OVERVIEW

The McGowan Institute is a leading innovator in the field of regenerative medicine. McGowan’s commitment to accelerating the technology transition of new therapies, materials and processes is a challenging, long-term endeavor that begins at the discovery stage and continues through clinical delivery. The essence of this lengthy pathway is the ability to identify the most productive points for intervention and a profile of attitudes and experiences that can be used to help position and target translational support.

The McGowan Institute promotes a culture that fosters rapid development and breaks down barriers to rapid technology transition. Technology transition at McGowan involves a multitude of activities and a multidisciplinary team of research investigators, clinicians, specialized licensing managers, business development and technology marketing professionals, education and outreach teams, and reporting and compliance personnel as well as a variety of external partnerships for the various stages of the process. While each partner has a critical responsibility in the process, team members may all have different goals, time lines, and funding levels. Achieving active collaboration among these partners during all phases of technology transition is a key strategy for McGowan’s success.

The successes of the McGowan Institute include:

• Successful translation of clinically approved treatments for patient use. Twenty–two (22) technologies have been successfully applied to patients in the first 8 years of McGowan.
• Investment of $5 million by corporate partners to support research projects ranging from adipose stem cell treatments for cancer, to cellular therapies for wound healing.
• Twelve (12) upcoming or planned clinical trials, more than any other institution of its kind.
• “Spinning out” of 15 start-up companies based on McGowan Institute therapies. These start-ups have resulted in an estimated 275 direct jobs within the regenerative medicine industry and an additional 800+ indirect jobs.
• Development of a strategic plan for partnering with “Big Pharma” and large medical device companies as well as the funding to carry it forward.
• Completion of a baseline assessment by McGowan faculty to provide pinpointed support systems to expedite scientific translation.

These successes can largely be attributed to the very structure of the McGowan Institute. By coalescing three major scientific pillars of regenerative medicine – cellular therapies, tissue engineering and biomaterials, and medical devices and artificial organs, and integrating the critical regulatory and business components – the Institute promotes natural, cross disciplinary collaboration. In addition, training programs in regenerative medicine are in place from the undergraduate to post-doctoral level. This comprehensive, immersive environment creates a fluid networking system that ultimately stimulates innovation. The McGowan Institute employs a multitude of activities to aid in the translation of basic research to clinical application. These activities represent the means through which critical partnerships are established and expertise is secured to advance technologies to patients in need.

The McGowan Institute employs a multitude of activities to aid in the translation of basic research to clinical application. These activities represent the means through which critical partnerships are established and expertise is secured to advance technologies to patients in need.

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