Medical Device Link.

Originally Published MX November/December 2004

BUSINESS PLANNING & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

Southern California has long been known as a hotbed of medical technology development. The region's entrepreneurial spirit is also well funded. During the second quarter of 2004, more than $212 million in venture capital was invested in the region, including $112 million earmarked for biotechnology alone.

Patterson

But funding by itself isn't enough. "To ensure successful commercialization, it's essential that technology developers be able to convey the core concept of their discovery or invention to investors, to achieve specified milestones, and to develop a viable business strategy," says venture analyst Nancy Patterson. Patterson works as a consultant to the Alfred E. Mann Institute at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles), a technology transfer incubator, and to the MedFocus Fund (Irvine, CA), a medical device incubator and accelerator fund. She also serves in a consulting capacity to a number of the region's emerging technology companies.

Patterson is also working with the Orange County Technology Action Network (OCTANe), a nonprofit organization formed in 2002 to develop a cohesive network of companies, universities, entrepreneurs, seed and venture capital firms, and strategic partners all working together to create a more robust environment for innovation. A key element of the organization's success has been its partnerships with the region's research-based universities, such as the University of California, Irvine (UCI).

In November, OCTANe served as sponsor for a showcase of commercialization-ready biomedical technologies developed by UCI scientists. "Translating technology and working with the biomedical device community of Orange County has been a priority of our program from the outset in 1999," says Steven George, chair of biomedical engineering at UCI. "This type of event is an excellent match for the vision of our department."

In Southern California, the Orange County Technology Action Network (OCTANe) brings together innovators from private and public entities—such as academic researchers from the University of California, Irvine (UCI)—to support technology innovation. At left, lab manager Jake Hes and a graduate student operate the reactive ion etching/plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RIE/PECVD) system in the cleanroom of the integrated nanosystems research facility at UCI's Henry Samueli School of Engineering. At right, graduate students at work in the laboratory of UCI professor of engineering G.-P. Li, whose research focuses on the technology of integrated microsystems for biomedical and telecommunications applications. Photos courtesy UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE (click to enlarge)

Technologies displayed at the UCI event included a 3-D noninvasive optical biopsy device, a cost-effective cochlear implant based on cell phone technology, a high-speed automated cell analyzer, a noninvasive instrument for dental testing, a stent-sizing instrument, a microchip for uniform generation of small particles tagged with molecular keys, and bioengineered nerve tissue.

While universities play a central role in the development of new medical technologies, that shouldn't be their only function, says Patterson. "Too frequently, discussions of university-industry relations characterize the flow of knowledge as unidirectional, from the university incubator to industry," she says. "Incubation of emerging technology in a university setting can allow for an extended research phase to elevate a technology above the threshold once transitioned to a commercial setting. But other partners must work with such university entrepreneurs to identify compelling medical devices, and to teach them the business skills that will enable their ideas to be transferred to industry. That creates a win-win situation for all parties."

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