AUTM Website Helps Commercialize University Technologies

Posted under 2012, AUTM, BIO International Convention, Blog, commercialization, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, Global Technology Portal, licensing, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Patently BIOtech, Pharmaceuticals, Public Policy, Startups, Technology Transfer, Universities, Videos by biotechnow@bio.org (Biotechnology Industry Organization)

By Robin L. Rasor, CLP, RTTP, AUTM President

As president of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), I’m in a unique position of hearing from university technology managers who want more opportunity to interact with industry, and industry members who want to identify the latest breakthrough innovations. Industry investors and their academic licensing counterparts already come together for dealmaking at the AUTM Annual Meeting and at the BIO International Convention, but now we have a new resource to further augment in-person networking.

This month AUTM launched the AUTM Global Technology Portal (GTP)—a website which is a “one stop shop” for companies to search university technologies available for licensing and tell universities about their needs. The GTP will make it easier for universities and corporations to find each other and begin licensing and partnership discussions. If you’re not searching for anything specific, you can simply browse organizations, capabilities, or available technologies. You can also search by keyword and set up email alerts to learn about future related postings. If there is a particular university you’re interested in, you can even “follow” that university and get alerts when it posts new data.

You can also use the GTP to learn more about a university’s startup companies, providing a great opportunity for collaboration, investment, or an acquisition. No other database consolidates information about university startups. There is no cost to search the GTP. Should you find a technology, capability, or startup you are interested in, simply click to connect with the representative of that organization.

In addition to the information on universities, the GTP also has a “Needs” section to allow companies and government labs to tell the AUTM community about what research and technology needs they have to help find viable solutions.

In its first week the GTP already has nearly 6,500 available technologies listed. We expect even more information to be posted in the coming weeks by our 3,000+ members, representing over 150 global research institutions.

With the increased amount of networking and partnerships among our members at universities and in industry, we’re confident this new resource will result in more interactions and ultimately in further commercialization of academic technology, leading to products and processes that benefit everyone.

Brazilian Innovation: A Patent Success

Posted under Ache, Acheflan, Biotechnology, Blog, Brazil, commercialization, Companies, Diagnostics, Funding, innovation, Intellectual Property, IP, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Michael Ryan, patent, Patent Reform, Patently BIOtech, Pharmaceutical Patent, Pharmaceuticals, Public Policy, Startups, Universities, Videos by biotechnow@bio.org (Biotechnology Industry Organization)

The story of Acheflan highlights the role of patents in homegrown innovation in developing countries.  Professor Michael Ryan of Georgetown reviewed several case studies (including Acheflan) in Brazil that highlight the differences in biomedical innovation both pre- and post-intellectual property reforms.

In the early 1980’s, Ache Laboratorios Farmaceuticos (a Brazilian generics manufacturer) became aware of a plant that grew near coastal cities that local fishermen would mash into an oil rub to serve as an anti-inflammatory and anti-scarring medicine.  Ache wanted to develop the plant into a product they could bring to the Brazilian and worldwide markets.  Ache realized that to develop the product they would need to isolate the active ingredient and then take it through toxicology studies, animal testing, and human clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the product.  However, Brazilian patent law at the time prohibited patenting of pharmaceutical patents.  While Brazilian patent law allowed for process patents, Ache quickly realized that competitors could easily reverse engineer the product and make their own version.  Ache did not pursue the project.

When Brazil reformed its patent law in 1996 to allow patents on pharmaceutical products, Ache resumed work on the shelved project.  Now they could finally invest in the project with a promise of a return guaranteed by a patent.  Not having the capacity to conduct research, Ache established research partnerships with Brazilian professors.  From 1998-2004, some 100 university agronomists, biochemists, pharmacologists, and medical doctors were involved in taking the product through isolation and toxicology studies.

The company launched the product, Acheflan, in 2005 and the years of hard work paid off.  Acheflan is the first medicine innovated and introduced in the marketplace by Brazilians and within a year the product received a 30 percent share of the anti-inflammatory market.  By the end of 2007, its market share exceeded 40 percent (beating out competitors among established global pharmaceutical companies).  The company is in the process of launching the product worldwide.

While Brazilian patent laws still require much improvement to lay the foundation for its future as a developed country, this case study is one of many suggesting that even incremental positive changes to the IP environment can catalyze commercialization of Brazilian innovation.

