Leaders Roundtable #3: International S&T Commercialization, May 2011

Leaders Roundtable #3:
Best Practices for Launching Tech Ventures and Leveraging the University Mission: Funding Strategies
23 May 2024
IMM, Lisbon
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Summary

Dr. Gregory Pogue (Senior Research Scientist, IC² Institute and former Vice President of Business Development, Emergent Technologies, Inc.) will lead in the morning a discussion of strategies that accelerate venture formation, funding and operations including the model of Emergent Technologies (ETI) in Austin, TX, a model which adopts specific “best practice” strategies for selection and valuation of technologies, securing venture funds, and managing ventures to bring innovative products to market. Building on RT#2 with Brett Cornwell from TAMU , Greg will discuss implications of these strategies relative to the core mission of universities and their desire to both secure royalties/equity and to raise additional research funding in support of commercialization efforts.

The presentation will be illustrated in the afternoon using a specific, successful life science venture from Emergent Technologies that will allow a detailed dissection of a company start up, from valuation to fund raising, licensing and liquidity progression.

MORNING – Benchmarking Emergent Technologies (ETI): funding strategies

Accelerating new venture formation, funding and operations

Implementation of a funding strategy
- sources of creative enterprise funding
- determining equity amount and structure
- raising funds
- obtaining non-dilutive grant funding
- using contracts and revenue as funding
- aligning developmental goals with value
- controlling valuation increase
- later stage investment rounds
- preserving early investor value and interest while drawing in new funding

Commercialization outcomes core to the realization of the university mission
- research and development funding – short term return
- royalties and equity share – long term return

AFTERNOON – Dissection of a successful life science venture (topics for discussion)

Identifying a true platform technology
- choosing your market space
- defining market drivers
- evaluating the nature of inventor
- determining development state at time of licensure
- defining marketable form and timing to readiness

Licensing arrangements with major US universities
- identifying components of the license agreement
- aligning mutual interests
- establishing creative ways to share “upside”
- pursuing modifications post-licensure

Technical accomplishment to liquidity
- defining critical technical accomplishments tied to valuation inflection
- operationalizing strategies to dedicate maximum amount of funding to accomplishment, not overhead
- driving technical accomplishment
- marketing technical accomplishment
- doing interim license deals - gaining cash, without losing overall value
- managing toward liquidity

Gregory P. Pogue, Ph.D.

Dr. Gregory Pogue recently joined the IC² Institute of the University of Texas at Austin as Senior Research Scientist where he leads research and implementation programs surrounding technology commercialization and early venture creation and operations. Before coming to the University of Texas, Dr. Pogue served as Vice President of Business Development for Emergent Technologies, Inc. (ETI), and currently serves as President and Managing Director for ETI portfolio companies Receptor Logic, Inc. and Pure Protein, L.L.C. As Vice President of Business Development at Emergent Technologies, Dr. Pogue is responsible for evaluating the commercial potential of new technologies, determining both technical and market trajectories, and building partnerships to effectively commercialize products. In this capacity, Dr. Pogue was the catalyst behind the business negotiations and technical management of the strategic relationship between ETI and Merck & Co. purposed to identify novel strategies for siRNA drug delivery. Under his leadership, Receptor Logic and Pure Protein have forged partnerships with four Fortune 500 companies, obtained >$3M in competitive grant funding, including a $1.8M Oklahoma EDGE grant, and successfully competed for a $2M award from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. Dr. Pogue brings over twenty years of experience in biologic development, spanning research management, biologic regulation, and intellectual property development and licensing. Dr. Pogue most recently served as Licensing Associate for the University of Texas at Austin where he negotiated licenses with companies ranging from newly formed startups to Fortune 500 enterprises.

Before coming to Texas, Dr. Pogue served as Vice President of Research and Development at Large Scale Biology Corporation (LSBC), where he managed a broad development program involving product development and preclinical and clinical testing of numerous lead compounds, including two receiving Orphan Drug Designation from the US FDA and 16 successfully completing early clinical trials. He also developed licensing and R&D contracts with corporate, academic, and government entities and supervised collaborative research relationships. Before joining LSBC, Dr. Pogue worked in the U.S. FDA’s Center for Biologics Research and Evaluation as a scientist with Investigational New Drug and Biological Licensing Application review responsibilities. He holds a B.S. from Midwestern State University and a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. Pogue has published numerous original scientific articles and reviews, is an inventor on multiple U.S. patents, and is a frequent invited speaker at national and international scientific meetings.