Background
One of the goals of UTMB Health is to support and promote technology transfer and commercialization of research discoveries. The Technology Commercialization Program (TCP) provides seed funds to support the commercialization of discoveries created at the UTMB Health. The funds for this program are made available from the UTMB Health President’s Royalty Fund. Through a partnership between the Chief Research Office and The Office of Technology Transfer, this program is usually offered twice a year in the fall and spring. The distribution of funds will be handled by the Office of Sponsored Programs.
ELIGIBILITY
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All UTMB employees are eligible to submit the application to the UTMB Health TCP.
- The technology to be developed and commercialized is based upon efforts of a present UTMB employee, and has the potential to provide meaningful healthcare benefits, or viable commercial product(s).
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A UTMB Invention Disclosure (ID) Form describing the technology must be submitted to the Office of Technology Transfer 15 days prior to the date pre-proposal is due.
FUNDING AVAILABLE
A project can be awarded up to a maximum of $50,000 for a year. After an awardee has achieved the set milestones in the first round then the awardee will be eligible to apply for competitive renewal. For competitive renewal, committee members will take into consideration the milestones achieved and adequate progress shown during the first funding period. Awards for fall, 2017 TCP are anticipated to be made by December 1, 2017.
Special Notes:
- The program will give more emphasis to proposals that will focus on market opportunities and that will describe strategic paths to commercialization of a product. The TCP award does not provide funds to support basic research or faculty salary.
- We encourage the inter-disciplinary approach, and special consideration will be given to applicants who will engage junior scientists and/or junior faculty in TCP pilots.
- Awardees are expected to attend and present project updates in TCP-affiliated TREX seminar series and workshops designed to enhance innovation culture at the UTMB Health.
Application Instructions
Pre-proposal package (two pages maximum) is required and must include the following:
1. Pre-proposal title, Name of the Principal Investigators and Collaborators
2. Background of Technology
3. Problem
a) What is the market problem that your technology will address?
b) Who (industry, consumer type) is having the problem?
4. Solution
a) What is your solution? Give a brief description of the technology.
b) How is it unique and why it is better than the existing solutions?
c) Provide evidence that support the use of the proposed technology for the problem indicated.
5. Market
a) What markets can be addressed by the products from your technology?
b) Indicate the size of your market and any market drivers, if known.
6. Potential Commercialization Partners (i.e. transition plan)
a) What industries and companies would be logical commercialization partners?
b) Have you contacted potential commercialization partners? If so, share feedback received.
7. Proposed Use of Funding
a) Briefly outline how the funds will be utilized to enhance the potential for commercialization, indicating the amount of the requested funds.
The Pre-proposal submission: Please submit electronically to Jacqueline Ramos no later than 5:00 PM on the due date (August 21, 2017).
Pre-proposal package will be reviewed by the TCP committee for its relevance to the TCP mission, and suitable concepts will be invited by September 15, 2017 for full application using the guidelines below.
Grants Preparation
Applicants should complete the package incorporating following information in the order listed.
1) Background and Proposed Plan: This section should not exceed four pages:
(i-vi) Elaborate on the pre-proposal sections i-vi as needed. Please include a “target product profile” in the proposal. A target product profile is a strategic document that provides a summary of the product under development and clearly defines a pathway for the product to reach the desired commercial outcome.
(vii) Statement of work: Please provide preliminary data in support of the technology to be advanced, and describe the methods of study, expected results and alternatives. A collaboration with technology developing/managing partner or plans to in-house develop such capacities will be weighed positively.
(viii) Milestones
NOTE: Following websites provide useful information in developing your target product profile:
2) Transition Plan: What you will plan after completion of this funding (e.g. new extramural funds, licensing, new start-up company etc.)
3) Additional Documents
a) A list of cited literature: This section is not considered in page limitations.
b) Biographical sketch: A current 4 page NIH-style biographical sketch including other support information) should be included for the principal investigator and all co-investigators. Junior investigators should also list start-up funds available for their research program.
c) Budget and budget justification. Please cite any additional funds that may have been received for developing the proposed technology.
d) OSP proposal routing form: An Office of Sponsored Programs Proposal Routing form must accompany all intramural research grant applications (copies of this form are available at the OSP web page.
Grant Submission: Please submit as a single PDF file to Jacqueline Ramos no later than 5:00 PM on the due date (October 16, 2017).
Late applications will not be reviewed unless there are extenuating circumstances and an extension is approved by Dr. David Niesel, Vice President and Chief Research Officer.
Application Review Information
The TCP Executive Committee (and invited Ad hoc members) will evaluate the grant applications using an oral review process. The applicant will be scheduled for a 10-minute oral presentation describing the proposal, followed by 10 minutes for questions. The applicant is expected to describe the technology, problem, solution, market, potential commercialization partners, proposed use of funds and milestones.
The applicant may utilize the grant application or power-point format for oral presentation. If using power-point, please send your presentation to Jacqueline Ramos no later than 5:00 PM on November 6, 2017. The scheduled date for the presentation is 9 AM- 12 noon, November 7, 2017. Every effort will be made to accommodate the applicant's schedule in choosing a time for the presentation. If you are not available on this date, please arrange to send your collaborator or co-Investigator.
Reporting Requirements
The Principal investigator will be responsible for:
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Monitoring the progress and deliverables of the project.
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Submission of one page six-month update on milestones achieved.
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Final progress report and value created within 45 days of completion of the project.
Please contact Dr. Nisha J Garg or Dr. Sundeep Mattamana for any questions or further information.