Translating scientific research into useable, cost-effective products can be challenging for academic researchers. How do we find and connect with the appropriate individuals in private industry? How do we then convince them of the commercial potential of our clinical and translational research? How do we create a productive partnership with a commercial partner?
Tufts CTSI’s Therapeutics Development and Implementation Component (TDI) introduces academia to the outside world of the private sector. Working together with our Industry Advisory Board (IAB), TDI has extensive contacts in the pharmaceutical, biomedical, and health plan industries. Moreover, this vital component can provide assistance with pharmacoeconomic analyses, examining the value and cost-effectiveness of products, and with the translation of your research into products that will attract industry support. Well-versed in the commercial product development pathway and FDA’s regulatory review process, TDI experts advise researchers on development challenges and what industry looks for when weighing the potential of clinical research and/or a resulting product.
TDI also hosts an annual seminar series that focuses on major roadblocks at three phases of development, i.e. T1 – T3. The series brings in renowned speakers from industry, Tufts Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration, and researchers conducting cutting edge clinical research. Upcoming seminars are scheduled for January 27, March 24, and May 26, 2010.
“We want to open up the horizons of CTSI members so they can see what’s out there in terms of possible collaborations with commercial partners. The goal is to enable the translation of research findings into new medical treatments and technologies,” said Ken Kaitin, PhD, Co-Director of TDI. Dr. Kaitin, who is Director of the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development and Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, focuses his attention on expanding our contacts within the private sector and nurturing those relationships. “We need to bring the outside in and the inside out to guide more products as quickly as possible to the bedside and into practice.”
Other TDI Co-Directors are Peter Neumann, ScD, and Richard Karas, MD, PhD. Dr. Neumann is an expert in pharmacoeconomics, outcomes research, and risk assessment, while Dr. Karas specializes in deciphering and understanding clinical trials as they relate to private industry.
“It’s very important that the Tufts CTSI membership knows how TDI can assist them, who our Industry Advisory Board members are, and what their role is within the CTSI. The IAB can be a tremendous starting point for future industry collaborations,” Kaitin noted. Meeting once a year, the IAB includes representatives from AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Biogen Idec, Inc., Millennium Pharmaceuticals, NeuroLogica Corporation, Ortho McNeil Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and Tufts Health Plan.
“Translational science,” said Kaitin, “has an inherent energy associated with it, a collaborative spirit between academia and private industry that can bring never-before-seen discoveries into the hands of the public in faster ways. It’s TDI’s job to make sure that happens here at Tufts.”
For more information on how TDI can assist you contact: Co-Directors Peter Neumann, ScD, Kenneth Kaitin, PhD, and Richard Karas, MD, PhD.
