Category: Feb 9-10, 2009, FCT/UNL

Comments on Breakout Session 4

Please add here any comments on the wrap-up panel, your final thoughts for the day and items you would like to discuss in more detail tomorrow.

Please enter your comments or questions related to the Roundtables on Developing an Ecosystem to Fund, Launch, and Grow Portuguese Businesses (with Erin Defosse, Darius Mahdjoubi, Luis Medina and David Gibson) here.

Welcome to UTEN Portugal’s web page and blog - we strongly encourage you to share your views on (1) presentations, discussions, and shared at the UTEN workshop, and (2) challenges and assets for Portugal in general and your activity in specific - (TTOs, IP issues, entreprenerus, emerging and established technology companies) - focusing on S&T commercialization in general and US markets in particular. It is intended that this blog will faciliate the exchange and use of valuable know-how within Portugal and with UTEN Austin to help build a globally competitive and sustainable S&T commercialization program and activities in Portugal.

Please enter your comments or questions related to the Roundtables on Developing Market Driven Technology and IP Practices in Portugal (with Jose Mendonca, William Hulsey, Laura Kilcrease, and Steven Nichols) here.

A question for our living cases (and everyone else) — during the introductions, how much of the focus was on the technology, and how much on the market opportunity? Of course, it is important to explain the technology to provide context. But it’s important to allow be thinking about the market opportunity, about developing it and making it bigger.

Comments?

I said large US universities spend US$200,000 a year in patent maintenance fees. I was wrong, it’s actually US$350,000. US universities spend US$100 million a year. What does this mean to the operation of tech transfer offices? How many patents can the university afford to maintain?

In their Key Areas for Discussion in the living case for Bioalvo they raised the question - Is it possible to start a biotech company from scratch with no IP and no technology? more specifically what is the environment in general and specifically in Portugal? - To start the discussion I would like to say that this is a critical question that is not asked often enough by those pondering the startup of a Biotech company even when they DO have a technology and IP. The environment in the US for starting a new pharmaceutical, medical device, over-the-counter and/or support products company makes this one of the toughest industries to enter - period. And this is not just due to the regulatory issues - it is also one of the most competitive and crowded industries. So the question then becomes an examination of the new company’s overall strategy - strength - team - and also product. But it could be argued that the product - IP or technology - may be the least important of these. Obviously, it does not mean it is not critical.

Please comment and post your views - Tom Gardner

We’re very excited to have Manuel Heitor, the Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Higher Education, here with us this morning. Please post your comments regarding his opening and the other events of the morning of February 9, 2025 here.