From Lab to Market: How Tech Transfer Turns Research into Real-World Impact

Turning groundbreaking healthcare research into a product that reaches patients requires more than scientific discovery in a university lab. It takes a bridge between academia and industry, and that bridge is the Technology Transfer Office (TTO).

These university-based teams help faculty, staff, and students protect intellectual property, connect with industry partners, and launch startups that bring innovations to market.

“Put simply, tech transfer helps move innovations and discoveries that are made at a university into the private sector so that actual products and solutions can be developed,” Richard Magid, PhD, Vice President of Technology Transfer at Colorado State University, told Cure.

Cure recently spoke to Magid to learn more about the process, a common mistake innovators make, and more

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What do TTOs do?

Universities excel at research and ideation, but we’re not the entities that will manufacture, scale, or carry a biomedical innovation through trials. We’re not marketing to patients or doctors. That’s not our role. We’re on the creative and innovation side, and we work with private sector partners or venture investors to translate research into products people can use.

Are most scientists aware of that process?

Most would be a stretch, but it depends on the discipline. At my previous role at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.in the School of Pharmacy, everyone knew that academic pharmaceutical research had to go into a pharma or biotech company to become a real drug. At other departments, like some at Colorado State, awareness is lower. That’s why we have a big internal marketing effort to let people know tech transfer exists, how it works, and why it matters.

What does your department look like?

Here at Colorado State, we have a staff of about a dozen plus student interns. I’ve been working in tech transfer for nearly 20 years. Functionally, we’re organized into the following groups:

• Intellectual Property, which protects ideas, usually through patents or copyrights.

• Licensing, which finds existing companies to partner with.

• Venture, which works to create startup companies when that’s the better route.

We also have operational staff for compliance, accounting, and general office functions.

Do you have scientists on your team?

Yes. Many of us have technical backgrounds and PhDs in biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, agricultural science, and more. We’re not conducting science anymore. Instead, we support faculty, staff, and students who are actively doing the research, and writing the grants and research papers.

How can a scientist find the right industry partner for their research?

It varies widely. Different industries engage in different ways. Some want one-to-one project level engagement while others prefer large consortiums where they have lots of great minds working on big projects. It’s discipline-specific.

Is finding industry partners a big part of what you do?

Absolutely. When we evaluate an invention, we also think about potential partners and if there’s market for it. A core part of the tech transfer office's job is the marketing—reaching out to companies, technology scouts, or investors to get them interested. We're not the experts on the technology. We’re the generalists. Our goal is to connect them with the scientist so the scientist can tell the real story of their invention and why it’s a technical advancement. But we have to do the marketing to get someone interested first.

Are there common mistakes you see scientists make in tech transfer?

A big one is not fully understanding the opportunity or value proposition of their research. In commercialization, investors and companies want to know there’s a real customer base and a clear problem being solved. That’s not something most PhD programs teach. Rather they focus on advancing the science, but that doesn’t always mean it’s commercially relevant. If commercialization is a goal, it helps to think early about market needs, talk to clinicians or patient groups, and understand existing treatment gaps or shortcomings in current solutions.

Do you help everyone who comes to you?

We support the entire Colorado State University system, but we’re not open to the general public. If you’re faculty, staff, or a student, whether you’re in the facilities department with an idea around how technology could improve the way buildings are cleaned or a chemist inventing recyclable plastics, we’ll support your innovations.

Do you ever turn down ideas from within the university?

Like any other operating unit, we have a fixed budget. We have robust evaluation process we call “triage,” which involves looking at technical merit, stage of development, intellectual property potential, and market size, though we're not trying to be precise on customer base, we're really looking at orders of magnitude. Sometimes we can’t move forward, but we always explain why and suggest ways to make the work more commercially viable.

Is there a certain stage scientists should be at before they approach you?

It’s never too early to talk to the tech transfer office. We'd rather hear too early than too late. The most productive time is often when a researcher is preparing a manuscript or conference presentation because at that point, they’ve probably made a discrete, self-contained invention. That’s gives us something to evaluate. We can take that draft manuscript or PowerPoint presentation and use that for our evaluation process.

How is your office funded?

We’re partially funded by the university and we also retain a share of licensing earnings. So, we are sort of a self-funded unit, which is pretty unique within a university structure. Although we're part of Colorado State University, our department itself is a 501(c)(3) foundation that's affiliated, but not internal to the university. This is a common structure for public universities. At Colorado State, inventors receive 35 percent of the net profits from all licensing activities, so if your invention is successful, it can be personally profitable.

Any final thoughts for students and scientists about tech transfer?

Colorado State is a land-grant university, and land grants were created to encourage applied science and engineering research for public benefit. Abraham Lincoln signed land-grant universities into law in the 1800s for this purpose. Tech transfer is a natural evolution of that mission because it takes taxpayer-funded research and returns value to the public through products, goods, and services.