Survey: Taking Science to Market

There are a total of 242 responses FROM 22-Jun-2001 to 11-Jul-2001. E-mailarticle 1. Have you ever thought of commercially developing any research discovery from an academic lab or research institute? Percent Count Answers 50.8% 122/240 Yes 47.1% 113/240 No 2.1% 5/240 Other 100.0% 240/240 Summary 2. Have you ever experienced a company developing a product, based on your research without your involvement? Percent Count Answers 9.0% 13/145 Yes 91.0% 132/145 No 100.0% 145/145 Summary 3. If you answered "yes," what happened? The thought was mine; the action was someone else's . Research idea had to be explained in painstaking detail during many internal meetings. The frustrating part was that I was not allowed to participate in the commercialization process. No protection against borrowed ideas. No recognizance, no respect for objective intellectual property. It was a disaster from all perspectives. Nothing An enzyme crystal structure was patented (along with a list of suggested mutations to alter function) and rights sold to a competing company. The crystal structure coordinates were withheld from the public database for the maximum allowable period of one year (i.e. until the patent was published and rights sold). On-going I co-founded a company with my PhD advisor. It is still in the early development stages. marketed my conceptual product without consultation or knowledge. Discovery was presented to Co. by P.I. of lab, but I was not informed of further discussions or development. I believe that the company is still existing and are trying to produce a product Antibody company (Chemicon) used published peptide sequence information to make product which is now commerically available. The project proceeded rapidly while I was involved, but went very slowly after I was not involved. The end product (which did reach the market) performed about 10% of what I had expaected. A university picked up my concept for neuroscience of gifted learning gifted students and my empirical data and developed a large grant Several companies developed antibodies to a Tumor suppressor gene I discovered and patented; my academic institution is now negociating licensing with them. 4. Have you (or someone working as your agent) presented a business-development proposal to: Percent Count Answers 10.3% 25/242 Your colleagues in an academic department or lab? 12.0% 29/242 The university technology-transfer office? 13.6% 33/242 A venture capitalist? 11.6% 28/242 A relative, friend, or colleague in business? 5.8% 14/242 A biotech incubator? 10.3% 25/242 A startup company? 9.9% 24/242 A pharmaceutical company? 3.7% 9/242 Other 5. If your proposal was accepted, did it lead to the production of a product? Percent Count Answers 20.5% 17/83 Yes 79.5% 66/83 No 100.0% 83/83 Summary 6. If the product was developed, how were you compensated? Funds for feasability research, some salary Was not and have not been compensated and probably will not be compensated Royalties Salary incentives and promotion Up to now, no return, on the contrary investment. I am actually in between the categories described. While I work FT in (academic) science, I have introduced people who are in startup situations to frinds that are VC/angelmoney folks In progress - tune in a few years from now. It is still in the development phase. Still in development, no compensation yet... It was suggested but is still in the works. That is, the product has not been developed yet. We are still negotiating and working on the product. Still under development. Compensated with stock options. Not at all... Product #1 Salary Product #2 Salary Product #3 Salary Product #4 Salary and liquidated stock Product #5 Liquidated stock Continued working and allowed to explore other fields Raise in Salary,promoted to higher level. Shares Not developed As a consultant Still in the works, company not formed yet Regular salary, nothing else Still in negotiation Royalties on sales Royalties and then sale of University's intellectual property rights to the Company. 7. Were your satisfied with the process? Please explain. No - would have liked to have been compensated. but there is no chance for that to happen Yes very satisfied with the tech transfer office personnel and the level of communication. Satisfied? Its hard work and a lot of luck and timeing. I learned a lot and never tried it again. The university tech transfer office looked for commercial firms which might have had an interest in developing and marketing our device, but without success. In my opinion, our tech transfer office performed satisfactorally in this process. I was given a good hearing but the company saw as future potential competitors Still in R&D Too often, great entrepreneurial ideas are shelved because other compteting, often inferior, ideas offer the opportunity for quick riches. I am still in the process... of due diligence Too lengthy, but otherwise OK. My idea was not seriously considered. The business and financial backing are the most difficult hurdles for scientists. Hard to do when you have another job. Requires much time and learning Still in the works. Yes. It is a long and difficult process, that must be understood from the start. Yes, On-going. It was a fairly well developed process, that was in place. Guiedelines were available that would help you to get from step a to b and so on. I did not have a polished BD plan. Since it was developed on my own time, more pressing projects that were critical to the job took over and moved the BD to sidelines. In most cases, I was satisfied. I was most dissatisfied when dealing with investors while I was a minority shareholder (Product #4) I was dissatisfied when dealing with a niversity technology transfer office ( No product) Yes, The commercial work was divested from a research organisation and sent to academia where customer requests could be processed and funded without business biases. No. The University technology transfer office refused to cooperate with the startup company and generally