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How do you take an ophthalmic idea to reality?
I had the pleasure of attending a superb conference at USC's Doheny Eye Institute recently that focused on how to take an idea, patent it, get funding and move towards making it a reality. A notable example of this is the retinal chip implant that Mark Humayun, MD, PhD, took from an idea to a product that has received the European CE mark.
The meeting, Innovations and Entrepreneurship: Ideation to Commercialization (IEIC), had a panel of experts from various fields gathered to present pearls and expertise on the individual steps of the innovation process. This meeting was unique in that it was geared more towards the individual ophthalmologists who may have ideas that they want to develop into commercial products.
The head of Legal Affairs and Intellectual Property at the Alfred E. Mann Institute of USC, Arman Nadershahi, JD, MS, MBS, MBA, presented "Concept to Clinic Overview." Director of Business and Legal Affairs at Doheny Eye Institute, Carlo Razo, JD, and senior technology advancement and licensing manager for USC Stevens Institute for Innovation, Chris Moulding, MBA, presented on patent and intellectual property issues involved with product development. Dave Berkus, founder and president of Berkus Technology Ventures, a venture capital investment group, gave his insights on fundraising through private equity in "Attracting Angel or VC Investments."
Physician inventors/entrepreneurs Don Schwartz, MD, R. Kemp Massengill, MD, and Mark Humayun, MD, shared their innovative experiences. Dr. Schwartz founded Eye Sonix to develop the Therapeutic Ultrasound for Glaucoma device, which is in the process of obtaining a CE mark in Europe. Dr. Massengill, founder of Mednovus and Sonique Surgical, discussed cost containment in the patent application process and demonstrated the use of his ferromagnetic detector devices. He also showed the process of completing the "baby patent application," which is surprisingly simple and relatively inexpensive ($125).
Dr. Humayun, R&D Magazine's 2005 Innovator of the Year, discussed his innovative work with the retinal chip implant, as well as his numerous other inventions, including the Replenish implantable drug delivery device for the eye. Ronald E. Smith, MD, chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at USC, presented on the "FDA Process." The program was moderated by Kenneth Lu, MD, founder of Ojo Innovations, a company that owns the designs to a shape-changing accommodative/toric IOL. He also presented "Ideation and Creativity" to lead off the program. I also enjoyed interacting with ophthalmic industry leaders Jake Vander Zanden from Hoya and Mark Papini from Alcon.
The IEIC conference was a great learning experience for me and I look forward to participating in this meeting again next year. I gleaned insight into the process, and now I am just itching to decide which of my wild ideas deserves a baby patent application.