Right now there are probably thousands of late-stage cancer patients waiting for drugs that could prolong their lives. Where do they look? Research labs all across the country. In a process called technology transfer, drugs go from the lab to the market, with a few steps in between, and the push is on to speed up the process, without leaving any loose ends.
RHT Consulting (RHT), a provider of strategy consulting services in the life sciences industry, said it has developed a technology transfer strategy for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) to meet the changing needs of the biomedical industry and help it jump-start the research process.
About 10 percent of NIH funding supports the intramural research program of scientists, which describes itself as being on the cutting edge of medical discoveries.
That’s certainly true in regards to Synagis, used to prevent lung disease, and Taxol, a chemotherapy drug. Both came from inventions by NIH scientists.
“RHT has developed a strategy for OTT that creates a new performance standard for the technology transfer industry, shaping the future of how technology transfer is performed and creating a best-in-class platform,” said Rosemarie Truman, founder and CEO of RHT Consulting. “Also, with the recent Obama administration’s technology transfer memorandum for improvement, it’s critical to create a new, breakthrough model for technology transfer. RHT benefits models illustrate that implementing the new recommended operational and business blueprints will significantly improve the volume and speed of licensing and subsequent commercialization.”
Some states are going the extra mile to make sure this succeeds. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has proposed a $6.25 million “Maryland Innovation Fund,” $5 million of which will be included in the budget for the 2013 state fiscal year. Another $1.25 million will consist of $250,000 contributions by Johns Hopkins University; Morgan State University; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, Baltimore; and University of Maryland, Baltimore Count, according to a story at Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.
The OTT study included a review, analysis, and synthesis of over 100 sources of primary and secondary quantitative and qualitative data sources; comprehensive benchmarking; blueprint creation; roadmap development and benefits models construction.
Edited by
Stefanie Mosca
