New Funding Frontiers

This is a past event

Innovative Funding Models in Translational Research

The working group briefing book is available now for download.

Description

This one-day working group and conference explored the challenges in pursuing for-profit private funding for early stage translational research. The event brought together leaders in the field to investigate the inherent challenges and safeguards necessary to accelerate the development and application of new health care technologies through intelligent and thoughtful private for-profit investment and support.

Translational research is vital, as targeted translation science can ensure that new treatments and research knowledge actually reach the patients or populations waiting for these breakthroughs. Nevertheless, in the age of frequent governmental budget crises and government spending cutbacks, relying on a government agency to promote such important developments may be problematic. An obvious solution to the funding gap that exists in current health care and biomedical research is the close investment and involvement of private, for-profit entities. The increased involvement of for-profit funding in early stage research is relatively new and, therefore, raises questions about the best practices for supporting research through these funding models. This event explored the current funding landscape for translational research and whether best practices exist to address challenges or if additional research and work must be done to support innovative funding models for translational research.

This event was free and open to the public.

Agenda

A full list of the members of the working group is available below.

8:00 – 8:30am, Registration

8:30 – 9:45am, Opening Discussion: The Current State of Translational Research

Moderator: Robert Urban, PhD, Former Global Head, Johnson & Johnson Innovation

Purpose: To explore the funding gap between the needs of the scientific research community and available public and private funds. To articulate the current scope of implementation of innovative funding models.

9:45 – 11:00am, The Financial Tools Available for Innovative Funding Models

Moderator: Issi Rozen, MBA, Chief Business Officer, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Purpose: To better understand the financial vehicles for investing for-profit capital into early stage translational research. To compare these financial tools against each other to get a better sense of when each tool is appropriate. To articulate the frequent challenges facing research institutions and scientists as they negotiate innovative funding deals.

11:00 – 11:15am, Break

11:15am – 12:30pm, The Right Attitude: Institutional Culture to Support Innovation

Moderator: Keith Marmer, DPT, MBA, Executive Director and Associate Vice President, Technology & Venture Commercialization at University of Utah

Purpose: To understand the changes that institutions must implement to foster a culture of innovation and successfully pursue new funding models. To explore how institutions can support investigators pursuing and receiving for-profit funding. To consider how institutions can attract the right talent to handle innovative funding deals.

12:30 – 1:15pm, Networking Lunch

1:15 – 2:30pm, The Ethics of For-Profit Funding

Moderator: I. Glenn Cohen, JD, James A. Attwood and Leslie Williams Professor of Law and Faculty Director, the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School

Purpose: To discuss the unique conflicts of interest that arise from pursuing for-profit capital for translational research. To understand how for-profit funding changes the research agenda of an institution. To articulate the checks and balances that must be implemented as an institution shifts from public funding to for-profit funding in order to safeguard research subjects and ensure ethical research.

2:30 – 2:45pm, Break

2:45 – 4:00pm, The Researcher’s Perspective on Innovative Funding

Moderator: Robert Langer, ScD, David H. Koch Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Purpose: To provide the researcher perspective on the current challenges and opportunities presented by for-profit funding. To understand the needs of researchers, and how those can be reflected in funding models. To explore the pitfalls in the current system and proposed solutions, and how they may be addressed.

4:00 – 5:15pm, The Use of Data Transparency

Moderator: Mark Zhang, DO, Medical Director, Brigham Digital Innovation Hub and Digital Health Implementation, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Purpose: To compare and contrast public policies encouraging open access with private interest in data ownership. To explore the value of data in negotiating innovative funding. To consider the role of patients and research subjects in determining data use.

Working Group Members

Learn More

Download the working group briefing book.

Blog Posts

Part of the Innovative Funding Models in Translational Research Project. This event received support from the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School and the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund at Harvard University.