University of Missouri-Columbia – Coulter Translational Partnership Program

About

The MU Coulter Translational Partnership Program provides engineer-clinician teams with the funding and other resources needed to turn biomedical innovations into products that improve patient care. Teams competing for Coulter funding are trained in the Coulter Commercialization Process, which is internationally recognized as the recipe for successful translation of biomedical research projects. In 2012, after an extensive application cycle and selection process, the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation chose MU as one of only 16 academic institutions in the country to receive the prestigious Coulter Translational Partnership designation. The award from the Coulter Foundation included funding for the Program’s first five years as well as access to the network of universities with Coulter Programs. Now in its seventh year, the MU’s Coulter Program is funded by internal funds, grants and gifts. Departments also commit to returning a portion of future royalties that may result from funded projects to the Coulter Program.

The Coulter Program Office ensures that the best projects are considered for funding by creating campus-wide awareness of the Program and by educating potential applicants about the differences between a Coulter Award and a government grant. While both provide non-dilutive funding, Coulter Awards require regular reporting of progress toward pre-determined milestones and make continued funding of the project contingent on achievement of these milestones. Potential Coulter projects are thoroughly vetted to assess fit with the Program, and if they qualify, the teams receive extensive coaching on the Coulter Commercialization Process. The Program Office is also responsible for implementing the Coulter Process, which is based on the Stage-Gate™ product development process commonly used by industry to move new products from idea to market launch. In case of the Coulter Program, the goal is to take ideas for solutions to unmet clinical needs developed by teams to the point that a commercial entity or professional investor (e.g., venture capitalist, angel investor) sees enough value to provide the funding needed to continue the commercialization process.

To assist project teams seeking a Coulter Award, the MU Coulter Translational Partnership Program offers a 12-session Boot Camp. During Coulter Boot Camp, the project teams, mentored by instructors, business advisers and industry experts, are guided through a series of lectures and interactive exercises to pressure-test the commercial viability of their ideas using universal business criteria as well as the unique requirements of biomedical product commercialization. The Boot Camp and the Coulter Process at large, provide teams with individualized counseling, connections to industry experts, marketing, regulatory and reimbursement consulting support, and introduction to potential customers, partners and investors, along with an opportunity to learn how to make investor pitches as they prepare their pitch for a Coulter Award. Students enrolled in MGMT 8200 offered by the MU Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, work with the teams going through Coulter Boot Camp to learn what it takes to commercialize life science innovations by working on real world problems and potential solutions.

Projects that receive Coulter funding are actively managed by the Coulter Program Office to ensure progress toward milestones. The Program Office also provides individualized counselling to teams to facilitate pursuit of follow-on funding and engagement with strategic partners. As a result, projects de-risked by the Coulter Program are able to attract investors, industry partners and government grants that can provide the funding and resources necessary to continue commercialization of the technology. The $4.0 million invested in Coulter research projects to date has already led to $14.2 million in new government grants, 13 startup companies, $1.7 million in investment funding raised by 3 startup companies that have licensed technologies de-risked by the Coulter Program, 2 industry licenses and 1 FDA approved product.