SERVICES: Advise: Selected Experience
We draw on our team’s backgrounds in technology commercialization and transfer, entrepreneurship and regional economic development to write studies and develop action plans. Specific advisory services engagements are illustrated below:
- Feasibility Study and Operational Plan for North Texas Enterprise Center for Medical Technology
- Technology Commercialization Assessment for Baylor Research Institute
- Assistance to Incubators and Universities in Romania
- Commercialization Assistance for Metabolic Disease Therapy
- Jordan Science and Technology Initiative
- An Overview and Analysis of Technology Licensing Offices in the U.S. for a Japanese Corporation
Feasibility Study and Operational Plan for North Texas Enterprise Center for
Medical Technology
In September 2001, the Frisco, Texas Economic Development Corporation commissioned TIG co-founders Dan Hanson and Norman Kaderlan to study the feasibility of establishing a business incubator in the community.
The team first established the need for a technology incubator and identified potential stakeholders in the project. Then, they recommended an organizational structure and set of offerings for the incubator, taking into account the issues identified and data amassed during the first phase. Also, they prepared a preliminary review of capital resources and funding strategies, as well as an assessment of real estate needs.
In the final phase of the project, the team wrote a preliminary business plan for the Platinum Corridor Incubator to stimulate the development of entrepreneurial companies in Frisco by providing an array of business support resources and services.
The Economic Development Corporation accepted the recommendations and, on the basis of the report, raised in excess of $1.5 million to launch the North Texas Enterprise Center for Medical Technology.
Technology Commercialization Assessment for Baylor Research Institute
In 2003, the Baylor Research Institute asked Technology Innovation Group to provide a commercialization assessment of certain dendritic cell technologies developed primarily under leadership of Drs. Jacques Banchereau and Karolina Palucka. The motivation of the Institute, an affiliate of the Baylor Health Care System, was to bring new patient therapies from the researcher’s bench to the patient’s bedside as quickly as possible. Because Baylor’s values include innovation and stewardship, TIG was required in its study to address and manage the challenges of both fiscal and social responsibilities. Our goal was to close the loop of innovation by bringing outstanding clinically relevant research to wide public access.
Dendritic cells play a crucial role in identifying and processing antigens— molecules that induce a specific immune response. The dendritic cells then direct other immune cells in the body to destroy those antigen-bearing cells that are recognized in a harmful context. Dendritic cell therapies may have wide applications including transplantation, autoimmunity, cancer and infectious disease. Working closely with the institute’s researchers, the TIG team led by Tom Turpen analyzed the Institute’s issued and pending patents, and developed an innovative approach, InnoMap™, to assess their position vis-a-vis market needs, technical alternatives, and risk.
InnoMap™ is a powerful process that assists clients in conceptualizing the “innovation space” in which they work. It does so by creating representational maps of key industry drivers and strategic trends. In visualizing these maps, innovators can: identify and classify innovations; keep current on the latest developments; understand how their work relates to other work in the field; give precision to the metes and bounds of their patent claims; see how best to commercialize their technologies; and position their new product or business relative to competitors. The process enables an on-going competitive intelligence program for a client or company.
The InnoMap™ process revealed that the Institute’s portfolio of intellectual assets in the field of personalized cancer immunotherapy was well-differentiated from technological alternatives and of highly significant market value. Furthermore, the market appears to be in a period of transition: though the unmet need for personalized immunotherapy is substantial, established pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to commit to new product paradigms. Examples of important conclusions emerging from analysis of the map are the following:
- The active cancer immunotherapy market is a highly competitive space, reflecting a large unmet need and high technology potential.
- Most companies currently in the market fall into the “drug paradigm” category. They know how to manufacture and market such products, but do not yet have adequate cures.
- Companies in related technology sectors believe they will find a better way, but all face similar challenges in creating a new model based on individualized therapies. These challenges offer many opportunities and obstacles in the development of new manufacturing logistics and distribution channels. Some of these companies were identified as potential collaborators or partners.
- The research institute’s technologies were in a category not populated by other companies.
