Sponsored by the National Consortium for Life Sciences Entrepreneurship (NCLSE), Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, and the USASBE Technology Division

Session Abstract:

The knowledge base in the Life Sciences resides in multiple disciplines and collaborative Research & Development teams that are necessary to successfully translate from the laboratory to prototype to commercial feasibility. This process requires a deep knowledge base and highly trained individuals with sophisticated skills and sophisticated, often elaborate laboratory equipment. These resources are generally only found, at a significant capital investment, in industry, academic and/or research institutions, or national laboratories. As opposed to the information technology (IT) industry, it is almost impossible to initiate the innovation and development processes “in a garage”.

In IT entrepreneurial opportunities and the IT industry, copyrights, trade secrets, and “intrinsic industry know how” tend to dominate due to the shorter development periods, less regulatory oversight, different legal standards, and shorter product cycles. The R & D tends to be more industry-based. Life Sciences entrepreneurial opportunities are also significantly different from IT opportunities in other significant aspects. In the Life Sciences, there are long product development time frames and long regulatory approval time frames; both of which lend to the use of patents and manufacturing trade secrets to protect the products over the long time frames. Although there is also significant industry participation in the R & D processes, the long time frames also lead to significant incentives for University participation due to the availability of government grants for R & D. This University-based R & D presence provides under-utilized and under-served opportunities to provide career paths and training for students and professionals in the all aspects of the Life Sciences field.

Healthcare and the Life Sciences industry has become a dominant political and economic issue in the U.S. and internationally. The Life Sciences and Life Sciences Entrepreneurship potentially provides a framework to build value in many different ways for society. Faculty and thought leaders can provide education and technical skills to produce valuable technologies and products while providing a social consciousness (the right decision at right time for right purpose) such as has been espoused by Ewing Marion Kauffman and the Kauffman Foundation—to build sustainable communities, to share the wealth with those who produce value within the community and society, and to engender social responsibility to give back to the community and society in time, talent, and treasure.

Technology Entrepreneurship includes the Life Sciences Industry(ies) and the technologies developed in this industry; including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices, agricultural and veterinary products, etc. A major gap exists in the training and education of scientific, medical, and engineering (i.e., technology-based) students in the principles and fundamentals of Entrepreneurship. Further, Entrepreneurship in the Life Sciences has a large number of unique and difficult issues that must be addressed and managed in the appropriate time frames and appropriate manner in order for the Entrepreneur to be successful and for a sustainable business to be created. These issues mandate an inter-disciplinary, team-based approach.

The goals of this program are to present the principles and fundamentals of Life Sciences Entrepreneurship (LSE) and LSE Education and opportunities afforded to educational institutions and professionals to include identification of those areas where the Life Sciences Industry and Life Sciences opportunities differ from other entrepreneurial opportunities; specifically requirements and resources for innovation; intellectual property identification, management, and protection; regulatory oversight and compliance (including the time frames involved); the issues of management/founders and human capital; assessment of technologies for technical merit and market competitiveness; new venture formation and financing issues including requirements, sources, timing, and risk; the resources necessary to develop an educational infra-structure to support a program to teach LSE; and the critical necessity for and development of optimal skills and techniques for inter-disciplinary team building and team management.

This program includes a panel of nationally-recognized experts in education, entrepreneurship, and the Life Sciences with significant expertise and experience in this field which will be able to deliver significant breadth and depth of knowledge to the audience. Students, faculty, and entrepreneurs can learn the principles and fundamental of LSE and this workshop is designed to present the issues, principles, and fundamentals in a straight-forward, concise, and succinct manner to a target audience of educators and administrators who wish to learn more about this exciting area in order to prepare their students for these challenges and to develop similar programs (or parts thereof) at their institutions.

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