EMBL Enterprise Management Technology Transfer GmbH (EMBLEM) is an affiliate and the commercial arm of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL). Established in 1999, EMBLEM identifies, protects and commercialises the intellectual property developed in the EMBLworld, from EMBL-alumni and from third parties.

EMBLEM facilitates and accelerates the transfer of innovative technology from basic research to industry by working closely with industrial partners spanning the biotech, pharmaceutical, ITC and mechanical/electrical engineering markets to develop new diagnostics, drugs, therapies and machines and devices. EMBLEM is currently managing a portfolio of more than 250 patents/copyrights and more than 300 license contracts.

The technology portfolio spans the Life Sciences in the broadest sense and includes enabling technologies, molecular tools and techniques, instruments, software programmes and databases. EMBLEM’s team combines a broad range of patenting and business skills and expertise, coupled with research experience, which puts the company in an excellent position to talk science with scientists and business with its commercial partners.

EMBLEM’s staff includes business experts who assess market opportunities and devise an optimized commercialisation strategy for each technology. This may involve the launching of a new enterprise or licensing of the technology to established companies.

EMBLEM’s business development team flexibly and pragmatically designs agreements with companies to provide them with a strong incentive to evaluate, develop and exploit the licensed technology, while generating revenues to finance their operations and provide a return on investment to shareholders and licensors. In order to market EMBLEM’s technology portfolio systematically, the team takes advantage of a broad international network of business, technology and science contacts and strategic alliances.

EMBLEM endeavors to find as many licensees as required to deploy an invention rapidly in as many applications as possible in the predefined market(s). EMBLEM ensures that the licensees have the technical expertise and the commercial capabilities to take licensed technology to market, including the securing of regulatory approvals.

Since late 2004, EMBLEM has been one of the four members of the ESA Commercial Agent Network. Coordinated by the ISS Lab Ruhr GmbH, the consortium has been commissioned by the ESA to market and sell the use of the European Research Facilities on board the ISS to the Life Sciences sector in Europe. “The collaboration in the Commercial Agent Network allows us to inform the biotech and pharmaceutical industry of the unique R&D opportunities that ESA offers,” states Dr. Martin Raditsch, EMBLEM’s Deputy Managing Director. EMBLEM will use its excellent network in the biotech and pharmaceutical markets to encourage companies to capitalise on the availability of the ISS system for research and development projects or marketing and promotion activities.