This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits applications to strengthen the regional technology transfer accelerator hubs for Institutional Development Award (IDeA) states.
Accelerator hubs funded by the awards under this FOA are expected to develop, refine, and implement comprehensive
programs for fostering biomedical entrepreneurship which will promote technology transfer, small business finance and management, and other business skills needed to move basic discoveries and technologies out of the lab into commercial products that improve patient care and enhance human health.
Each Hub will serve a network of multiple institutional sites across the IDeA states in one of the four regions where the academic partners are located.
The goals of this FOA are to:
1) build on regional technology transfer programs to further strengthen the capacity to bring scientific results from academic institutions into the market; 2) fund a pilot project program for product definition studies (e.g., feasibility studies, prototype development, proof-of-concept, and preclinical studies); 3) provide access to expertise and resources in areas required for early stage technology development; 4) provide skills development and hands-on experience in entrepreneurship; and 5) promote a sustainable culture of biomedical entrepreneurship within IDeA states.
It is anticipated that the educational tools developed under this FOA will be licensed or sold to other institutions that wish to create accelerator hubs.
Establishing public-private partnerships and securing additional non-federal funds will be critical for long-term success.