ARPA-E Helps Early Stage Companies Commercialize Energy Innovations

Posted under advanced biofuels, ARPA-E, Biofuel Technology, Biofuels & Climate Change, Blog, commercialization, Companies, Diagnostics, Dr. Cheryl Martin, electrofuels, Environmental & Industrial, Funding, Medical Devices, Medical Supply, Pharmaceuticals, Startups, Universities, Videos by biotechnow@bio.org (Biotechnology Industry Organization)

Q&A with ARPA-E Deputy Director for Commercialization Cheryl Martin

Q: What is the mission of ARPA-E, and how do you work to further that mission?

ARPA-E’s mission is to develop advanced energy technologies that can reduce U.S. energy consumption, emissions, and our reliance on foreign energy sources.  At the core, we are a technology funding agency, with a focus on next-generation, game-changing energy advances.  We award funding for research and development, with the goal of de-risking technologies enough to make them attractive to private sector investors and development partners.  With about 180 awards to date, we are funding an amazing set of projects not only at universities and national labs, but also at both large and small companies across the country, all working on enabling a more secure, competitive, and clean economy through more efficient buildings, low-cost electric vehicles, efficient alternative fuels, and beyond.

Q: What are some of the unique challenges that new companies face in commercializing an innovative energy solution?

The energy sector is enormous and offers an enormous opportunity for new technologies that disrupt the status quo.  Because the energy space covers such a wide range of technologies, from global game-changers to consumer products, it is hard to generalize, but some of the common challenges include a need for large amounts of development capital beyond the lab and difficulties in selling a new technology into an established customer base that strongly emphasizes reliability.

Q: How does ARPA-E work with companies to address those challenges?

First and foremost, we employ some of the country’s most entrepreneurial scientists and engineers as program managers, so that we can offer active support to help projects prove out their technologies as they move from the laboratory.  Beyond the lab work, we provide funding and resources to help project teams develop the knowledge and skills they need to prepare for deployment of their technologies.  We want our projects to address issues related to product definition, market entry and manufacturing as early as possible so that they will be well-positioned for success in private-sector funding and deployment.

Q: What are some of the ARPA-E projects that are commercializing biotech innovations for energy solutions?

The most direct application of biotechnology in energy is in alternative fuels. So far, we have supported these efforts in three different programs, totaling over 25 projects.  Our first broad program has projects that address both algae (for example, Arizona State) and feedstock (for example, Agrivida). There have been two subsequent focused programs, Electrofuels and PETRO.

Electrofuels, which has funded 13 projects, seeks to explore practical ways to convert reducing agents (sources of electrons) plus carbon dioxide into more valuable chemical products through non-photosynthetic biochemical pathways. This includes organisms that have found a way to use DC electricity!  PETRO (for Plants Engineered To Replace Oil) is one of our most recent programs, and it seeks to explore practical ways to develop dedicated biofuel crops that reduce, or even eliminate, the need for post-harvest conversions. Projects included in PETRO are seeking to synthesize large amounts of non-oxygenated natural products (such as turpentine) through directed engineering of plants.

Q: Are there unique hurdles that are facing biotech companies?

As mentioned above, in energy, biotechnologies usually focus on production or transformation of fuels.  In fuels, the hurdles are scale and cost:  You have to be able to create a lot of a high-energy product, at a price that makes it cheap enough to burn. Biotechnology companies need to bridge into these markets through specialty chemicals, or identify markets that are willing to pay for fuel alternatives, in order to address the associated challenges of profitably getting to large production volumes.

Q: If additional biotech companies want to participate in the ARPA-E program, how do they go about it?

For companies and individuals seeking funding, the best advice is go to our website energy.arpa-e.gov and add your email address to our mailing list, where we send updates on all of the agency’s new funding opportunities.  We also hold a flagship conference every year in late February in Washington, DC, where we review the agency’s ongoing efforts, discuss upcoming areas of interest, and showcase technologies that have applied for funding with our agency.  This year, the ARPA-E Summit will be February 27-29 – more information at energyinnovationsummit.com.

Q: Tell us about the ARPA-E Summit coming up in February. How will it showcase these projects?

The ARPA-E Summit is a conference we put on to celebrate the incredible amount of innovation happening in energy technology across the United States.  This year we’ll be featuring perspectives on energy by industry, academic and political titans like Bill Gates, Fred Smith and other keynote speakers, as well as conversations with top energy experts on some of the emerging issues and opportunities for energy technology today.  Another highlight of our summit is the Technology Showcase, where hundreds of transformational energy technologies set up demonstration booths to showcase their technology ideas and prototypes.  The showcase features not just the projects that ARPA-E is funding, but also some of the top finalists that we weren’t able to fund, as well as other exciting technologies aligned with our mission.  We hope to see you there!