Entrepreneurial training programmes
We help the next generation of scientific entrepreneurs bridge the gap to translate their research. Find out how we can support you.
Protect your innovation
Whichever way you decide to translate your work, you’ll have to consider an intellectual property strategy to maximise the chance of success.
With over 20 years of experience, we can help you decide on the best strategy and advise you every step of the way.
Intellectual property
What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property (IP) is an intangible asset which is created by the mind.
Applying for IP rights on your work can maximise its impact and attract partners and funding to progress its translation. If you're about to present or disclose your research, think about what you'd want to protect.
We can help you arrange the appropriate IP rights to protect your research. If you think your work might have translational potential, get in touch with us as soon as possible.
What to consider when protecting your IP
Patenting is the most common way to protect IP in life sciences. The three things you need to consider for a patent are:
- Novelty: it must be something new or novel
- Inventiveness: it needs to be ‘inventive’ or non-obvious to someone skilled in the field
- Usefulness: it must be something that can be made or used
IP and the translation process
We have technology transfer agreements with most universities that cover how we operate in this space. If we agree to file a patent, we'll cover the cost and support you through the development of your project so it can reach its full potential.
Overview of the translation process
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1
Contact us before you disclose your research
Before you present your research externally, contact us to discuss your work. We'll help you assess whether your research addresses a clinical, translational or market need and review patentability.
2
Patent filing
You'll contribute to drafting the patent application and review it with us before the patent is filed. Once it has been filed, you can then present your research externally.
3
Project development
We can support with the development plans for your project and strengthen your patent application by providing the funding and resources needed to do so.
4
Partnering and ventures
We'll evaluate the right approach for each project. Whether that is through partnering or building your own start-up, we can support you in identifying the right options and navigating along your translational pathway.
Frequently asked questions
Licensing and collaboration
Collaborations enable you to access a greater breadth of resources to commercially develop your project. Granting a licence to a commercial partner is one of the most common routes to translation.
View our licensing opportunities
Start-ups
Creating a start-up company can advance your projects in a focused and innovative environment.
Discover more about this route
Drug discovery alliances
Depending on the stage of your project, you may want to explore working with industry through a drug discovery alliance.
We know that translating your idea might seem complex, and our entrepreneurial programmes provide training and support that will help you build a business.
You can learn how to pitch your idea, build a business and attract investment. And once you're ready to launch your new venture, we can also help you set up and build your start-up.
With our support, you can access funding, data and translational infrastructure to take your discoveries from the lab and turn them into tests, treatments and interventions.
Our drug discovery expertise spans target identification, validation and clinical positioning, through Hit identification and lead optimisation to the selection of candidate drugs for regulatory development, for both small molecule and antibody modalities.
Through partnership with the Cancer Research UK Centre for Drug Development we can also offer access to the capabilities and infrastructure needed to demonstrate clinical potential.
We can support you at every step of your journey, from evaluating your idea, to building a business case, helping you secure funding and ultimately forming your own venture.
Find out how we can help you make an impact
We can help you protect your idea.