That is an excellent question.
In Quebec, for example, we invest over $2.5 billion in research, most of that from public funds. A large portion of the intellectual property generated is considered to be orphan IP, since it was created using public funds with no commercial partner involved. That is how orphan intellectual property is defined.
This involves a slightly different process. Because there is no partner, you have to seek out the right one. In Quebec, in nearly 50% of cases, a spin-off company will be created to commercialize the orphan IP, if it is worth doing that. Otherwise, in the other cases, the intellectual property is transferred to existing companies to make them more competitive.
The number of orphan IPs in Quebec is a good question. I don't have figures on that, but I would say that about 500 invention disclosures a year are made in all Quebec universities combined and a large majority of them constitute orphan IP.
I hope I have answered your question.