Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation is the nonprofit technology transfer office of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is a significant source of research support, independent of federal grants. It currently contributes about $45 million per year, giving the university's research programs a "margin of excellence."

History

WARF was founded in 1925 by Harry Steenbock, who invented the process for using ultraviolet radiation to add vitamin D to milk and other foods. Rather than leaving the invention unpatented—then the standard practice for university inventions—he patented it, worked with Quaker Oats and pharmaceutical companies to commercialize it, and used the proceeds to fund research.

WARF was established with the donations of $100 from nine alumni of the University of Wisconsin, and verbal pledges from others. "The UW Board of Regents officially sanctioned the plan on June 22, 1925, and the organization's charter was filed with Wisconsin's Secretary of State on November 14th that same year. The new agency was named the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation to reflect both its governing body of UW-Madison alumni and its mission to support UW-Madison research. Funded by $900 in capital from the nine contributing alumni and with a governing body of five volunteer trustees, WARF officially opened for business." (quoted directly from WARF's website).

Since its founding, WARF has served the University of Wisconsin-Madison scientific community by patenting the discoveries of UW-Madison researchers and licensing these technologies to leading companies in Wisconsin, the United States and worldwide. In this way, WARF also facilitates the use of UW-Madison research for the maximum benefit of society. WARF distributes the income from commercial licenses to the UW-Madison, the inventors and their departments. Each year, WARF contributes over $45 million to fund additional UW-Madison research. The university refers to WARF's annual gifts as its "margin of excellence" funding. WARF currently licenses nearly 100 UW-Madison technologies each year.

As of 2003, WARF had an endowment of nearly $1.3 billion. A majority of WARF's income, around 70%, comes from Vitamin D.

While historically, WARF was only the technology transfer office for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, WARF has recently established WiSys to cater to the entire University of Wisconsin System.

Vitamin D

In 1923, Harry Steenbock discovered exposure to ultraviolet light increased the Vitamin D concentration in food. After discovering that irradiated rat food cured the rats of rickets, Steenbock sought a patent. Steenbock then assigned the patent to the newly established Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. WARF then licensed the technology to Quaker Oats for use in their breakfast cereals. In addition, WARF licensed the technology for use as a pharmaceutical, Viosterol. WARF's commercialization of Vitamin D culminated in its enrichment of milk.

"Enriching milk with vitamin D posed a significant challenge to WARF and its industry partners. Cereals and pharmaceuticals could be easily fortified by adding irradiated yeast or activated lipids (ergosterol) to them as sources of vitamin D. But strict pure foods laws at the time prohibited the addition of anything to milk, even chocolate. In order to produce vitamin D in milk, the milk itself would have to be irradiated. " (quote from site)

By the time the patent expired in 1945, rickets was all but nonexistent.

Through innovations from Hector DeLuca, Vitamin D continues to be a large percentage of WARF's income, around 70%.

Warfarin

Warfarin (Coumadin) is named for WARF, and the story of its discovery is emblematic of the "Wisconsin Idea" and the relationship of the university to the Wisconsin public. In 1933 a farmer from Deer Park showed up unannounced at the School of Agriculture and walked into a professor's laboratory with a milk can full of blood which would not coagulate. In his truck, he had also brought a dead heifer and some spoiled clover hay. He wanted to know what had killed his cow. In 1941, Karl Paul Link successfully isolated the anticoagulant factor, which found commercial application as a rodent-killer and is used in medicine for treating thrombosis.

Stem cells and WiCell

More recently, WARF was assigned the patents for non-human primate and human embryonic stem cells. The stem cells were first isolated and purified by James Thomson. In October 1999, WARF established the non-profit subsidiary WiCell in order to license its stem cell lines. Thomson was appointed as WiCell's scientific director.

Startup companies

WARF has also helped establish more than a thirty startup companies including Nimblegen, Tomotherapy, Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals, Quinntessence, Neoclone, Third Wave Technologies, Cambria Biosciences, and OpGen, Inc..

External links

WARF - Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
WARF's History
Miracle In the Midwest - How Madison, Wis. Became A Hotebed Of Biocapitalism, Forbes Magazine, 05.24.04.
WARF's Vitamin D patents