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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]