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InnovationFebruary 5, 2007 / Number 10A way of lifeBy Antonio Zárate  Nuevo Leon is triggering a culture change to prevent discoveries and inventions from remaining as academic theses or stored away in the researchers' files. The objective is very clear: to bring innovations to the market through the support and consultancy work of those who have the experience in marketing of technologies that transform knowledge into high-value products, processes and services. A key piece of this initiative is the collaboration agreement the Nuevo Leon State Government signed with the Innovation, Creativity and Capital Institute (IC2 Institute) of the University of Texas at Austin, since it opens the doors of international markets for researchers from Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas. Based on that agreement, the Program for the Development of the Northeastern Region and its Link with Texas (INVITE), has evaluated more than 100 projects submitted by researchers from universities, businesses and institutions, as well as from independent scientists. Those who have approached INVITE have something in common: they are seeking to be in contact with investors and funding sources that favor innovation. It sounds easy, but we must not forget that each project requires several & ears of research and resources that add up to millions of dollars. This is why it is important to know how to sell; and this is precisely what Mexican researchers are learning through the strategies designed by the Nuevo Leon State Government. To this, we need to add that the Innovation and Technology Transfer Institute of Nuevo Leon (I 2T 2), operator of the Monterrey, International City of Knowledge Program, signed an agreement with the University of Texas at Austin so that our technologists detect technologies with great potential for success through the use of IC2 methodology.
Researchers Learn to Sell Their InnovationsINVITE and the University of Texas at Austin support researchers of the region seeking to market their discoveries and innovations. If & ou don't market, & ou don't sell. So simple. and & et so complicated, especially for researchers who are prepared to work day and night in laboratories, libraries, and field studies, but do not know the rules of marketing. For many of them, the sole idea of taking their inventions and discoveries to the market overwhelms them. The path to reach those who are willing to invest capital in new developments is a long one, and is usually full of detours, forks and alarm signals. In order to avoid getting lost, it is best to have the support of those who have traveled that route. Francisco Javier Alejo-Lopez, Executive Coordinator for the Integration Program for the Development of the Northeastern Region and its Link with Texas (INVITE), said that taking technological innovations to international markets is a priority. He explained that the Nuevo Leon State Government took the first step in 2004, when it signed a collaboration agreement with the IC2 Institute of the University of Texas at Austin, with the purpose of incorporating researchers from Mexico's northeastern region into a marketing program within international markets. The IC2 , which means Innovation, Creativity, and Capital, was established by Austin's business community and the University of Texas in 1977. Its objective is to promote research, academic programs, conventions, workshops, and collaboration agreements. "The first invitation to innovators from Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas was presented two & ears ago. The only requirement they had to comply with was that of submitting research projects having a high level of technological development," expressed Alejo-Lopez. Thirty eight projects from universities, scientific and technological research centers, businesses, laboratories, and independent researchers were registered. Experts from the University of Texas and various Mexican institutions, together with a group of investors, selected 12 technologies that showed a great marketing potential. Researchers received assistance from specialists and took part in a nine-month training course offered by the IC2 , since the projects had to meet certain requirements before being submitted to the financing markets. Through this program, researchers learned to create business plans, effective presentations, market studies, validations, patent procedures, and project assessments. In addition, they consult specialized databases with restricted access, are in constant communication with consultants, and establish relationships with financing sources. Six projects successfully concluded the program's first cycle. Some of them are closer to reaching their goal, and others continue looking for investors that will support them in order to enter the market. Alejo-Lopez pointed out that researchers are able to obtain funds through licensing, alliances, and even partnerships. For the program's second cycle, which began in August 2006, seventy initiatives were registered. Most of them have a strong focus on marketing, making 20 of them eligible to receive training and assistance. One of the advantages of the agreement signed with the IC2 is that it includes the training of men and women who search for and select technology. "Out of the 15 technology searchers who received training, five are IC2 -certified through a Master's degree course on Marketing of Technology taught by the Institute," explained Alejo-Lopez. He added that the IC2 will strengthen its ties with Nuevo Leon through the establishment of a permanent office at the Research and Technology Innovation Park (PIIT).
NEURONS IN ACTIONThey Have Support and Consultancy at HandAugusto Rojas-Martinez and Hugo Alberto Barrera-Saldaña are convinced that the technology marketing program promoted by INVITE and the IC2 Institute is an excellent option for receiving assistance from experts who operate in a region already accustomed to invest in high-risk projects. Both doctors are professors in the Biochemistry Department of Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon's School of Medicine and since 2001 have been working on the development of a therapeutic vaccine for advanced cervical-uterine cancer. Their biotechnology project was one of the 20 selected in 2006 to participate in the program to support technology with great marketing potential, an initiative of the Program for the Development of the Northeastern Region and its Link with Texas (INVITE), and the Innovation, Creativity and Capital Institute (IC2). "This is not a simple technology, but a complex one, since it implies the use of a virus for the treatment of cancer. We knew that in Mexico we were not going to find a business capable of visualizing the potential of this technology," stated Barrera-Saldaña. Rojas-Martinez added that their invention is of global scope, since 80 percent of cervical-uterine cancer cases exist in countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. In some countries ( Mexico among them), It is an endemic disease ranked as the first cause of death among women with some form of cancer. The team of consultants for this project, made-up of experts from Mexico and the United States, is currently carrying out various tasks, such as consulting specialized databases, validation of the information presented by the authors, and interviews with leaders of the scientific and technological community. The two researchers are participating in the training course offered by the IC2, and are getting ready to submit presentations of great impact to companies and investors, since the clinical research phase requires millions of dollars and about eight years of work. "The idea is to issue a license for the development. We can provide support because we have the experience from two clinical trials for cancer that have been carried out with modified viruses. Additionally, a group of clinicians and scientists from the University Hospital has been assembled to continue working on the project," explained Rojas-Martinez. The patent, the registration of which is in progress, belongs to the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, but it can be licensed to a private company for marketing. Obviously, this implies the signing of an agreement so that both the institution and researchers receive a part of the generated revenue.
FUTURE EVENTS FEBRUARY 21 MARCH 6-7 MARCH 8-9
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