Track D

D2 From Discovery to Commercialization: The often tortuous, circuitous, exhilarating path from lab to launch

Technology Transfer Offices typically license medical technologies, diagnostics and drug molecules at the beginning of the development and commercialization process. This session will focus on the business development aspects for a variety of biomedical innovations ranging from diagnostics to therapeutics. Four case studies will be presented by university tech transfer colleagues, and in some cases their start up partners providing an in-depth look into which factors and hindsight played roles in the championing of these technologies from the early days of disclosure, patenting, marketing, and the gut instincts that follow, to the analysis of the cost-benefit to the healthcare system, licensing, clinical development, and eventual sales. Specific items to be discussed will be the justification of patent filings, getting attention at the genesis of the technology, especially at such an early stage, when it may be ahead of its time and hard to understand or appreciate the commercial significance or disruptive nature. The speakers will explore the relationship between collaborators and licensees to ensure that the university’s rights are protected by the terms of the agreements throughout the long development and commercialization process. Attendees will learn how internal champions are developed, the economics involved, together with the speaker’s insights into what has made for such successful relationships, and their challenges along the way.

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