mismanaged the process. No; there was no "discussion": once the idea was submitted and rejected, the company went on to create a similar product which was claimed to have already been in development. No; too much data is open and available for others; no protection No, the more product developed,the less i was involved in it. Yes No. The company preferred more immediate profit. Very exhausting Yes, given the nature of the product. In process No, I learned to keep my ideas to myself if they were not specifically getmane to the task at hand. Those ideas are valuable, and should not be wasted on deaf ears. Under most confidentiality agrements, as soon as an employee metions an idea even off-site to a co-worker, that idea becomes the intellectual property of the company. Why prohibit yourself from later developing the idea on your own or with a separate business partner. In response to my idea(s), people tended to think that the technology required was too difficult to develop, so didn't take the proposal seriously enough. Yes. They did a lot of work and paid me too much No: there was a great deal of interest, but it seemed almost impossible to get start-up funds. Not entirely. Our University was naive in dealing with the company. 8. Describe any experiences you've had with the technology-transfer offices universities. I participate on technology-transfer committees at my home institution. Have not submitted anything to the transfer office. As a journalist and technology analyst, I have used their PR often. Ours is very limited in scope. I work for a research institute, which has not come to terms with the value of intellectual property or how to develop it. I would qualify it with the term nepotism In the USA there is good cooperation between universities and private sector. Back home in Kenya the relationship is almost non-existent. Private sector take already developed technology from East and West or import already manufactured products. The public have been psyched to believe that "If its IMPORTED it must be better". I teach at a university over the internet and the tech-transfer office keeps the server up and trains personnel on new versions of the internet teaching tool that we use (i.e., WebCT). Very research- as opposed to solution-oriented in their business outlook. Unwilling to enter into three-party arrangements. Fearful of any implicit invovlement of the university's name in corporate sphere. Mostly inexperienced and juggling too many potential projects. They were very professional about protecting university interests; concerned about allowing industry to commercialize results partially obtained with federal funding. Most are either overzealous, or don't know/care. There is no in between. Slow and not aggressive Again it is a long and difficult process that takes commitment by the inventors to pursue. Really slow Uinversities do not push the product till they start seeing the money flowing. On the other hand, some money will have to be spent before we see mnore money. Univesrities are not well suited for this. Others have stolen this idea and have their companies explore the possibilities since they already have. They also use their methods of convincing people to obtrain money. All this happens before we see any one coming formwad to finance us for initial work to be done towards the development of the product Exploitation sums it up! Ours has tried and in some cases has been succesful, but not in our case. They are understaffed and unable to explore many opportunities, but are pretty good about pushing the best ones. Experience 1---I worked as an independent sub-contractor, ,( from my wholly owned company) to the Chemical Engineering Dept at MIT. I developed a product which satisfied their contractural obligations to a group of pharmaceutical companies. Part of my contract gave me right of first refusal to manufacture any product from this work. A patent application from MIT with me as a co-inventor, has been dutifully submitted. The tech transfer office at MIT does not return my calls on the matter of manufacturing. Experience 2---I have licensed technology from Stanford University for my current company. The Tech Transfer office experience has been very good. The experience with the PI from the inventing lab has been horrible. He feels that any link to a commercial name will harm academic reputation. Experience 3---I am negotiating a license from the Universuty of Utah. Here, the PI feels good about a commercial connection, but he has been critical of the Tech Transfer process. He has left the University. The university was pleased to have a new source of funding Too arcane and pendantic; unless you know the right head; you don't have a chance They were very supporting, but paperwork took a long time,and everybody wanted his name in. Many. They varied from productive to frustating. I have not worked with our office at all. Poor experiences in the main, individuals in TTO tend to think they know more than they do, do not listen to instructions, in general not impressed at all. The following universities have very efficient and helpful tech-transfer offices in my own experience: Clemson University (Clemson, SC); Ohio State University Northwestern University Michigan State University Georgia Institute of Technology Very mixed. Our institution originally had only one person running the whole show, and this led to most ideas, even they had been granted patents, to not get their due attention with start-up investors. Now, there is a larger office where many things are done proactively. I am much more optimistic now. In a small university with no medical school, the level of expertise in dealing with companies was missing. Not very helpfull at all. 9. Do you have significant equity (more than the ownership of a few shares), or are you a director, of any company that develops products based on your research? Percent Count Answers 10.2% 9/88 Yes 89.8% 79/88 No 100.0% 88/88 Summary 10. As a scientist who has been involved in some aspect of