2006 Annual Conference Turku

OPENING & WELCOME

Jeff Skinner, President of ASTP
Kyösti Jääskeläinen, Executive Director, Finnish Science Park Association TEKEL, Finland Finland look at Innovation
Richard Jefferson, Chairman and CEO, CAMBIA and Founder, BiOS, Australia Socially responsible Technology Transfer Strategy

INTRODUCTORY COURSE:
Patent Strategy

LOOKING AT TTO:
The Finland Case

CONNECTING TO INDUSTRY:
The Strong Link

Managing the Patent Portfolio
Patent budgets can easily get out of control – it is easy and relatively inexpensive to file a patent without thinking about the strength or value of the patent. In this session we explore patent strategy from the perspective of an experienced Tech Transfer Director.

Activation, Tekes The role of Tekes in the Finnish innovation system
Lauri Kangas, Senior Advisor Hormos Medical, Industrial Experiences from the Finnish System
Jyrki Heino, Professor of Biochemistry, University of Turku, Scientific Director, BioCity Turku, Biocentre The Researcher’s Point of View
Followed by a panel discussion including: Markku Sjöstedt, Director Pre Seed Finance, Sitra
Finland has taken a very determined, systematic approach to converting Finland into a high-tech society. We present the important players in the Finnish innovation system.

Konstantin Joanidopoulos, Head Special Applications, Olympus Bio-Systems GmbH, Germany
Bridging the gap between academic research results and industry demands
Many promising technologies are just too early for licensing to established industrial partners and disappear in the "valley of death".
In this session solutions to this problem will be presented in the form of a case study. The technology provider and the industrial partner will describe the pros and cons of the adopted approach from their respective viewpoints.

INTRODUCTORY COURSE:
Patent Strategy

LOOKING AT TTO:
Financing your TTO Operation

CONNECTING TO INDUSTRY:
The Strong Link

Orion Pharma, Finland
Does industry differ – a business perspective of patenting
Universities and companies approach patents from different perspectives – universities want to protect technologies; companies want to protect products. How does this difference affect the patenting strategy – and does the different approach damage us when it comes to licensing to industry?

Ventures, Imperial Innovations Ltd, United Kingdom
Bernhard Arnolds, ZFT – Zentralestelle Forschungsförderung und Technologietransfer, Albert-Ludwigs- Universität Freiburg, Germany
The span of funding schemes for TTO ranges from low budget to stock market floatation. We present two examples of rather early and quite advanced schemes in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Director, VTT, Finland
Anssi Rantasalo, CEO Kemppi, Finland
Since innovation is non-linear, strong partnerships between research and industry can be a competitor to traditional technology transfer. We present the integrated innovation system between VTT and the Finnish company Kemppi.

INTRODUCTORY COURSE:
Patent Strategy

LOOKING AT TTO:
Research on TTO

CONNECTING TO INDUSTRY:
Open Innovations - A Sharing Model

Suni á Dalbø, Head of Commercialisation, University of Aa1borg, Denmark
Experiences before and after a major deal making:
- How do you choose your partner? A fair partner helps you realize the value of an invention.
- Use of counselors (e.g. to help to negotiate). Balance between own gut feeling and external advise.
- How to handle the expectations from the university & scientist after the deal.

Bronwyn H. Hall, Professor of the Graduate School, University of California at Berkeley & Professor of Technology and Economy, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands
Dominique Foray, Professor of Economy & Management of Innovation, EPFL, Switzerland
TTO has come to an age where scientific studies of TTO is being carried out. What can we, as TTO professionals, learn from and contribute to this research.

Leonard Fass, Director of Academic Relations, GE Healthcare, United Kingdom
Patrick Nef, Chief Scientific Officer & Chief Business Officer, Xytis Pharmaceuticals Sàrl, Switzerland
As TTO professionals we tend to get trapped in the linear model, and often forget that innovation requires tight collaboration with a business. How do they go about innovation in a globalised economy, and how does that affect our thinking and the way in which we can most effectively transfer technology.

PLENARY

Laurent Mieville, Vice President ASTP, Main results of the ASTP 2006 survey & A new innovative and interactive platform for ASTP members
Sue Tonks, Associate trainer and presenter Kintish, United Kingdom Working the Room
We spend a lot of our time networking inside and outside our universities. Few of us make the most of the opportunity or know how to follow up on the conversations we have or the people we meet. Here we learn the art of ‘Power Networking”

INTRODUCTORY COURSE:
Patent Strategy

LOOKING AT TTO:
How to get Better Entrepreneurs ?

CONNECTING TO INDUSTRY:
A Success Story in TechTransfer

Catherine Mallalieu, Partner D-Young & Co, United Kingdom
Choosing and using your Patent Agent
In this session we focus in on the relationship between you and your Patent Agent (Attorney). How should you choose them, manage them and measure how good a job they’re doing? How should you brief them and stay involved during the patent writing and examination process?

Vasilis Theoharakis, Associate Professor Marketing & Entrepreneurship, ALBA Greece & Senior Lecturer, Aston University, United Kingdom
Ioannis Arabatzis, CEO NanoPhos and winner of the European Business Plan Competition 2005, Greece
Because we have a shortage of entrepreneurs researchers need to become more entrepreneurial and outside entrepreneurs need to be fed into our start-ups. We introduce Venture Cups as a way of achieving this.

Steef Blok, Director Technology Transfer Erasmus MC Holding Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Tol Trimborn, Director Corporate Development DNage, the Netherlands
The University of Rotterdam has a successful TTO office. The Director of the TTO office as well as the CEO of one of the start-ups bring us a specific success story.

INTRODUCTORY COURSE:
Patent Strategy

LOOKING AT TTO:
Educating Faculty on Technology Transfer

CONNECTING TO INDUSTRY:
Via Venture Capital to a Trade Sale

Catherine Mallalieu, Partner DYoung & Co, United Kingdom
Getting the maximum ‘bang-per-buck’
Patenting can be hugely expensive once you get into the ‘national’ phase. How can you delay as long as possible to give you the maximum time to license? If you have to ‘go national’ what coverage do licensees expect you to have – what do companies do themselves?

Jeff Cope, Business Development Manager, RTI International, USA
Taina Saksa, Innovation Manager, University of Helsinki, Finland
Issues such as the best times to educate faculty, the best topics to cover with faculty, approaches for educating faculty, when and how to use TTO website as an educational tool, and other do’s and don’ts related to making sure faculty know their role in the tech transfer process.

Patrick Nef, Chief Scientific Officer & Chief Business Officer, Xytis Pharmaceuticals Sàrl, Switzerland
Simon Crossley, Partner Eversheds Solicitors, United Kingdom
We have had a strong focus on startups as the primary alternative to licensing deals. But we can also develop the technology within the university and then do a trade sell.

FINAL PLENARY

Richard Jefferson, Chairman and CEO, CAMBIA and Founder, BiOS, Australia
Claire T. Driscoll, Director, Technology Transfer Office NHGRI and NIH, USA
Some argue that, as public institutions, we should somehow build terms into our license agreements that ensure that products based on our technologies are supplied at low cost to third world countries. Others say that this is not our business and intervention is best left to governments and charities. In this final session we debate this serious issue and explore whether there is anything we can or should be doing.