Nuts and Bolts of Biotechnology Entrepreneurship

Wednesday, September 2, 2009: Entrepreneurship in the Biotechnology Industry

This session will provide an overview of the commercial development life cycle of biotech and pharma products. It will offer an overview of the development and regulatory milestones a product will complete along its lifetime, including conception, validation, prototype development, clinical milestones and market entry. The speakers will address the routes in which products are brought to market, including startups, licensing, joint ventures and strategic alliances and the characteristics of a particular technology that make it amenable to any one strategy. Entrepreneurs are a breed of their own, and often have similar personality traits. Learn what they are, and whether you have what it takes to develop a startup.

Speakers:

• Alan Paau, Vice Provost for Technology Transfer and Economic Development at Weill Cornell Medical College
• Mark Wilson, President of Initiatives Consulting
• Jeff Yablon, VP of Sales and Marketing at Sciformix Corp
• Jim Chinitz. CEO of Population Diagnostics
• Lorrence H. Green, President of Westbury Diagnostics.

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Wednesday, October 7, 2009: Intellectual Property and Technology Licensing

Intellectual property is often the only asset that startup companies have. In this session, you will learn the basics of intellectual property, including considerations for patents and trade secrets, procedures for handling patentable ideas, and how your intellectual property should align with your business model. Learn how to evaluate your idea for marketability, business/commercial strategy and patentability. Early stage Biotech and pharma technology development is a risky endeavor, and usually requires a sharing of that risk between the owner and the developer through the execution of a license agreement. This session will also teach you the ins-and-outs of license agreements, including university policies and attitudes, deal types, and a discussion of what, when, and who should negotiate an agreement.

Speakers:

• Abram Goldfinger, Executive Director, Industrial Liasion/Technology Transfer, New York University
• Daryn A. Grossman, Partner and Co-Chair of the Technology, Media and Communications practice group, Proskauer Rose LLP
• Kathleen Denis, Ph.D., Associate Vice President, Technology Transfer, Rockefeller University

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Wednesday, November 11, 2009: Business plans 101: making the pitch

Your business plan and pitch is what sells your company to the skeptics. It is the door to the inside of your company, and without a well written plan that entices from the very beginning, investors and collaborators won’t bother to understand your technology and business proposition. The bottom line driver for investors is return on investment (ROI). You may have the most incredible technology ever, one that can heal the world and make lives easier, but if you can’t communicate the business model, you will significantly narrow your sources of funding. This session will teach you the ABC’s of business plans and how to effectively communicate your business proposition. There will be a focus on human capital and the importance of good management.

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Wednesday, December 9, 2009: Crossing the Valley of Death: guides to translational, pre-seed and seed funding

The gap in funding between grant money and seed investment, where technology has reached a proof in concept stage but it’s commercial potential has not been validated, is often referred to as the Valley of Death. Many entrepreneurs never traverse the valley, as investors are more and more critical of early stage technologies that may yield a return on investment. This session will teach you how to bridge this valley. You will learn what investors are looking for in early stage technology, and how federal and state resources can be brought to bear. Non-tradition funding sources such as Foundations and sponsored research will also be discussed, along with new incubation strategies.

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