LSU Health and the Office of Innovation and Partnerships Celebrate the Entrepreneurial Mindset
Patrick Reed, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation & Partnerships (OIP) at LSU Health, is on a personal mission to dispel any lingering beliefs that faculty entrepreneurship is anything other than cause for celebration.
“LSU Health encourages the entrepreneurial spirit,” Reed said. “The rate of first-time faculty entrepreneurs commercializing the results of their research has increased a great deal since I first arrived in 2012.”
Reed notes that policies that may have previously discouraged or otherwise hampered entrepreneurship have been revised specifically in an effort to both bolster innovation at LSU Health Sciences Center and support local economic development, although the Office recognizes that faculty members must still be able to devote the necessary time and resources and be cognizant of effective management of conflicts of interest.
Recently, LSU Health has tapped into local and national resources to support these budding companies. One example of this is the NSF I-Corps program at LSU A&M, which will support teams through critical market and commercialization evaluations associated with a specific LSU Health developed innovation.
“I-Corps is an excellent experience, particularly its focus on customer discovery. The six-week program will allow entrepreneurs to fine-tune their business by truly finding out who the customer is and if the company's value proposition meets the customers' needs.”
LSU Health's partnership with the XLerator Network represents another resource to campus innovators.
“The goal of the XLerator Network is to help move scientific discoveries and technologies out of the lab and into the market and increase SBIR funding. The network facilitates engagement through online resources that investigator can access to learn how to think and act about commercializing their technologies and be better prepared to write successful SBIR proposals,” Reed said. “They also have several programs focused specifically on medical device innovations and the FDA regulatory process.”
The hyperlocal ecosystem is also growing to better support new companies. “The New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC) is focused more now than ever on supporting startup companies and the New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA) has a dedicated life sciences ambassador to market New Orleans' new companies and research strengths to a national audience.”
On campus, Reed wants to remind innovators of LSU's Leveraging Innovation for Technology Transfer, or LIFT2, proof-of-concept grants. “LIFT2 is a fantastic resource that provides funding for employees with a disclosed innovation to bring their idea that much closer to commercialization, either licensed to an existing business or serving as the foundation of a new startup company,” he said.
“LSU Health has been particularly successful with these proposals. This is a system-wide competition, and we have secured around one-third of all the granted funds, which really demonstrates the quality of innovation on this campus,” he added.
Reed says applications are accepted monthly with awards up to $50,000. Faculty interested in submitting a LIFT2 application should contact him at preed3@lsuhsc.edu.
Reed points to the success of several companies that are based off of LSU Health innovations that were then licensed to them:
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Chosen Diagnostics, headed by Drs. Sunyoung Kim and Rebecca Buckley. This company's technology has already begun working its way through the FDA regulatory process with office space at NOBIC.
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Oleander Medical Technologies, led by Drs. Dennis Paul and Harry Gould, is actively raising funds for its combination device and drug for cancer treatment.
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WayPath Pharma, headed by Dr. Kris Reiss, has recently submitted a Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) proposal to advance the development of an early-stage cancer therapeutic.
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NeuResto Therapeutics, CurVir Biotech, and South Rampart Pharma, all created by Dr. Nicolas Bazan. South Rampart has recently gained a significant FDA regulatory milestone allowing it to begin human clinical trials.
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InnoMedics, helmed by Drs. Rohan Walvekar and Michael Dunham, is expected to move forward with the further development of an innovative medical device.
“Of these companies, two have received one or more SBIR/STTR awards, two more will be applying for these awards, and several have already attracted private investment,” Reed said.
Reed added that just the process of thinking through the steps to take a research project to a product or service in the marketplace can provide perspective on future research projects, even if the researcher does not intend to start a company or commercialize their research.
“Starting a company is a good way to commercialize a new technology in a smaller market like New Orleans,” he said. “OIP understands that researchers face real time constraints to take on this type of activity and is here to provide valuable insight and guidance to make it easier for them to bring their innovation to the marketplace. Ultimately,” he added, “we're trying to get LSU Health innovation to the marketplace for public benefit, whatever the pathway.”