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As universities have become better at organising their theoretical research into commercial propositions, intermediaries have appeared on the scene to nurture their research until it is ready to be commercialised.

An example of this is Mercia Technologies Plc, which is the result of a series of transformations from a classic venture capital fund to an incubator-oriented operation that provides capital, infrastructure and management. It is tailored specifically for translating university research into companies with commercial products by helping them at the pathfinder and seed stages and onwards until the project becomes irresistible to industry buyers or until the project can generate enough cash to stand alone. Sometimes, this approach involves helping a fledgling company for more than ten years, in contrast to the classic venture capital funds that aim for an exit after five years... Read more.

This article was prepared by the MedNous editors from interviews with Nicola Broughton of Mercia Technologies Plc and Nigel Davis of Medherant Ltd on  1 February 2016.

Copyright @MedNous, vol 10, no 2, February 2016