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Technology Transfer in Telemedicine: risks and opportunities in the evolution from the university lab to the market Bernhard A. Sabel, PhD, University of Magdeburg & CEO, NovaVision AG, Germany Technology transfer is the process whereby innovative ideas arising in university laboratories are transferred to the commercial world. This process is a continuous and complex evolution from no-risk, fully government funded activities to high risk, profit driven activities in the private sector. In many respects, opposing poles of human behavior are required to succeed in worlds: the university world is free and non-binding, no-risk and notfor-profit with job security and fame as the major driving forces. The commercial world, in contrast is characterized by high risk, market drive, personal accountability, efficiency and goal oriented product development with a clear drive towards profit. The challenges of technology transfer are those associated with the transition between both worlds and the success of this transition is the prerequisite of innovation. In Germany, many academics have long viewed that profit-driven business activities do not share the same respectable clout of behavior as the “pure” academic activity and therefore profit, a moral “impurity”, should be avoided. Business management, on the other hand, often conceive of academics as “romantic” thinkers, unwilling or unable to take risks, incompetent to carry out projects with practical goals on time and on-budget with results that are of practical value. These attitudes are now changing as pressure from the tax payers and governments for cooperation between the public and private sector is mounting. Many biotechnology and medical technology start-up companies have mushroomed throughout Germany, and specific government programs have been created to enhance the technology transfer. Using NovaVision AG as an example, a start-up company developing and marketing software for the treatment of blindness (www.novavision.info), risks and opportunities of the technology transfer are discussed. It turns out that innovation is inhibited by many gaps that exist between the academic and the business world: The personality gap: Typically, the personality of the inventor (the technical expert) and the business manager are fundamentally opposed. Inventors are either visionary personalities with little sense of systematic, organized follow-up accountability or they are highly specialized, technical experts, both of which share some (necessary) remoteness from reality. Because the inventors are often the initial founders of start-up enterprises, they hold initial majority control, but their hesitation to share control may leave the start-up company undercapitalized and deprived of business know-how. The subsequent lack of business knowhow is the most frequent reason why start-ups fail despite a “good idea”. The funding gap: Especially in the innovation world state support is essential to get an idea and companies off the ground. Though universities are fully funded by state programs, financial participation by the state in private enterprises is only subsidiary, limited to about 50% of the cost. Thus, several necessary rounds of financing are required, during which the inventor gradually looses control and looses motivation. As investors often do not share the same long-term vision of the inventor, start-up companies run the danger of becoming simply part of a larger investment portfolio and thus vulnerable to (short-term) fluctuations in public opinion. The initial long-term enthusiasm of an individual or a group of inventors is replaced by the more short-term financial goals of the investors. Telemedicine is among the most promising technologies as it combines the power of two fields: IT-technologies and medicine. Balancing the needs of inventors and investors alike is a challenge, but considering that the number of 65+ yr. old citizens with high purchasing power rises continuously, telemedicine is an innovation field of the future that is worth the effort to try merging the two worlds of academia and business. Contact: Professor Bernhard Sabel, PhD Director, Institute of Medical Psychology Otto-v.-Guericke University of Magdeburg Leipzigerstr. 44 39120 Magdeburg/Germany Tel: +49-391-611 7100 Fax: +49-391-611 7103 email: [email protected] and CEO NovaVision AG Hansapark 1 39116 Magdeburg/Germany Tel: +49-391-636 0050 Fax: +49-391-636 0070 Email: [email protected]