After a risk and valuation analysis of several business case and alternative licensing scenarios for several commercialization alternatives, TIG recommended that the Institute create a spin-off company and take a leadership role in consolidating further intellectual property in this sector.
Assistance to Incubators and Universities in Romania
In 2003, TIG joined several partners in Romania for a two-year project to assist business incubators, IT based companies, and universities to promote business innovation and public-private partnerships. Funded by a World Bank initiative, the program is intended to promote business innovation and private sector development. Its goals include fostering the establishment and incubation of information and communication technology (ICT)-based start-ups, especially those based in Romanian universities and research institutions; enhancing the capabilities of participating incubators to facilitate the development and expansion of ICT-based ventures; creating and improving networks in the key areas of science and technology, entrepreneurship, and funding; and fostering strategic alliances that can link to similar networks around the globe.
After conducting an initial assessment of the IT industry in Romania , TIG developed a two-day workshop, “Technology Commercialization: An Integrated, International Perspective.” This workshop was presented in Bucharest in June 2004 and in Baia Mare in November 2004 for participants from incubators, universities, government agencies, and the private sector. Additionally, TIG arranged for a two-week study tour for our Romanian partners in Austin, Texas.
Commercialization Assistance for Metabolic Disease Therapy
TIG is assisting a research institute in Dallas to commercialize dietary therapy for patients with specific types of inherited metabolic diseases. The principal investigator at the institute has develped therapies that have been tested in Phase I clinical trials with promising preliminary results.
TIG first conducted a commercialization assessment to review the competitive and intellectual property landscape for metabolic disease therapies. With this background, TIG recommended a step by step process to advance this therapy to the market. We then prepared applications to the Federal Drug Administration for orphan drug status for the use of this dietary therapy for specific metabolic diseases, and we anticipate approvals by April, 2006. The next phase in commercializing the therapy will be to negotiate licensing agreements to corporations interested in marketing the therapies to clinics speacializing in metabolic disease treatments.
Jordan Science and Technology Initiative
Under contract to the IC2 Institute of The University of Texas at Austin, TIG is acting as project manager for the Jordan Science and Technology Initiative (JSTI). A team of three TIG principals visited Jordan in September 2005 to interview stakeholders from government, industry, universities and entrepreneurial ventures. TIG is writing an assessment report and a business plan, and will be involved in follow up activities to implement the plan.
JSTI is designed to accelerate the development of high technology and knowledge-based industries in Jordan and to serve as a focal point for fostering regional economic development in Jordan. Its mission is to serve as a driver for accelerating the growth of Jordan’s knowledge economy and to create a collaborative business environment with regional trading partners that will significantly increase investment and wealth for the region.
JSTI will support the joint development and commercialization of Jordanian and U.S. innovations. Ventures emerging from these innovations will create wealth and prosperity through high value-added job creation and prosperity sharing, which in turn will provide a foundation for stabilizing and improving the economy of Jordan.
A second objective is to provide business and entrepreneurial education, training and mentorship to Jordanian innovators and entrepreneurs. The JSTI hub will be a prototype model for the region, making strategic investments to accelerate the growth in technology capacity and entrepreneurship.
Lastly, JSTI will serve as a conduit for multinational technology firms and foreign investors. The result will be the successful establishment of an internationally recognized high-tech cluster networked to other leading technology hubs and institutions in the region and around the world.
An Overview and Analysis of Technology Licensing Offices in the U.S. for a Japanese Corporation
In 2003, a major Japanese corporation commissioned Technology Innovation Group to prepare a comprehensive report on technology licensing offices (TLOs) in the United States.
The report considered the key features and policies of selected TLOs from across the country including research budgets, the number of disclosures, the number of patents filed and their licensing income. More generally, the report analyzed the strengths and shortcomings of various technology licensing models. The report also examined the array of organizations, from business incubators to venture capital firms, which support TLO operations nationwide. Using an inductive method, Technology Innovation Group explained which models are best suited to meeting specific institutional goals.