When does disclosing a secret actually help the secret-keeper? In the world of patents and patent protection, it can be a key strategy. Most entrepreneurs understand that an invention must be truly novel to receive a patent. According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (uspto.gov), an invention cannot be one that has been previously “patented, described in a printed …
As a mentor to young professionals, hosting transatlantic partnerships represents a special honor. Transatlantic mentoring programs strengthen entrepreneurship in the U.S. and abroad. The Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) connects European and Eurasian young entrepreneurs with U.S. mentors in cities across the country and is sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. and the U.S. Department of …
PLSG Recognizes Advisory Board Member’s Selection to “30 Under 30” Class Carmelo Montalvo Serves on PLSG’s Under 40, Underserved Advisory Board PITTSBURGH (July 31, 2018)—Carmelo Montalvo, a member of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG) Under 40, Underserved Advisory Board, was recently named by the Pittsburgh Business Times to its 2018 “30 Under 30” Class of civic and business leaders. …
The United Nations defines community development as “a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems.” Each of us, as individuals, plays a critical role in community development. It is up to each of us to help our communities to thrive and grow for the betterment of all members; to ensure that our region not …
Back in March I blogged about — and sang the praises of — the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and its companion STTR program. Together, those Federal programs provide nearly $2.5B of non-dilutive grant funding annually to technology start-ups and other small businesses. As I pointed out, there’s a regional “SBIR deficit,” meaning that while Pittsburgh’s universities are doing …
By Hank Safferstein, Ph.D., J.D. PLSG Executive In Residence Cognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s dementia, are devastating and will put an increasing strain on our healthcare system as the population ages. As of February 2016, there were approximately 174 drugs in clinical development, with only 5 marketed therapeutics. This disparity, in large part, is due to difficulties demonstrating efficacy in …
In Part I of this two-part series, we noted that the rise of data analytics in the business of health care represents important changes in roles and responsibilities. This includes the fact that more physicians and clinicians – because of their prior experience in analyzing data – are finding themselves moving up to the executive suites of their organizations. The …
As healthcare organizations shift to a value-based care approach, more clinicians, physicians, and nurses can expect to be armed with easy-to-use, self-service analytics. The common denominator promises to be enormous amounts of data. But simply gathering data makes up only half of the equation. The other half requires careful analytics, performing quality evaluation and interpretation of that data, to drive …
In my most recent blog for PLSG, I described the value – both in the short-term for immediate funding and in the long-term for potentially gaining access to Federal sources of capital – of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the companion Small business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) programs. These Congressionally mandated programs require all agencies that fund R&D …
Say, Mr. or Ms. Life Sciences Entrepreneur – How does a direct path to Federal funding sound? A means of gaining capital to accelerate technology development? A way to leapfrog your way to product commercialization? Sound good? You bet it does. That’s why, if you’re a startup or other small life sciences business and you aren’t plugged into the Small …