A century later, WARF continues to license and patent campus discoveries, helping to bring research from UW-Madison to the world for commercial use.
“Our mission has really kind of stood the test of time,” said Jeanine Burmania, the research foundation’s senior director of intellectual property and licensing.
The nonprofit — which is separate, but partners with UW-Madison — has grown and evolved since its beginnings. Today, WARF manages more than 3,000 active technologies and over 670 commercial licenses, with a $3.29 billion investment portfolio.
“WARF’s support has really been enormously valuable for UW-Madison, from investing in innovations that become spinoff companies, to creating pathways for promising new cancer treatments, to the support that we get every year,” Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said during a campus meeting in December.
The organization is set to provide $206.9 million in total support to UW-Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research this school year, including $50 million toward research projects and nearly $36 million for faculty, graduate students and staff.