commercializing your research what advice would you give to someone who has an idea that they would like to commercialize? Be sure to stick closely to the limitations of the science that underlies the product. Do it Begin by deciding if your primary goal is to commercialize your research or to continue your scientific goals. It takes a lot of time, and you need to make that time on a regular basis, otherwise you will stall. Don't delude yourself about the usefulness of your idea. Don't be afraid to trust a few people. Make sure your idea has sufficient supporting evidence that makes it attractive. Work for an institution that has an active technology transfer process/department! Get advice early. Pursue the idea with the help of the university tech transfer office. Everything is negotiable. don't sell yourself short but be realistic. shop around. there are pros and cons for exclusive and nonexclusive licensing of your technology. Get patent protectioon. Get the company to sign a non-disclosure form. Keep it close to the chest and if possible get diversified extraterritorial partnership Liaise with the country's authority for scientific research and present to them copy of proposal for future references. Protect your intellectual property. Get lots of capital Find help from your business school of an experienced entrepreneur. Use the "big bucks" of an interested third party (i.e., a food industry group, pharmaceutical company, etc.). Network! Form a group of colleagues who can divide among them the many different tasks involved in comercial development. Make sure you have enough capital to retain a relative amount of independence Pick the right audence to approach Find a business partner to help you develop your idea. Don't underestimate marketing and marketing costs. Marketing can make or break an idea. Don't underestimate how tiring it is to do a trade show. Don't underestimate how "stupid" the consumer is, you have been focused on your research for years and expect somebody to "get it" in 30 seconds. Again good marketing gets to the point quickly. Get advice Be aggressive! Don't wait! Get in touch as soon as possible with those in the 'know' with experience. You need a lawyer specialized in patenting procedures. Shop around. Don't take the first "no" as the answer. We have been doing research with and for a pharmaceutical company for some time now. Our idea was presented to that same company with whom we already have a working relationship. I believe this makes for a more trusting environment. Find private support Start writing. Build a scientific and business plan. Get the involvement of individuals with business savy to help. Generally, as a scientist you should know how valuable your idea is, start working on some numbers on just how valuable it is. get an agent with contract They need to protect their ideas first before contacting any firms. They need to give results of their invention but not disclose what it is until a confidentiality agreement is in place. Do not take only a few exciting result too seriously! Within a company, you need a marketing person (e.g product manager) to help you through the process of getting the money (Appropriation of request) Make sure the idea is well developed (proof of principle in place) and well protected (patents issued if possible) The most effective concept advocacy usually entails a degree of relinquishing personal compensation and/or control over the commercialization process. Only now, a well-known Scientist from UCLA is working with me with him as an inventor. First don't sign anything from your University which requires you to hand over the process to them. Contrary to what they might tell you this can not be grounds for dismissal. Second act on your ideas ASAP. Talk with collegues you can trust both within and outside your immediate environment. Gather Information on patents, intellectual property and have a solid BD plan before you talk to anyone; know your rights and responsibilities. Be sure that you can do 90% of the job with your own hands. Don't hire help until you have to, and then do it on a contract basis. Permant, full-time staff can be a drain not a gain. Start small and use your own money. Don't look for investors. No matter how little money you have, if you really put your mindto it , you can get the first demonstration completed on a shoestring. Most inventors make the mistake of over-building the first prototype. With just a simple tantalizing demo of a really good idea, you can get your first customer to put up advance money on their order for a product. Then you are on your way. The protection of the product or process is paramount, you need to be able to lisence at a fee that encourages use ie progressive pricing that gives volume discounts. Try to avoid university involvement until you research the experience of others who have worked with that university. University policies run the gamet from total disarray to excellent support. Keep it to your self; develop it in switzerland Get financial backers before proceeding to mass production. Always watch your back, keep record of everything. (1) Carefully consider whether you wish to be extensively involved or hands-off, and try to avoid any middle ground. (2) Take great pains to avoid conflicts-of-interest but recognize that they will inevitably occur Insight into the commercial and social benifit simutaneously. Collaborate with a business partner Seek legal counsil early in the process Explore the issue of potential users of the product and consider your options regarding funding before you sign anything. Maintain strict control over your idea/product. Have all your background work on the technology finished; a current market analysis; a rudimentary estimate of capital neededand a draft business plan outline (for submittal within a company); or a fully developed business plan if planning a start-up. Be aware of contract manufacturers and outsourcing alternatives. File a patent application ,if applicable, as soon as possible. Register any trademark names as soon as possible. Protect yourself - go for pattern but patterning is very time and money consuming. Be very sure that the entity you're dealing with has a clear understanding of your product and what(if any) further development needs to be done before final commercialization. Use the resources of the technology transfer department at your university First, get the patent process going. Then, push your Industrial Liason Office hard and often to find commercial partners. This may also require that you find such start-up firms over the internet and solicit them independently. Most importantly, present your ideas to them in terms of "enabling tecnhology or product" whose commercialization will produce a lead product/service within 2 years, and profitability soon afterwards. Know the market value of your potential product and be involved in the negotiation of any contract. 