveness is the need to better translate research results into commercial applications and breakthrough innovations.
Key ingredients for success are fast and tailored deals paired with collaboration
In her intervention, Anne Lane, Chief Executive Officer of UCL Business, outlined three key ingredients for successful spin-out creation: 1) a strong focus on quality and impact—spin-outs must be robust, uniquely positioned in the market and capable of addressing societal challenges, 2) speed and fairness in deal-making—in a fast-moving environment, agility is essential to becoming a market leader, and 3) tailored support through bespoke services and training that meet the specific needs of founders.
Pooling strengths to gain critical mass helps deliver real breakthroughs
Harald Holzer, Head of the combined Managing Director at HIGHEST and Head of Technology Transfer Department at TU Darmstadt, stressed the need to strengthen collaboration and avoid fragmentation. - For real breakthroughs, working in silos needs to be replaced by pooling strengths to gain critical mass and bringing in corporate actors early on. The ‘virtual shares’ model he presented offers a flexible and investor-friendly way to transfer university owned Intellectual Property (IP) to spin-offs.
Support tools are available for innovators to manage intellectual assets
Gilles Requena, Chief Patent Research and Policy Officer at the EPO, stressed that patents are an important tool for inventors, significantly increasing the chance to raise funding. Numerous free of charge tools and services offered by the EPO to support the Innovation journey. They include Espacenet – a patent search tool – and the Deep Tech Finder, which facilitate access to the technical knowledge contained in the EPO databases. In addition, the PATLIB network, which comprises more than 300 centres across EPO member countries, offers advice and services based on IP to customers such as local small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), research organisations, and individual innovators.
Collaboration and scale-up are key to commercialise breakthrough research
Maria Cristina Russo summed up the speakers’ insights on commercialising breakthrough research into three key elements: Breaking down silos, fostering collaboration and scaling up.
In a virtual poll, the audience was asked for their views on the key ingredient to commercialise breakthrough research in Europe. 64% of participants indicated access to funding, followed by entrepreneurial mindset and strong industry-academia collaboration.
For more information
More information on the Commission’s work to support knowledge valorisation – creating social and economic value from research results – is available online.
The Research & Innovation Days session from 17 September 2025 “Let's Talk Business - How to Commercialise Breakthrough Research” can be rewatched in full.