The PEG Patent and The Professor

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 07/08/2006 - 11:41pm.

Milton Harris, a professor turned Chief Scientific Officer, and Robert Chess, CEO of Nextar is giving UAH, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, an "endowment".

The University of Alabama in Huntsville will receive $25 million as part of a patent settlement with a former UAH professor and a California-based pharmaceutical company, the school said Friday.

The breakdown of the "endowment" according to The Huntsville Times is as follows:

Nektar is paying $11 million to UAH, with Harris paying $4 million, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

UAH will also receive $1 million a year for the next 10 years. It is interesting that this "endowment", of which a lawsuit was the catalyst, is characterized by the acting president and CEO, Robert Chess, as "support" and not a settlement.

"We also believe that the support of the University of Alabama in Huntsville's science and educational missions is consistent with Nektar's vision and values," Chess said.

It is good to see that some CEOs are able to support universities unlike other CEOs.