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Panel considers pathways to successful innovations in retina
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BOSTON — Taking a look at the market is the starting point when first evaluating the likelihood that an innovative idea can be a successfully developed opportunity, according to William J. Link, PhD, a panelist for the Innovation in Retina session at the annual meeting of the American Society of Retina Specialists.
Link said he studies a number of factors when considering opportunities: What are the unmet needs? Will the technology make a difference? How does the caliber and integrity of the team fit? Is there a regulatory path? Does capital efficiency, that is, cash and time, correlate to the size of the market?
Whether consultants should be employed as the ones to consider all of these factors is debatable, but what is needed is “access,” according to panelist Emmett T. Cunningham Jr., MD, PhD, MPH. Access comes via collaborators, whether they be consultants, peers or someone else.
Panelist Eugene de Juan, MD, took another angle, saying that “passion around the need” has a place in product development. In his case, he pursued technology that he thought would potentially benefit a need in a limited number of pediatric patients.
“It was a very important need for those kids,” de Juan said, and the technology was later found to have greater utility than what it was initially developed for.
“There are times when you need to be more precise than others,” Cunningham said; making the decision to apply for a patent, for example, can be done without projecting revenue precisely “to the decimal point.”
Regarding those early ideas and potential patents, Link recommended creating a record of documentation.
“I would encourage us to document what we’re thinking about,” he said. That internal documentation is informal, but it is dated and signed and creates at least a measure of security against any later challenges.
Link also recommended early vetting of ideas with trusted colleagues.
“Get feedback early before you invest too much because often we fall in love with our own ideas,” he said.
Panelist Carl Awh, MD, who holds nine patents and 10 provisional applications for patents, suggested an alternative pathway to bring ideas to fruition.
“For me, the most interesting thing is getting the device made,” he said, so he partners with companies and universities that handle the legalities, “but you are surrendering a lot of the value to that entity.” – by Patricia Nale, ELS
Reference:Pollack JS. Innovation in retina panel. Presented at: American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting; Aug. 11-15, 2017; Boston.
Disclosures: Awh reports he is president of Tennessee Retina. Cunningham reports he is managing partner of Clarus Ventures. De Juan reports he is founder and vice chairman of ForSight Labs. Link reports he is co-founder and managing director of Versant Ventures.