Columbia-Coulter Translational Research Partnership

The Columbia-Coulter Translational Research Partnership is now accepting Pre-Proposal applications for the development and commercialization of novel healthcare technologies.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES:
Friday, October 19, 2012 - Information Session
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 – Matchmaking requests for collaborators are due.
Friday, November 30, 2012 – Pre-Proposals are due.

The goal of the Partnership is to position promising biomedical technologies for licensing to commercial partners who will develop solutions to improve patient care and address underserved healthcare needs.  Successful applicants will receive active mentoring, project management support, and funding to accomplish technical development objectives to achieve this goal.

The application process is a multi-stage process, starting with the submission of a Pre-Proposal.  Selected Pre-Proposals will be invited to submit Full Proposals, and a subset of the Full Proposals will be invited to present their projects for final consideration. 

Proposals are evaluated by a panel of experts comprised of clinicians, biomedical entrepreneurs, early-stage investors, and technology transfer specialists.  The projects are evaluated on the basis of their potential health care and patient care impact, their timeline and pathway to commercialization, their technical feasibility, and, most importantly, their potential for obtaining further financial investment to bring the proposed solution to the bedside. 

Projects which propose to undertake discovery research will not be selected.  Successful proposals must be translational in nature, i.e. they must focus on efforts to translate research results into practical clinical application.  Visit http://www.bme.columbia.edu/coulterprojectsfor a description of projects funded in previous cycles.

The Partnership is led by the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, in collaboration with the Departments of Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery and Radiology at Columbia University Medical Center, and Columbia Technology Ventures, the technology transfer office of Columbia University. This program is made possible by a generous grant from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation and support of leadership from the Offices of the Executive Vice President for Researchand the Provost.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

Project teams must include a faculty member of Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, preferably with an affiliation to the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and a clinical practitioner from Columbia University Medical Centerwhose job responsibilities directly impact patient care or the management of patient care.  The members of the team should be committed to commercialization objectives and be open to receiving mentorship, coaching, and oversight of their projects.

If you received an award from the Partnership in previous years, you may be eligible to apply for additional funding to support your project.  Such additional funding is contingent on successful achievement of your previous milestones and demonstration of compelling market feedback requiring additional technical development, among other factors.  To explore further, please contact us at coulter@columbia.edu.

Pre-Submission Consultation
Applicants are encouraged to reach out to the Executive Team with any questions about the application process or the program overall.  Please submit inquiries or request a meeting time via email to coulter@columbia.edu.

Information Session
If you’re interested in learning more about the application process, eligibility and evaluation criteria, or how the Partnership works with teams to facilitate the translation research process, please join us for our Information Session.

Matchmaking Requests
If you have a project idea but do not yet have an engineering or clinical collaborator, we will try to help you identify a suitable collaborator, though we cannot guarantee a successful match.  To submit a Matchmaking Request, please click here to access the online application system:  http://columbiacoulter.myreviewroom.com.  Note that you will need to create an ID and password to view and submit your request.  Matchmaking Requests must be submitted no later than 5:00pm on Wednesday, October 31, 2012.

Pre-Proposal Submission
Pre-Proposals must be received by our online application system no later than 5:00pm ET on Friday, November 30, 2012.  Please click here to access the online application system: http://columbiacoulter.myreviewroom.com.  Note that you will need to create an ID and password to view and submit an online Pre-Proposal.

Pre-Proposal Selections
Pre-Proposal selections will be announced byMonday, February 4, 2013. Selected projects will be invited to submit a Full Proposal.

Full Proposal Submission
Full Proposals must be received by our online application system no later than 5:00pm ET on Friday, March 29, 2013.  Preparation of Full Proposals will require working closely with a commercialization team comprised of technology transfer officers, patent counsel, regulatory and reimbursement advisors, industry executives, external business advisors and technical experts to develop project plans that address essential commercialization topics, including intellectual property landscape, regulatory strategy, reimbursement strategy, market validation, funding to critical milestones, and follow-on funding or licensing opportunities.  Detailed instructions for Full Proposal preparation and submission will be forwarded to invited applicants.

