In 2014, the Office of Technology Transfer created a proof of concept (POC) fund. This fund was created to address the lack of funding in the “Valley of Death,” between basic scientific research and a demonstrable product. The POC fund is designed to help move technologies closer to the market. See our previous blog when the POC fund was launched here https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/techtransfer/2014/12/p-o-c-fund-gears-up-to-help-bridge-the-v-o-d/. See part one of this interview here. How was OTT’s first investment chosen? Are there any other inventions that are in the process of applying for funding? The first investment was chosen because we happened to have a cardiologist that had a great idea for a new device at that time to deliver stem cells to the heart. There were some potential challenges as to how you would make that and she had become aware of an industry expert in California that had expertise in making cardiovascular devices. Engaging this expert was going to cost between $10,000 and $40,000 and that became a great opportunity to use the proof of concept fund. We had interest from the Coulter Translational fund, but being able to get that initial feedback on what that prototype might look like put the
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Proof of Concept Fund
From the Director: Navigating Proof of Concept Funding – Part 1
In 2014, the Office of Technology Transfer created a proof of concept (POC) fund. This fund was created to address the lack of funding in the “Valley of Death,” between basic scientific research and a demonstrable product. The POC fund is designed to help move technologies closer to the market. See our previous blog when the POC fund was launched here https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/techtransfer/2014/12/p-o-c-fund-gears-up-to-help-bridge-the-v-o-d/. What is a proof of concept fund? A proof of concept fund, generally speaking, is non-diluted funding that can be used to take an early stage idea and get it to a proof of concept or proof of principle stage. Although this stage has different meanings for different people, at a macro level, it means that there needs to be evidence that the invention works for its intended purpose. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use it in humans. There could be an animal model or even a cellular model that is viewed as the standard for a particular disease, which could be used for this proof of concept stage. What motivated OTT to create such a fund? One of our biggest challenges is that the inventions that are disclosed to the office are very early
Continue readingP-O-C Fund Gears Up to Help Bridge the V-O-D
Those in technology transfer know all too well “The Valley of Death” between basic discoveries and proof of concept as well as the challenges involved in bridging this gap. Here at Emory OTT we’re fortunate to have a new tool in our toolbox to help promising discoveries take that next step. Its official name is the “POC Fund” Or “Proof of Concept Fund.” Yes – we know the name isn’t that creative but you might be surprised at how difficult it is to create a jazzy name that everyone agrees upon. Having said that, one thing we can all agree on is that we have made our first investment and we’re pretty excited. Take a look below for some details on the fund itself and our first investment. The Fund The POC fund was launched to provide support for prototype development and proof-of-concept testing of biomedical innovations, medical devices, and software technologies. The goals for the fund are to: Improve the patent position of promising new disclosures by further reducing them to practice; Prepare early-stage biomedical technology for support from other translational funding opportunities such as Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), Coulter, and ACTSI grants (read our two previous blogs on ACTSI here:
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