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ITEC is the education and training arm of the BU soft landings program and provides the following services to international companies:
The Boston University incubator system has provided facilities and support for new ventures for more than a decade and has welcomed international entrepreneurs and enterprises since its inception. The Boston University Business Incubator at the Charles River Campus has over 20,000 square feet of office and laboratory space, and the BioSquare Discovery and Innovation Center has over 12,500 square feet of office and laboratory space. International Companies Find a Gateway to the U.S. at Boston University High tech companies across the Atlantic Ocean and around the world see the Boston University International Incubator Program as a point of entry into the United States. Boston is a prime location and one of the top biomedical hubs in the U.S. Lured by a high concentration of universities, teaching hospitals, biomedical companies, and venture capitalists, companies located in Boston can access networks and gain insight into market needs. 
"There’s a trend toward more entrepreneurial activity originating outside the United States. For those companies to grow, they really need to create a sustainable presence in the U.S that gives them access to the market and a strategy for developing those markets successfully," said Jonathan Rosen, Executive Director of Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (ITEC) at the BU School of Management. Although there are many ways to expand, creating a U.S. company smoothes the process for receiving FDA approval, raising capital from U.S. investors, getting acquired, or going public on the U.S. stock market. The Spanish company Progenika Biopharma S.A. opened their U.S. subsidiary, Progenika Inc, in February 2007 at the Boston University Business Incubator in a bid to expand outside the European market. A start-up itself, privately-owned Progenika Biopharma was founded in 2000 and is based at the Parque Tecnológico de Bizkaia near Bilbao, Spain. The company develops and manufactures DNA chips for genotyping to help with the diagnosis, prognosis and prediction of drug response for certain diseases. Laureano Simón, founder and CEO of Progenika Biopharma, worked with Clifford Robinson, Director of Business Incubation at Boston University to enter the Business Incubator. Robinson then helped the company by using his network of contacts to recruit a local COO, Richard Lussier, to run the new U.S. subsidiary. Lussier had extensive experience launching biotech start ups and a wealth of knowledge of the U.S. regulatory environment. "When you come to the U.S., you need to not only build your business here, you have to learn how to do business here," said Robinson. The BU Business Incubator and ITEC provide support and can help new companies avoid costly mistakes by leveraging past experience and local networks. "It can be daunting for an overseas company to enter the United States, find space, set up laboratories, navigate the legal and regulatory environments, and begin meeting the right people in their field to do business," said Rosen. "That's where we come in. We have a combination of classroom education, hands-on practical experience, and access to the community." >>more |
