Events

Dialogs in Knowledge and Technology Transfer 2009:
Optimizing KTT pathways for unmet therapeutic needs

The workshop aims to examine the challenges facing Knowledge and Technology Transfer pathways in therapeutic treatments with a focus on neglected diseases and providing treatments to poor and developing countries.

Public research organizations (PROs) have to maximize the likelihood of having their results being used to the benefit of mankind. Compared to the well established KTT pathways to develop and market therapeutic treatments for widespread pathologies in developed countries, there is a lack of clear optimal KTT routes to do so in to poor and developing countries.

• Should PROs work primarily with pharmaceutical companies and embed in their KTT agreements safeguards to maximize diffusion?


• Does patent pooling provides the incentives necessary to assure continuous development of life sciences innovations?


• When are foundations or other non for profit organizations focused on specific diseases more efficient in making therapeutic products widely available?


• What are the missing blocks in term of IP policy or KTT pathways that prevent an efficient transfer and development of early stage life sciences results from research to the marketplace?


• More generally how to develop and market "non commercial" innovations? 

To address these important issues, a selection of participants/speakers based on the relevance of their activities and experience will outline and discuss new Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) models that are developed to address these challenges faced by PROs when supporting the diffusion of their research results.

The October 27 event is hosted by ITEC at the Boston University School of Management with the support of Kauffman Foundation.

Date: Tuesday October 27th, 2009, before the Drug Discovery Partnership conference.

Program committee:  Iain Cockburn, Michael Meurer,  Laurent Mieville, Kevin Outterson, Jonathan Rosen, and Ashley Stevens.

Workshop agenda:

8:30 - 9:00                Registration, Welcome Coffee

9:00 – 9:10               Opening by Andrei E. Ruckenstein, Associate Provost and Vice President of                                   Research, Boston University

9.10 - 10.40              Session 1: Business models for orphaned drugs
                                  Chair: Kevin Outterson

10:40 - 11:00            Coffee break

11:00 - 12.30            Session 2: Patent pooling or other new licensing models in life sciences                                   to streamline market diffusion of new products
                                 Chair: Ashley Stevens 

12.30 - 1.30              Lunch

1.30 - 3.00                Session 3:  Access to information and diffusion of knowledge outside of IP                                  related framework
                                Chair: Iain Cockburn

3.00 - 3.30                Coffee break

3.30 - 5.00                Session 4: Role of not-for profits or other intermediaries in fostering open                                  innovation and diffusion
                                 Chair: Michael Meurer

5.00 - 5:30                Wrap-up & concluding remarks, next steps

5:30 – 7:00               Networking reception