Session 1-2: Life Science Industry and Startup Company

M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Date: February 2008
Duration: 0 / 04:37

Cathy Swaim, C.F.A., AIFA, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Commercial Development , The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Well, we're delighted that you're here and I'm not gonna take much of your time. Oli tells me that this picture looks like somebody else, but that really is me. It's not that old a picture. I'm as Oli mentioned with UT Systems, Research Tech Transfer Office. My title is a new title, it's long, but the last part is the relevant part. It's Commercial Development. And that's what we are about. Technology transfer to normal human beings does not really have a lot of meaning. What do we do, where we're transferring, from what to where. And so, we've really sort of started thinking in terms of commercial development, taking the research from an idea into the market place, seeing real results from the work that we do. And Oli mentioned that in the United States, about $30 billion worth of money is spent each year on research at the universities, almost $2 billion of that, in fact right on the money: two billion of that is spent at UT Systems, believe it or not. We have actually a very large share of that -- those research dollars. And so, we do feel compelled to improve our productivity in terms of generating real commercial output from those research dollars and that's kind of what our department is about at UT System. We were really formed to be a resource. I think of my job is to find resources for you and the other universities in the UT System. I am your servant. I am at your mercy. So that's really what we are trying to do is sort of identify where are the gaps, financially and other ways, like educationally in terms of helping research people learn business skills and then try to fill those gaps. So, three examples of ways that we're doing that right now, aside from the middle one, which is this classroom right here, sponsoring entrepreneurship training and I must say, it's great to see the Rice people here. I know that they, Rice University does it -- a lot in this area. There are a lot of programs around the country and even around our own UT System. And so we're not sort of trying to private label or wound up all of that. We really just wanna broaden the distribution of that, ignite some interests in that, you know, get the ideas on fire in UT System campuses. And above that you will see actually our first initiative that was approved in December and actually it was a result of about a year-long study within the UT System Tech Transfer Office. We have to thank for that Arjun Sanga, also Matt Blanton of STARTech and Madison Pedigo of Texas Instruments for their input and then ultimately working with all the -- and seeing the model of the fund that's in place here at M. D. Anderson, really helped us to put together, but we're calling the result, the Texas ignition fund, which is for provide funding to fund ideas in that valley of death that Oli described so well. We have about $2 Million. We're seeking matching money and more funding, ideas to get them from the point -- to the point of product development where they can be funded by other sources. So we're trying to bridge that gap with actual money. It's a competitive process and if you have ideas that might fit that. We'll be talking more about that actually later in the course and Oli's office is the place to go for screening for that money. And then finally, we're working on a project for system-wide shared IP technology solutions. IP being our buzz for Intellectual Property, which many of you probably already know. Other people and other sectors of the world, by the way don't know that IP is Intellectual Property. But anyway, that project has several dimensions that we'll also be discussing with you later in terms of resources. But with that, I'll just leave you with this. This was M. D. Anderson's exhibit at our Chancellor's Awards and Technology Showcase that was produced by our office last February -- I think it was just about a year ago now and I'm understanding we will be doing this again. It won't be an annual event, but maybe every other year where there's really, literally a competition among UT System inventors with awards and cash awards and this was M. D. Anderson's exhibit. So with that, I'm thrilled to be here, thrilled that you're here and ready to hand off the mic. Who's next?