Academic-Industry Partnerships Contributed $1.7 Trillion, Supported 5.9 Million Jobs Since 1996
The licensing of university research has made a significant contribution to US gross domestic product (GDP), industry gross output, and jobs over the last two decades, according to an independent study commissioned by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization and AUTM.
The report, The Economic Contribution of University/Nonprofit Inventions in the United States: 1996-2017, documents the sizeable return that US taxpayers receive on their investment in federally-funded research. It shows that, during a 20-year period, academic patents and the subsequent licensing to industry bolstered US industry gross output by up to $1.7trillion, US GDP by up to $865 billion, and supported up to 5.9M per millionon years of employment.