11. If you did not try to develop your research idea commercially, why not? Percent Count Answers 7.0% 17/242 Too risky 32.6% 79/242 Do not know how to do it 23.1% 56/242 Restrictions at your research or academic institute 25.2% 61/242 No time 14.9% 36/242 Other 12. Does any commercial organization underwrite your research? Please explain. Yes. A company is funding a clinical trial being carried out in my laboratory. I have worked both in industry and academia and have just returned to the Univeristy setting. This return is possible due to a colaboration between industry, university and government who all are providing support to the lab via a special grant. The goal is to provide a setting to take products from the bench to the bedside. Allergnostics and Allergaids - Ecuador, For cosmetics and some hipoallergenic products tailored for each person and each patient. Partial funding as a Glaxo Centre of Excellence principle investigator No, a commercial organization does not underwrite my research; however I will have the chance to have some of it supported by an academic institution. I am not personally involved in R&D at this time. My company however has a large R&D effort focussing on platform, chemistry, and software products for the genetic analysis market. Funded by Glue Grant-NIH and pharmaceutical companies. No - i am not doing research at the moment. No, but we do have some support from some pharm. co's for particular projects. I don't do research Not yet. But I am paying attention to working on projects that have high potential of commercial value as my career develops. I am employed by a pharmaceutical company They basically pay for feeds , transport and other recurrent expenses. Yes. I work for a non-profit research institute. THe institute provides some of its internal funds to support some of my research activities. No, all my grant support has been from non-profit agencies Yes. I work in an acdemic stem cell lab that is funded federally and also privately. The whole NIH policies on human stem cells makes this all hard to explain. No, at this time I am working independently No, govt granting agency Our company is underwriting a small part of our research We applied for a grant from the National Dairy Council and the National Institutes of Health for a research project on children and obesity. Not really, my idea was based on an ideal of complete freedom in regards to how one views television, namely enabling people to view web sites with the same ease, I do realise that involves personalization, but all that needs is thought. pmitza@yahoo.com Not yet - done with private financing. Not that i know of Yes. Grant from Glaxo-SKB No, I work for a Federal agency. No, work for the government Funded by individual benefactors I now work for a commercial enterprise. Yes, the hospital Not at the present time. I am not doing research any more Not on my current project Yes, I am employed by the Eastman Kodak company. In the past, I think they already have. Hopefully in the future, for additional ideas, I have some one who is willing to take to the next stage No, we work under a cooperative agreement with the military. No. my research is done through an academic institution. No, all federally funded I have just sold my last company to a larger entity, and they currently underwrite the ongoing research. Yes , we are a for profit corporation selling products The research I am conducting is paid by my educational institution, which has received funds from other major commercial coporations. Yes, they take all profits and have all rights to your work/findings I signed an agreement upon accepting my position that anything I produce while an employee, which could result in a patent, would become the property of the company. I receive some funding from the pharmaceutical industry to aid in the development of evaluation procedures. No, not as yet. I have, during discussions with my friends have come up with some ideas, but we have never followd it up thoroughly..probabably as we are still getting trained as Ph.D. students we do not put such ideas as high priority and worry more about our own research. In the same time i believe that we need to develop analysis and development skills and try to put to use any ideas we get which are meaningful. I receive research support from a pharmaceutical company to determine pathophysiological effects of compounds. Yes, drug and device company support Nope, it's all NIH Yes, my employer, a small chemical /pharmaceutical manufacturer. But certain ideas are not disclosed (unrelated to their business or current products), because they would not be funded or pursued. I'll do that myself at some point. Not at this time,but an association is pending. Not now, but in the past. I have industrial grants. This survey is powered by Infopoll - Internet Survey Engine for Business Intelligence.


Percent	Count	Answers

50.8%	122/240	Yes
47.1%	113/240	No
2.1%	5/240	Other

100.0%	240/240	Summary


Percent	Count	Answers

9.0%	13/145	Yes
91.0%	132/145	No

100.0%	145/145	Summary

Survey: Taking Science to Market

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