UCLB News
LifeArc® launches Technology Transfer Fellowships
17 December 2018
London, UK, December 17th, 2018. LifeArc, a leading UK medical research charity, is delighted to launch a new Technology Transfer Fellowship programme in partnership with Imperial Innovations, Queen Mary Innovation and UCL Business (UCLB), the technology transfer offices for Imperial College London, Queen Mary University London and University College London, respectively. The new initiative will provide successful Fellowship applicants with training and experience in four of London’s leading technology transfer environments.
The LifeArc Technology Transfer Fellowship programme has been designed to address a shortfall in the number and in the skills of aspiring technology transfer professionals. The new programme will offer four Fellowships and will run for an initial 12-month period from March 2019, with full funding provided by LifeArc.
Dr Andrew Tingey, Head of Healthcare Licensing at Imperial Innovations, said: “We’re delighted to be joining LifeArc, Queen Mary Innovation and UCLB in hosting LifeArc Fellows. Our long-established internship programme has supported young professionals in their development in the field of technology transfer for more than five years, and we look forward to working with the first intake of LifeArc Fellows.”
Dr Graeme Brown, Director of Technology Transfer at QML & Executive Director of QMI, said: “Queen Mary Innovation is delighted to be working with our partner organisations in this fantastic new initiative, and we very much look forward to welcoming the new LifeArc Fellows as they begin their career in technology transfer.”
Dr Anne Lane, Interim Managing Director, UCLB: “We’re pleased to be supporting the LifeArc Fellowship, working with LifeArc, Imperial Innovations and Queen Mary Innovation on this new initiative, investing in developing the next generation of scientists to join the exciting world of technology transfer.”
Imperial Innovations, Queen Mary Innovations, UCLB and LifeArc will host the Fellows, who will complete 3-month rotations at each technology transfer office. Fellows will receive focused training on distinct topics at each transition (e.g. spin outs, technology assessment, IP management, accessing proof of concept translational funding, licensing and deal valuations, drug discovery).
Successful candidates will have a background in life sciences, a genuine aptitude and enthusiasm for describing complex scientific information in accessible terms combined with a passion for driving technologies along their respective development paths towards the patients who need them.
The participation of four leading life science technology transfer organisations in the training will provide the new Fellows with exposure to a broad range of activities, expertise, science, technology mix and technology transfer practices. Each technology transfer office will provide a distinct Fellowship training experience:
- Queen Mary Innovation: Early stage engagement with scientists, assessment of technology disclosures (including due diligence and basics of intellectual property management) and proof of concept funding
- Imperial Innovations: the formation and management of spin-out companies
- LifeArc: Early stage drug discovery (target selection, due diligence and intellectual property management with focus on ‘composition of matter’ patents, research collaborations)
- UCLB: Licensing transactions, deal valuation and marketing
Commenting on the Fellowships, Andrew Farquharson, LifeArc’s Executive Director, Technology Transfer and Business Development, emphasised the scheme’s overarching objectives; “The scheme is a collaborative effort among the technology transfer community to enhance the quality of services we provide to our academics, funders and industrial partners. Participating Fellows will not only benefit from training but from insight into four of London’s premier life sciences technology transfer offices. Ultimately we, and our TTO partners, expect this programme to help more valuable life sciences innovations make it to the patients who need them.”
Press Contacts
Glenn Mursell, Communications, LifeArc
Tel: +44 (0) 207 391 2754
Mobile: +44 (0) 7799 261 060
Email: Glenn.Mursell@LifeArc.org
Gavin Reed, Marketing Manager, Imperial Innovations
Tel: +44 (0) 203 053 8820
Email: gavin.reed@imperialinnovations.co.uk
Sarah Vella-Brown, Marketing Manager, UCLB
Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 9798
Mobile: +44 (0)7896 058 667
Email: s.vella-brown@uclb.com
QMI Press contact
Email: press@qmul.ac.uk
About LifeArc
LifeArc is a medical research charity with a 25-year legacy of helping scientists and organisations turn their research into treatments and diagnostics for patients. LifeArc turns great science into greater patient impact. The charity brings together a network of partners to tackle specific diseases and directly funds academic and early stage research. So far, LifeArc’s work has helped to develop four drugs (Keytruda®, Actemra®, Tysabri® and Entyvio®) and a test for resistance to carbapenems. www.lifearc.org Twitter @lifearc1
About Imperial Innovations
Imperial Innovations is the Technology Transfer office for Imperial College London. It is part of IP Group.
With a focus on achieving societal and economic impact, it works with academic researchers from Imperial to commercialise technologies they have discovered in the course of their work.
Imperial Innovations helps academic entrepreneurs to realise their ideas by:
- Assessing the market potential, novelty and protectability of new technologies
- Patenting or otherwise protecting novel inventions
- Conducting thorough market research and customer evaluation
- Supporting the decision to licence the technology or create a spinout
- Working with inventors to achieve the desired route to commercialisation
Imperial Innovations has supported over 150 academic spinouts from Imperial College London. In an average year, we assess around 400 inventions disclosed by Imperial staff, form 8 new companies, file patents on 60 new technologies and complete 30-40 licence deals, with companies ranging from SMEs to major industry players.
https://www.imperialinnovations.co.uk
About Queen Mary Innovation Ltd
Queen Mary Innovation Ltd (QMI) is Queen Mary University of London’s (QMUL) wholly-owned technology transfer company and responsible for the commercialisation and management of the University’s intellectual property and portfolio of spinout companies. QMI protects and exploits QMUL’s research-derived intellectual property and helps to maximise the economic and societal impact of that research.
http://www.qminnovation.co.uk/
About UCLB
UCLB, part of UCL Innovation & Enterprise, is a leading technology commercialisation company that supports research and innovations arising from UCL, one of the UK’s top research-led universities. UCLB has a successful track record and a strong reputation for identifying and protecting promising new technologies and innovations from UCL academics. UCLB also commercialises medical technologies and provides technology transfer services to UCL’s associated hospitals; University College London Hospitals, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal Free London Hospital. It invests directly in development projects to maximise the potential of the research and manages the commercialisation process of technologies from laboratory to market.