PACTT UNIL-CHUV

What PACTT UNIL-CHUV does

PACTT UNIL-CHUV, recently rebranded as Knowledge Transfer UNIL CHUV in May 2025, is the joint technology transfer office of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). Founded in February 2000 and headquartered at the Biopôle campus in Epalinges, Lausanne, the office provides intellectual property management, contract negotiation, licensing, and startup-creation support to UNIL-CHUV researchers. Services include invention disclosure evaluation, patent filing and prosecution (costs covered by PACTT and recouped from future royalties), negotiation of research, service, consulting, license, and material transfer agreements, identification of industrial partners, business plan support, and management of the InnoPACTT funding ecosystem comprising InnoTREK (one-year spin-off grant of CHF 100,000), InnoSTEP (proof-of-concept grants up to CHF 40,000), and InnoDIGITAL (digital innovation grants up to CHF 40,000, launched 2024).

PACTT serves two primary segments: internal UNIL-CHUV researchers seeking to commercialize discoveries, and external industry partners — biotech, medtech, pharma, agriculture, and technology companies — seeking to license UNIL-CHUV technologies or establish research collaborations. The organization is a public service unit funded through its parent institutions and does not have external shareholders; net licensing income is distributed under a fixed formula (1/3 to inventor, 1/3 to research unit, 1/3 to institutions, with 10% operational overhead retained and patent costs deducted). Named licensing counterparties include Prokarium (exclusive license for Salmonella-based bladder cancer immunotherapy, Phase I trial PARADIGM-1 in the US), i-Seq Biotechnology (exclusive license for CRISPRi-seq co-owned with Institut Pasteur Lille, founded October 2024), Biocompatibles/BTG International (sustained-release embolization for liver tumors), and MRC Technology (MALT1 inhibitors for diffuse large B cell lymphoma).

The organization operates with approximately 8-12 staff covering the full commercialization stack — Director, Senior Deal Manager, Head of Investments, Licensing Managers, Legal Counsel, Senior Scientific Advisor, Business Development Manager, Valuation and Contract Manager, Paralegal, and Administration & Finance — and has supported 34+ InnoTREK laureates since 2013. Partnerships include BioAlps and UNITEC (co-organizers of BioInnovation Day), Innosuisse (funding guidance), FIT (co-funder of InnoTREK), and the European HIV Vaccine Alliance (technology transfer role for Swiss academic partners).

Name

PACTT UNIL-CHUV

Legal name

PACTT

Website

https://pactt.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Knowledge Transfer UNIL CHUV (formerly PACTT) is the joint technology transfer office of the University of Lausanne and Lausanne University Hospital, providing IP management, licensing negotiation, and startup-creation support to academic researchers and external industry partners in life sciences and beyond.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Technology Transfer Services

NAICS

Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (533), Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (54), Other Legal Services (54119)

SIC

Patent Owners & Lessors (6794), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Standards-Essential Patents (SEP) & FRAND Advisory (BPAHAMAL)

Keywords

• Technology transfer services
• Intellectual property licensing
• Academic research commercialization
• Patent management services
• Spin-off creation support

Headquarters

HQ city

Epalinges/Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Licensing and Royalty Revenue: Revenue generated from licensing university-developed technologies to industry partners. Net income distributed as follows: 1/3 to inventor(s), 1/3 to research unit, 1/3 to institutions. Patent application expenses and 10% operational cost overhead are deducted before distribution.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PACTT (Knowledge Transfer UNIL CHUV) is the joint technology transfer office of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). Its core offering is the protection and commercialization of academic intellectual property — evaluating invention disclosures, filing and prosecuting patents, negotiating license, research, service, consulting, and material transfer agreements with industry, identifying industrial partners, supporting spin-off creation, and administering the InnoPACTT funding programs (InnoTREK, InnoSTEP, InnoDIGITAL). Services to UNIL and CHUV researchers are provided without charge, with patent and preliminary analysis costs recouped from future licensing revenues.

Product overview

Knowledge Transfer UNIL CHUV (formerly PACTT) is a joint technology transfer office serving the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and the University Hospital of Lausanne (CHUV). The organization offers a portfolio of services centered on intellectual property management, contract negotiation, and technology commercialisation. Its product portfolio includes three funding programs under the InnoPACTT umbrella: InnoTREK (spin-off grants of CHF 100,000 for startup creation), InnoSTEP (Proof of Concept grants up to CHF 40,000), and InnoDIGITAL (digital innovation grants up to CHF 40,000 launched in 2024). Core services encompass IP protection and management, industry collaboration contract negotiation, technology licensing, and startup support. The organization does not offer a software product or technical platform but rather provides advisory, legal, and financial support services to researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• InnoPACTT: Financial support programs including InnoTREK (spin-off grant), InnoSTEP (proof of concept), and InnoDIGITAL (digital projects) for UNIL-CHUV researchers.
• InnoTREK
• InnoSTEP
• InnoDIGITAL

Products and services

• InnoTREK One-year spin-off grant program of CHF 100,000 for UNIL-CHUV researchers to launch startup projects, designed to accelerate innovation and spin-off creation as part of the InnoPACTT funding ecosystem.
• InnoSTEP Proof of Concept program providing grants up to CHF 40,000 for UNIL-CHUV researchers to move technology closer to market through Proof of Concept studies or prototypes.
• InnoDIGITAL Digital innovation funding program launched in 2024, comprising InnoTREK-DIGITAL for IT startup creation and InnoSTEP-DIGITAL for software proof of concept development, with grants up to CHF 40,000.
• Intellectual Property Management Services Evaluation, protection, and management of intellectual property for inventions and software developed at UNIL and CHUV, including patent evaluation, filing, and prosecution support for researchers.
• Contract Negotiation Services Negotiation and management of collaboration contracts with industry and academic institutions, including Research Agreements, Service Agreements, Consulting Agreements, License Agreements, and Material Transfer Agreements.
• Start-up Support Services Support for local startup creation by UNIL-CHUV researchers, including business plan development advice, legal aspects guidance, identification of potential industrial partners, and management of licensed intellectual property through spin-off formation.
• Technology Transfer Services Core technology transfer office services for UNIL and CHUV research outcomes, including identification of potential industrial partners, promotion of interactions between companies and researchers, and commercialization of research results through license contracts, research agreements, service agreements, and consulting agreements.

