WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / September 22, 2026 / For nearly half a century, Bayh-Dole has transformed federally funded research into new companies, products, jobs, and as much as $3.3 trillion in U.S. economic output, according to a new report released today by the Bayh-Dole Coalition.
The report draws on nearly three decades of data from the AUTM‘s voluntary licensing survey, analyzed by Vital Transformation. It shows in vivid detail how federally funded research contributes to the American economy through breakthrough products, startup creation, jobs supported, and more.
“For more than 45 years, Bayh-Dole has helped turn American research into American innovation, jobs, companies, and economic growth,” said Joseph P. Allen, Executive Director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition. “These numbers show the enormous economic impact of giving those closest to an invention the incentive and opportunity to bring it from the laboratory to the marketplace.”
Key findings of the report include:
- From 2001-2025, Bayh-Dole-enabled technology transfer at academic institutions has led to more than 19,000 startups launched and over 17,000 new products introduced.
- Between 1996 and 2025, Bayh-Dole-enabled technology transfer from university and nonprofit research that benefited from federal funding added as much as:
- $3.3 trillion to U.S. gross economic output
- $1.7 trillion to U.S. GDP
- 7.6 million job-years of U.S. employment
- Between 2021 and 2025, Bayh-Dole-enabled technology transfer from university and nonprofit research that benefited from federal funding added as much as:
- $577 billion to U.S. gross economic output
- $288 billion to U.S. GDP
- 1.08 million job-years of U.S. employment
- Since 1980, the annual number of patents filed on inventions that benefited from government funding has increased more than 70-fold.
- Bayh-Dole-enabled technology transfer benefits every state and region of the United States.
“Scientific discoveries do not benefit the public simply because they are made. They benefit the public when they become products that support companies, create jobs, and strengthen industries. Bayh-Dole creates the incentives and partnerships that make that possible,” Allen continued. “At a time of intense global competition for technological leadership, policymakers should protect and strengthen the system that has delivered these extraordinary returns for the American economy.”
The new report updates and expands on the landmark 2022 study by Lori Pressman, Mark Planting, Carol Moylan, and Jennifer Bond, Economic Contributions of University/Nonprofit Inventions in the United States: 1996-2020. Using the same economic modeling framework, the new analysis incorporates five additional years of data through 2025. It also includes first-of-kind data on state-by-state and regional startups, products, and licensing activity in communities across the country.
Read the full report here: https://bayhdolecoalition.org/.
About the Bayh-Dole Coalition: The Bayh-Dole Coalition is a group of innovation-oriented organizations and individuals committed to celebrating and protecting the Bayh-Dole Act, as well as informing policymakers and the public of its many benefits.
Media Contact:
Elaina Gonzalez
elaina@keybridge.biz
202-474-4666
SOURCE: Bayh-Dole Coalition
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
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