Bridging the Licensing Gap Between Academia and Industry

Bridging the Licensing Gap Between Academia and Industry

Alvin Sherman Library 1054

The difficulty that academia experiences in licensing technology to industry often lies in the lack of appreciation for what industry requires to justify in-licensing. Considerations such as stage of development, technology niche, value, competitive position, and risk factors will be discussed, and licensing and partnership scenarios presented.

Dr. Thuning-Roberson received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from St. Mary-of- the-Woods College, Indiana, in 1967, Medical Technology certification at St. Vincent Charity Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, in 1968, and Ph.D. degree in Biological Sciences from Nova University, Florida, in 1982. Dr. Thuning-Roberson first published with Dr. William Whalen in the field of physiology with special emphasis on autoregulation of the microvascular system at St. Vincent’s.

She joined Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research in 1974 where her research efforts focused on immunology and pharmacology with emphasis on autoimmune diseases and drug synergism in cancer. She was appointed Director of the Institute in 1989, managing a team of 36 people, directing the physical expansion and construction of its operations, and procuring over $8 million in contracts with government and industry. In this position, she was instrumental in the establishment of a GMP manufacturing facility including development of its initial documentation system and filing of three Drug Master Files with the FDA.

In 1992, Dr. Thuning-Roberson was responsible for conceiving the business strategy for and co-founding of Goodwin Biotechnology Incorporated, a for profit spin-off from the Institute. As President of GBI, she directed the design and construction of GBI’s GMP Manufacturing Core, thus providing a full integration of services, and managed operations. The company was successful in procuring over 35 industrial contracts for development and manufacture of product for clinical trials.

Dr. Thuning-Roberson joined Sunol Molecular in 2000 as Vice President of Product Development and Compliance and manages pre-clinical and clinical development. She is also Chairman of BioFlorida, the state affiliate for BIO, the biotechnology industry organization.