The University of Pittsburgh Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE) teamed with its counterparts at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver a pair of panels for academic innovators interested in commercializing their discoveries for societal benefit.
The panels, moderated by Kelly Collier, director of ecosystem development at LifeX, a Pittsburgh life sciences capital growth company, were a featured part of Startup PGH, a week dedicated to Pittsburgh’s innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, artists, and researchers working to shape the region’s future.
The first panel focused on the early stages of commercialization in a session titled, “IP: Is Your Technology Commercially Meaningful?”
Key Insights:
Scott Morley, senior director of industry partnerships at the Pitt Office of Industry and Economic Partnerships, urged academic innovators to begin thinking about the commercial potential of a research endeavor from the very beginning.
“Tune into the market in your research area as much as possible and reach out to (OIE) who have relationships with industry and investors. We can help you orient your innovation in a way to help it succeed commercially by developing the next killer experiment that represents a de-risking activity and value creation milestone,” he said.
Jacob Greenberg, senior manager of business development and licensing at CMU, said building a team with diverse perspectives and capabilities is essential for successful innovation commercialization
“When you have researchers in a single lab without complementary skill sets, it just creates an echo chamber,” he said. “We want to see diverse backgrounds. Oftentimes you see news of incredibly large funding rounds (for an academic startup) where it is driven by a commercial industry lead plus a researcher, plus a postdoc, plus some incredible IP and technical de-risking that might have taken place over four years.”
Morley added that it’s OK to determine an innovation isn’t commercially feasible — and the sooner that determination is made, the better, since it frees researchers to redirect their time and effort.
“There comes a time when you have to ask, is (commercialization) realistic?”
He said it’s important to get feedback from potential customers and industry experts early-on to ensure a proposed innovation fills a market gap or has a compelling advantage over the status quo. If not, the innovator might need to pivot away from the initial target market or pursue a new research program with better commercial potential.
Funding the Next Milestone
The second panel focused on academic life science startups further along the commercialization pathway that require funding for de-risking activities.
Key Insights:
Carl Snyderman, Pitt professor of otolaryngology and neurological surgery, and co-founder of Respair Inc., a Pitt startup currently seeking FDA approval for its novel endotracheal tube for preventing aspiration, urged academic innovators to take advantage of various funding mechanisms at every stage of development.
He pointed to his experience relying on programs such as the Center for Medical Innovation and pitch competitions like the Wells Student HealthTech Challenge to obtain early funding for developing proof of concept for his team’s innovation.
Later on, the project received support through LifeX and the AlphaLab Health incubator, while also receiving non-dilutive funding through the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program.
Both Snyderman and Cindy Chepananoske, director of technology licensing at CMU’s Center for Technology Transfer and Enterprise Creation, also urged academic innovators to explore the NSF I-Corps program, which provides not only customer validation of an innovation’s market potential, but also networking opportunities that can potentially assist when building a commercialization team.
“I-Corps requires a business mentor, and that can be a first step to finding a CEO,” she said.
Lauren Cantor Wright, principal at Yosemite, San Francisco-based venture capital and private equity firm, concurred that networking is essential for team building.
“You want to have dozens of conversations with people outside of your academic environment to ensure there is a market pull for the product you are developing,” she said. “You’re going to meet a lot of people who can be part of your team to fill in the gaps where you do not excel.”
But Wright cautioned that academic founders who partner with a business mentor must not simply turn over all control to that person. She said they should always be confirming with external sources to determine whether that person is generating a good reaction from potential partners and investors.
Snyderman urged Pitt innovators to check out the Community of Innovators program, where faculty and students at any stage of the commercialization journey can network, share best practices and learn about different topics around commercialization.