Presentation
Promising Full Proposals will be invited to make a ‘pitch-style’ presentation to our Oversight Committee on Wednesday, May 8, 2013.  These presentations will be similar to investor presentations, i.e. focused on conveying the business opportunity and commercialization strategy, rather than typical scientific talks.  Teams that are invited to present to the Oversight Committee will receive coaching on how to deliver an effective investor pitch.

Final Selections
Final selections will be made by mid-May 2013. Funded projects are expected to launch no later than June 1, 2013.

Proposals are evaluated on the basis of their potential health care and patient care impact, their timeline and pathway to commercialization, their technical feasibility, and, most importantly, their potential for obtaining further financial investment to bring the proposed solution to the bedside. 

PROJECT DURATION

Project plans should not exceed 12 months in duration.  Teams which successfully achieve their first year milestones may apply for additional funding to meet additional commercialization objectives.

Project budgets should not exceed $100,000, unless compelling justification is provided.  Approximately 6 to 8 projects may be funded per year. 

Funds MAY be used for:

•       salary and fringe benefits for project personnel (other than PIs or Co-PIs)
•       materials and supplies (including animal costs for preclinical studies)
•       consumable equipment (e.g. components for systems)
•       costs for human studies (e.g. IRB fees, patient recruitment fees, etc.)

Funds MAY NOT be used for:

•        salary or fringe for PIs or Co-PIs
•        tuition
•        space and renovations
•        indirect costs

For a list of frequently asked questions and answers to these questions, click here.

The goal of the Partnership is to position promising biomedical technologies for licensing to commercial partners who will develop solutions to improve patient care and address underserved healthcare needs. 

This is accomplished by de-risking proposed projects, by bringing in experts to help inform regulatory strategy, working closely with intellectual property counsel, identifying and engaging early with partners that possess product development capabilities, and carrying out specific, determinative experiments in a disciplined, managed process. This approach is based on the Stage-Gate® process and similar approaches used widely in industry. 

Funded teams are expected to report regularly (3 times per year) on progress toward technical and business milestones.  Additionally, monthly check-ins and cooperation with technology transfer and marketing-related activities are required.  Funded teams are expected to work with their commercialization teams as active partners.

EXECUTIVE TEAM AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

The Executive Team is responsible for setting program policies and managing program operations.  Members of the Executive Team include:

Andrew Laine, PhD
Coulter Principal Investigator, Chair and Vida L. W. Hudson Professor ofBiomedical Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Fu Foundation School of Engineering & Applied Science

Dennis Fowler, MD MPH
Coulter Clinical Co-PI and Professor of Clinical Surgery, Department of Surgery, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University Medical Center

Donna See, MBA MPH
Coulter Program Director and Director, Strategic Initiatives, Columbia Technology Ventures

Evaluation and selection of proposals is informed by the Executive Team and the Oversight Committee.  The Oversight Committee is comprised of the Coulter Principal Investigator; 3 clinical representatives from Columbia University Medical Center; three representatives from the investor, industry, and entrepreneurial communities; a representative from Columbia Technology Ventures; and a representative of the Coulter Foundation.  It is anticipated that the evaluation and selection of proposals will also rely on external business advisors and technical experts to supply specific domain expertise, as appropriate to the subject matter of the proposals received.

ABOUT THE WALLACE H. COULTER FOUNDATION

The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation was established in 1998, from the legacy of Wallace H. Coulter, who was the founder and Chairman of the Coulter Corporation (now Beckman-Coulter Corporation) and prolific inventor of 82 patents.  Mr. Coulter was passionate about applying the principles and tools of engineering to improve human health and address unmet clinical needs. Coulter's most well-known biomedical contribution, the Coulter Principle, laid the foundation for the Coulter Counter, the first flow cytometer, which revolutionized laboratory hematology. The Coulter Translational Research Partnership model has been implemented at 10 universities since 2005.  More than 200 translational research projects have been funded at these institutions, and roughly 1 in 3 of the projects have resulted in licenses to established companies and/or professionally financed new ventures, which altogether have raised more than $150M in private investment and governmental funding.   For more information on the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, click here.