Amaury Martin: “Becoming a reference for Technology Transfer in oncology…”
…to strengthen the interactions between research and care. That’s how could be summed up the ambitious and strategic plan led by Amaury Martin, Executive Director of Institut Curie Technology Transfer and Industrial Partnerships Department and of Institut Carnot Curie Cancer.
What is the aim of the plan recently adopted by Institut Curie regarding Technology Transfer and Industrial Partnerships?
Amaury Martin: it aims at positioning Institut Curie a reference for technology transfer in oncology with a full continuum from basic, translational to clinical research. This new dynamic has been enhanced through the framework of the 2015-2020 MC21 strategic plan. Faithful to the model conceived by Marie Curie in 1909, this new breath will strengthen the interactions between research and care, catalyzing the transformation of research findings into medical applications for maximum patient benefit.
How do you see this new challenge?
AM: We plan to optimize the identification, promotion and transfer of all the scientific, technological and medical resources of Institut Curie. Our goal is to accompany its researchers and physicians in the protection, development and commercialization of their inventions. We also want to reinforce support for the setting-up of collaborations with innovative companies.
Two priorities are placed at the heart of the new action plan:
- to develop early sourcing and scouting of innovations
- to speed up the process of identifying and supporting start-up projects from Institut Curie.
Where does this project fit into Institut Curie whole picture and its partners?
AM: Institut Curie must be the driving force behind the changes currently taking place in society, particularly in defining the place to be given to innovation. The challenge will be to strike the right balance between open research addressing fundamental scientific issues and to ensure the transfer of innovations that associate partner companies as soon as possible with the condition of fair revenue sharing to maintain investment capacity of the Institute. In order to do this, the Institut Curie must continue to be open to the innovation ecosystem*.
On what will you focus on the first months?
AM: As a first step, we will focus on the implementation of a comprehensive offer dedicated to support, finance and host start-up projects from the Institut Curie. In 2018, a program to guide the promoters of start-up projects in close interaction with the actions already in place within the University Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) will be set up.
Institut Curie already has considerable advantages in this field, thanks to its integrated model (fundamental, translational and clinical research) and its expertise in the key development stages of an innovation (patents, licenses, R & D collaborations). In particular, the institution supported DNA Therapeutics, a start-up that developed the Dbait technology developed in Curie's laboratories and acquired by Onxeo in 2016. We recently supported the creation of Stimunity, research carried out at Institut Curie in immunotherapy of cancers.
The second pillar is devoted to the development of two programs, one for Sourcing, called In'C2 initiative and one for Scouting innovations, Curie'Innov. They will serve to increase awareness and training of researchers / physicians on the challenges of protecting their innovations, in order to better identify and support the obtention of their proof of concept.
A third priority will be to strengthen protection in strategic sectors for Institut Curie such as data, bioinformatics, software, medical technologies and, more generally, innovation from within the hospital.
How would you describe your strategy regarding partnerships with companies?
AM: Institut Curie already develops numerous partnerships combining the interests of research with those of biotech companies or the pharmaceutical industry. This specificity, recognized through the Institut Carnot Curie Cancer label, will be developed.
*This ecosystem includes PSL Valo, institutions of the Cancéropôle Ile-de-France (Gustave Roussy, Institut Pasteur, AP-HP, public research organizations (Inserm, CNRS, universities), the Technology Transfer Acceleration Companies (SATT) and the Carnot Institutes network, "adds Amaury Martin.
To know Institut Curie Tech Transfer Office staff and what they do to help facilitate collaborations with industry, and build new startups.