Tech Transfer for Medical Advances: Challenges and Opportunities in Commercializing Academic Biomedical Research

The pharmaceutical industry needs access to innovation from academia to develop new drugs, and academic institutions are more interested than ever in finding a commercial route for their discoveries. However, the process whereby an academic discovery gives rise to a new medicine is too complex and inefficient. What are the obstacles that result in such inefficiency? How can we overcome these challenges? The goal of this Virtual Keystone Symposium is to tackle these challenges and identify potential solutions.

To that end, we will convene experts in various aspects of science commercialization — academic entrepreneurs, technology-transfer specialists, venture investors, pharma scientists — who routinely interact with academic scientists to discuss issues such as the key considerations when deciding what project to commercialize; how academic institutions can learn more about what investors or pharma look for when they scout for projects; what the biggest obstacles are for investors when interacting with academic institutions; and other related questions.

Event Hashtag: #VKStechtransfer