Jill A. Tarzian Sorensen, J.D.

1
The Evolution of University Technology
Commercialization Lessons for Federal
Laboratories

• Jill A. Tarzian Sorensen, J.D.
• Executive Director
• Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer
• Federal Laboratory Consortium Mid Atlantic
  Meeting
• Rocky Gap, Maryland
• September 13, 2005

2
Lessons from the JHU experience

• Know your clients culture
• Have a vision where are we going?
• Understand obstacles to achieving your vision (BE
  HONEST!)
• Surround yourself with excellence
• Be patient
• Be impatient

3
JHTT Mission Statement

• Mission
• The Licensing and Technology Development office
  furthers the academic mission of the Johns
  Hopkins University by facilitating the
  commercialization of University innovations for
  the public good by
• Encouraging the disclosure of new ideas and
  discoveries for the purpose of assessing
  commercial potential
• Appropriately protecting and managing the
  University's intellectual and tangible property
• Enabling technology development and
  commercialization through licensing for fair and
  equitable return and
• Encouraging and supporting entrepreneurial
  activities within the University.

4
JHTT Vision Statement
The Licensing and Technology Development office
will master and lead best practice in academic
technology transfer by leveraging JHU technology
and intellectual property to maximize its value,
both monetary and non-monetary, in commercial
markets. We will engage strategically with JHU
stakeholders faculty, industry, sister
institutions, funding entities to achieve this
vision of knowledge stewardship as a component of
social responsibility and public service, the
third leg of the academic mission. Our success
will be defined by how effectively we facilitate
access to JHU technology, by our ability to be as
resourceful as possible with JHU knowledge
advances and research expertise, by our ability
to balance monetary and non-monetary value
capture, and by our ability to deliver value to
JHU stakeholders in a manner which preserves and
advances the quality of scholarship at Johns
Hopkins University.
5
Keys to Implementation

• The patient is waiting! Who is the patient?
  What do they need? Want? Benefit from?
• Defining success the access metric
• Inventions reported
• Patents filed/issued
• Licenses executed
• Royalty Revenue earned
• Start-ups initiated/established
• Jobs created/graduated/retained/grown
• Start-up funding procured
• Citation analysis
• DALYs (disability adjusted life year)
• Mapping success what do we do well? (identify
  intellectual property once reported) what can we
  do better? (assess market value of an invention,
  market, negotiate adroitly)

6
Know your client/stakeholders

• Faculty
• Industry/potential licensees and partners
• Community (angels, VCs, economic development
  representatives)
• Sister institutions

7
Success Map

• Build office functionality
• Organizational restructuring
• Electronic records keeping
• Technology assessment
• Legal assistance
• Coordinate marketing
• Build technology community
• Improve relationships with key stakeholders
• Faculty
• Industry
• Venture Capital
• Regional economic development representatives
• Local universities
• Technology Park build-out
• Start-up funding VC, angels, SBIR, STTR

8
Distributed Model of Technology Transfer

• Core Competencies identify IP, protect, license
• Inreach Key academic unit presence
• Medicine
• Public Health
• Engineering
• Arts and Science
• Integrated cooperativity
• Economic Development Office
• Alliance for Science and Technology
• Outreach for complement competencies marketing,
  technology development, product prototyping,
  manufacturing
• Industry
• Funding entities
• Economic development community

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Technology Assessment
Purpose (i) To make data-driven business
decisions that substantiate Hopkins IP
investment strategies. (ii) To communicate to
stakeholders in a consistent way.

• Identify point person
• Management of process
• Intern Assessment ? Oversight by point person ?
  I.P. Review Committee Decision (JHU faculty users
  group and industry alliance)
• Design technology assessment system to support
  data-driven decision making
• Consistent format
• Assessment report
• Brief technical description
• Market synopsis
• Market landscape
• Competitive advantage or unique benefit
• IP landscape
• Conclusion
• PowerPoint synthesis
• Non-confidential marketing summary

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Other Core build-out

• Knowledge Management and electronic
  records-keeping
• Marketing resources
• Industry outreach for market push and market pull
• Staff training, founded on office organization
• Build internship program
• Build a senior management team of facilitators to
  model success, serve clients and help motivate
  entire team by getting results

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Unified Marketing Branding
Approach Each of the individual marketing plans
below will target their unique missions, but can
be supported by the intellectual resources of the
other business units. All of the business units
will be identified by the new brand of the
Technology Transfer Office.

• Design an integrated marketing branding plan
  that focuses on the following areas
• Industry outreach
• Faculty outreach
• VC outreach
• Other economic development

12
Lessons for Federal Laboratories

• Know your clients culture
• Have a vision where are we going?
• Understand obstacles to achieving your vision (BE
  HONEST!)
• Surround yourself with excellence
• Be patient
• Be impatient

13
Thanks for listening

• Jill A. Tarzian Sorensen, J.D.
• Executive Director
• Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer
• jats_at_jhu.edu
• 410-516-8300

14
Thanks for listening