OUI COVID-19 One Year Update
Dear colleagues, partners and friends,
On 17 March 2020, we trialled sending OUI staff home at short notice for a single day in preparation for a potential COVID-19 lockdown. A year later, and we’re still not back.
Over the past year, Oxford University Innovation’s staff, like many of you, have faced countless challenges. We all had to adapt to the new normal of working from home, balancing the service we provide with the wellbeing of ourselves, our colleagues and their families. We had to rapidly reassess how we conduct our business and implement new ways of working while supporting the University on the vaccine roll-out and numerous other COVID-19 projects. And we all felt the pain of this pandemic first-hand when we lost our dear friend, Dr Jamie Ferguson.
Twelve months on, and I could not be more proud of how OUI staff have responded to the pandemic. In spite of the restrictions COVID-19 has placed on us both personally and professionally, OUI has still recorded one of its strongest years to date. In 2020, we supported the Oxford academic community in the creation of 28 new companies – a record for OUI and Oxford – with many of them completing under lockdown (including our 250th company LitHits). Our Consulting Services and Clinical Outcomes teams have both filed some of their busiest periods on record. We’re well ahead of our financial projections, our technology pipeline continues to provide us with strong IP, and we are bullish on new licences and company creation for the year ahead.
With regards to the pandemic, OUI staff have assisted with the following:
- Supported the intellectual property negotiations surrounding the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
- Support for the QCovid risk calculator, now deployed across the United Kingdom.
- The creation of Oxsed, a rapid testing social enterprise for COVID-19 which has already been acquired.
- The creation of Oxvent, which can produce low-cost, effective ventilators for COVID-19.
- Rapid deployment of UCSF funding for COVID-19 projects.
None of this would have been possible without our professional and dedicated staff, who have exemplified our core values of integrity, collaboration and empowerment throughout. At the beginning of the pandemic, we placed wellbeing at the heart of our response, telling our staff to put themselves first, then their families, and then work. This has created an atmosphere where although we are remote, we are still together. Our staff have supported each other, have continued to collaborate with each other, and the results speak for themselves.
We must pay homage to our colleagues in the University. It is their ideas and research which has allowed Oxford to play a leading role in the response to the pandemic. Many others are working on other vaccines, treatments and diagnostics to assist with the pandemic. Beyond COVID, we have continued to see a steady stream of disclosures arrive at OUI, have seen academics come forward in record numbers to start companies, and take on unprecedented levels of consultancy. The success of OUI, and the University at large, is built on the foundations of their hard work.
Similarly, I have been inspired by the resilience and adaptability of our portfolio. Our initial pessimistic projections were shown to be wildly off the mark, with many continuing to flourish and even pivoting into helping with the pandemic, all while raising a record £1bn in external investment.
For now, whilst our Buxton Court offices remain closed, all OUI staff are working from home and available to support our colleagues in the University and beyond. In April, we will be assessing what a reopening for OUI will look like, and we actively look forward to working with you all as the world comes back online.
One recurring thought in my mind is that the overall response from Oxford to the pandemic has been nothing short of astonishing. From our researchers leading the way on vaccines and other COVID-19 projects, to our companies signing up to the fight, to the doctors and nurses on Oxford’s frontline at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals, to the ordinary men and women coming together to get each other through this – this pandemic has shown Oxford at its absolute best. It makes me wonder, what’s next for Oxford? Whatever that is, OUI stands ready to play its part.
In the meantime, everyone at OUI wishes you all the best, we hope you stay healthy while we get through these final months of restrictions, and we look forward to seeing you all in person soon.
Dr Matt Perkins, CEO, Oxford University Innovation
