Commercial Impact and the Academic Lab

My lab at ASU has generated two start-up companies and partnered with major pharmaceutical companies. These ventures were not the result of coherent effort on my part, but rather skills that were acquired through trial and (much) error. I will lay out some of the key issues in developing business activity based on academic research. These include: (a) An appreciation of what constitutes a good patent and a grasp of patent law. (b) Finding good business partners. (c) Understanding the difference between what excites fellow academics and what business customers need. (d) The need for full disclosure and management of conflict of interest.