The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has released the 2025 Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents List. Released annually since 2013, the Top 100 Worldwide Universities ranking showcases the crucial role patents play in moving university innovation from bench to market, as well as the important role academic institutions play in the innovation ecosystem at large. Through translating their technologies, these institutions are shaping critical societal progress and bolstering the national and global economy.

Read more about NAI Announces Top 100 Patenting Universities Worldwide of 2025.

The patent, owned by the University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) and exclusively licensed to iOncologi, further consolidates the intellectual-property portfolio supporting the company’s UNIFYRs (UNiversal Immune FortifYing RNAs) platform — an innovative approach that leverages RNA-driven immune reprogramming to restore and amplify checkpoint inhibitor efficacy across multiple solid-tumor types.

iOncologi Secures Foundational U.S. Patent as Landmark Studies Link COVID19 mRNA Vaccines to Improved Survival With Cancer Immunotherapy.

Released annually, the Top 100 Worldwide Universities List ranks the top universities holding U.S. utility patents to highlight the important research and innovation within academic institutions. 

Through obtaining U.S. patents, institutions can translate their technologies in the competitive global market and make tangible impacts in people’s daily lives.

UF joins some of the world’s best universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and those around the globe in the top 20 ranking. 

An alum of UF Innovate | Accelerate Pheronym^®, an ag-biotech pest management company, has been granted its second US patent, this one focused on plant-parasitic nematode (PPN) biocontrol. The patent for Pherocoat will help address the pressing need for a natural, non-toxic approach to PPN control. According to The Fight against Plant-Parasitic Nematodes: Current Status of Bacterial and Fungal Biocontrol Agents, PPNs pose a major threat to food security and plant health, with estimated annual global economic losses of $173 billion. Up until now, chemical control with synthetic nematicides has been the most effective strategy to manage PPNs, but due to their environmental toxicity, and considerable legislative pressure to restrict them, they are progressively being phased out.

“There is a real, pressing need for sustainable alternatives to manage PPNs, and this new patent for Pherocoat validates our technology for use against these destructive pests,“ said Fatma Kaplan, CEO of Pheronym. “Now with our patents in place for both of our products, Nemastim and Pherocoat, we will move towards commercialization of these impactful methods to manage agricultural pests by controlling nematode behavior.”