PHILADELPHIA — The University of Pennsylvania has reaped extraordinary financial gain from COVID-19 vaccines — approaching $1 billion since the beginning of last year — thanks to patents on a process Penn researchers developed more than 15 years ago.
It ranks among the biggest short-term royalty wins ever by a university.
Penn will use the proceeds for a $750 million expansion of scientific and medical research in Philadelphia, where it is already the main driver of a burgeoning cell and gene therapy sector. Those plans include a $350 million addition of laboratory space.
