<p>From the COHE
"In what could be the biggest windfall of its kind to date, Northwestern University has received $700-million for selling some of its rights to future royalties from a new blockbuster drug. The drug, marketed under the name Lyrica, is used to treat pain associated with fibromyalgia, shingles, and diabetes.</p>
<p>A portion of the payment will go to the inventor, Richard B. Silverman, a professor of chemistry, as well as to the postdoctoral student who worked with him in 1989 to synthesize the organic molecule that became the basis for the drug, which is sold by Pfizer Inc.</p>
<p>The university did not disclose the amount going to Mr. Silverman and Ryszard Andruszkiewicz, his postdoc, who is now a professor in Poland. But under the policy in effect at the time they devised the compound, inventors receive about 25 percent of royalties, after the university takes a cut for its patenting and licensing expenses."</p>
<p>Some of this money is likely funding J. Fraser Stoddarts recruitment to Northwestern - quite a coup for the school. This may well prove the difference between being one of the nations top nanotechnology programs to being, as the Chicago Tribune argues, the nations top nanotechnology research center. In addition to the hundreds of millions going to the endowment and projects like this, with Lyrica sales at near $2 billion a year, Northwestern will likely continue to see tens of millions yearly from continued royalties. That’s a lot of new money coming in for years to come to play with</p>
<p>From the Trib article:</p>
<p>Northwestern has been using some of its Lyrica royalties bonanza to fund its drive to become the nation’s top nanotechnology research center. The university has vowed to hire more scientific superstars in the coming year, relying on the prestige of its nanotech team and cash from royalty payments to attract more talent.</p>
<p>This summer it recruited J. Fraser Stoddart and his team of 20 researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles. Next month Stoddart will join NU stars Chad Mirkin, Mark Ratner and Sam Stupp at the university’s nanotech center.</p>