Quantifiable outcome

• 34+ InnoTREK grants awarded since 2013 with multiple successful spin-offs created
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BioAlpscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026BioAlps organizes the annual BioInnovation Day event in partnership with Knowledge Transfer UNIL CHUV and UNITEC. The event showcases 30+ innovative life science projects from Western Switzerland academic institutions to investors and industry leaders. PACTT staff participate in organizing committee and project selection.
• UNITECcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026UNITEC partners with BioAlps and Knowledge Transfer UNIL CHUV for the BioInnovation Day 2026 event, bringing together innovators and investors in the Swiss life sciences ecosystem.
• Geneva University Hospitals (HUG)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Academic hospital collaborating with UNIL-CHUV in the Lake Geneva region. Part of the broader academic cluster including EPFL, ISREC, and Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research.
• i-Seq BiotechnologycoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 October 2024US-based start-up founded in October 2024 with exclusive license to commercially exploit the CRISPRi-seq patent co-owned by UNIL and Institut Pasteur (Lille). Technology enables identification of essential genes for vaccine development against pneumococcus and other bacteria. Founded based on research by Prof. Jan-Willem Veening's laboratory.
• Institut Pasteur (Lille)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-ownership of CRISPRi-seq technology patent with UNIL. Collaborated with UNIL researchers on testing the technology in mouse models simulating human respiratory infections, demonstrating lafB gene as promising vaccine target for pneumococcal vaccine development.
• ProkariumcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2022British biopharmaceutical company developing living medicines using synthetic biology. Holds exclusive license to CHUV's Salmonella-based bladder cancer immunotherapy technology. Prokarium is conducting Phase I clinical trial (PARADIGM-1) in the US based on technology invented at CHUV by researchers including Dr. Denise Nardelli-Haefliger.
• HUB Entreprenariat et InnovationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020UNIL entrepreneurship hub running the UCreate acceleration program. Since 2020, UCreate has supported 130+ entrepreneurial projects and built a community of 500+ entrepreneurs, industry experts, and business coaches.
• European HIV Vaccine Alliance (EHVA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016European Commission granted over 22 million Euros to EHVA for developing HIV vaccine research platform. Additional 6 million Euros from Swiss government for Swiss partners. PACTT involved as technology transfer office for Swiss academic partners.
• MRC TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2015UK-based life science medical research charity collaborating with University of Lausanne on drug discovery for diffuse large B cell lymphoma. MRC Technology brings drug discovery expertise to develop MALT1 inhibitors from UNIL research into patient treatments.
• Ludwig Institute for Cancer ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2015Renowned cancer research institution with Lausanne branch collaborating with UNIL. NADUP project (CAR-T cell therapy rejuvenation) is hosted at both UNIL and Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research Lausanne branch.
• Biocompatibles (BTG International)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2015Part of BTG International specialist healthcare group. License agreement covers know-how and patent-protected sustained release technology for embolization of hypervascularized tumors. Includes development program under consulting and service agreements with CHUV for treatment of liver tumors.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Fraunhofer Society (Germany): Germany's largest applied research organization with extensive IP and licensing operations across multiple institutes. A larger, broader incumbent in the European academic technology transfer space.

Direct peers

• Institut Pasteur de Lille: Co-owner with UNIL of the CRISPRi-seq technology licensed to i-Seq Biotechnology. A peer research institution with active technology transfer activities and direct collaboration history with PACTT.
• EPFL Technology Transfer Office (TTO-EPFL): The TTO of EPFL, the sister institution in Lausanne's academic cluster. Operates the same Swiss academic TTO model - IP protection, licensing, and spin-off support for EPFL researchers - and competes for the same regional licensing partners and investors.
• ETH transfer (ETH Zurich): Technology transfer office of ETH Zurich, one of Switzerland's two federal institutes of technology. Provides IP management, licensing, and spin-off support on a comparable mandate and serves as a benchmark for academic TTO operations in Switzerland.
• Unitectra: Joint technology transfer office of the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, and the Paul Scherrer Institute. Closely comparable in function and structure (multi-institutional TTO model), serving a similarly large Swiss academic research base.
• UCSF Office of Technology Management: US academic medical TTO at UCSF with a comparable mission of protecting, marketing, and licensing inventions from university researchers; useful benchmark for academic TTO operating models at scale.
• MRC Technology (LifeArc): UK-based medical research charity focused on drug discovery and technology transfer from academic research. Named partner of PACTT on MALT1 inhibitor development; comparable mission of advancing academic discoveries toward patient treatments.

Regional players

• BioAlps: Western Switzerland life sciences cluster organization that co-organizes BioInnovation Day with PACTT. Comparable in serving the same regional academic-industry interface, though primarily as a cluster facilitator rather than a licensing office.
• Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) Technology Transfer Office: Peer academic hospital in the Lake Geneva region. Listed as a regional collaborator of PACTT; runs analogous technology transfer activities for Geneva-based academic research.

Others

• Innosuisse: Swiss federal innovation promotion agency that funds high-risk academic projects. PACTT guides UNIL researchers through Innosuisse applications, making it an adjacent ecosystem enabler rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pactt-unil-chuv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PACTT UNIL-CHUV