“Take home messages” and presentations from the UK and Medicon Valley Technology Transfer Seminar, 31 August 2005

 

Health care innovation:

 

> A change in work culture is needed to make hospital staff see them selves as inventors and innovators. This could for example be done through incentives and innovation competitions.

 

> There is a big difference between technology transfer from universities and from hospitals:

- Often there is no IPR involved, and the invention is not always coming from the academic science but from practical experiences

- Likewise it is not just scientists who act as inventors but also lab technicians, health care workers etc.

 

> There may be ethical dilemmas regarding health care innovation; but is it unethical to commercialise health care research or is it unethical not to.

- In Denmark there is a concern regarding conflict of interest, which may mean that the scientist cannot be involved in a company based on his/her work

- Or the hospital may not be involved in a start-up company, which sells its products back to the hospitals

 

> There is a huge potential for commercialisation and innovation breakthroughs, but lack of infrastructure, competencies and resources (human and finance) to make it happen.

 

View presentations (all pdf): Keith Chantler, TrusTECH, NHS / Mark Fisher, Ventures for Health, NHS / Randi Husby, H:S Innovation / Ingvar Wiberg, Region Skåne

 

 

Proof of concept funding:

 

> Proof of concept funding is here defined as pre-commercial financing, as a funding that shall bridge the gap between basic research and establishment of a company or closing of a licensing agreement, and hence not as pre-seed capital for start-up companies

 

> As a follow up to the recommendation regarding proof of concept funding in the MVA report From Biosciences to New Jobs (link) the Scottish Proof of concept fund programme was invited to tell about their experiences

 

> Scottish Enterprise may give £200.000 over 2 years to relevant projects screened and submitted by the universities. The Universities stands for 45-50% of the expenses. The projects stops when a company is established. Money can be spent on e.g. experiments and prototypes, market feasibility studies and patent applications

 

> Establishment of an Entrepreneurial PostDoc year for committing a researcher to doing more work on a pre-commercial project, which may strengthen the patent application(s) before a company is started.

 

> Denmark and Sweden or the regional authorities in Medicon Valley should see to that relevant proof of concept funding becomes available. E.g. as part of the High technology Fund or Vækstfora in Denmark and as a Vinnova POC fund to University TTOs or via Innovationsbron (without requiring a company) in Sweden. The universities and hospitals should also show their commitment by allocating resources (administrative, financial etc.) for this initiative.

 

View presentations (all pdf): Eleanor Taylor, Scottish Enterprise / Kevin Cullen, University of Glasgow / Nicholas Jacobsson, LU Innovation / Karen Laigaard, the Tech Transfer Unit, University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Tech Transfer Consortium / Sven Thore Holm, Innovationsbron AB