OFFICE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT |
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Year-End Note From The Director |
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Season's Greetings,
As we approach the end of the year, I am filled with a sense of optimism and gratitude for the resilience and dedication that defines the Einstein community. In 2023, we have navigated challenges and celebrated triumphs, and I am excited to share some key milestones as we look towards the future.
First, in line with our commitment to enhancing efficiency and serving the research community, I am happy to announce the final phase implementation of our automated material transfer agreement (MTA) online platform, MTAShare. This represents a significant leap forward in simplifying workflows for more routine academic MTAs, reducing administrative burdens, increasing transparency and promoting seamless collaboration across departments in order to expedite the MTA process. This process took many months of hard work, dedication and troubleshooting, and I encourage each of you to review the information below, join an upcoming information session and explore MTAShare’s capabilities. This final phase of implementation across both Einstein and Montefiore is a testament to our commitment to embracing innovation not only in business practices but also in the way we manage our internal processes.
With recent news of patent positions and drug pricing, it is more important than ever that this office serves the role of protecting Einstein’s intellectual property assets. The research contracts and commercial license agreements that OBBD negotiates and manages ensure that the commercial partners diligently continue development in order to meet the ultimate goal – addressing patients’ needs and improving healthcare. A significant benchmark for therapeutic development is advancing our assets in clinical trials. Please see the snapshot below that highlights the numerous Einstein intellectual property assets that are now in active clinical trials.
As we build this pipeline, we always encourage our researchers to connect with our office and be mindful of disclosing inventions to OBBD before any publications. We continue to educate and empower the Einstein community through our monthly webinar series. The seminar schedule for Q1-2024 is provided below, and we encourage everyone to register and attend. Information about our seminar series, the Technology Transfer Intern Program, IP Manager office hours, and more information about working with our office can be found in Einstein’s Around Campus piece entitled, Working with Einstein’s OBBD: Know When It’s Time.
Finally, I am absolutely thrilled to report that last month, after a prolonged period of operating with limited bandwidth constraints, OBBD was able to bring on two full-time professionals and we are currently recruiting for additional licensing staff. These new hires not only address immediate needs but also position us for greater innovation and impact in the coming year. The addition of new team members brings fresh perspectives and skills that will contribute to our shared success.
Wishing you all a joyous holiday season and a new year filled with optimism, growth and success.
Best wishes,
Janis
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Complete Rollout Of MTAShare
A Platform For Material Transfer Process
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The Office of Biotechnology and Business Development (OBBD) is excited to announce the rollout of the third and final phase of MTAShareTM, an online platform for the Material Transfer Agreement (“MTA”) process, effective from January 15, 2024. The transition to the new platform was first initiated on November 1, 2022, in a phased manner for easier and seamless adaptation. We thank everyone and appreciate their cooperation and patience in the process.
In the Final Phase of this rollout of MTAShare™ will have the capacity to handle ALL Academic MTA’s (including all human materials) from both Einstein AND Montefiore. After January 15, 2024, ALL academic MTAs will be processed ONLY via MTAshare.com. You may view further details about this phase by reading our MTAShare™ Roll-Out Plan. The MTAShare™ system can be accessed from our OBBD website or directly at mtashare.com using your own Einstein or Montefiore SSO credentials.
Additionally, under the guidance of Dr. Wei Ouyang, (Assistant Director, Contracts and Licensing), OBBD will support all users in this transition by sharing a user-friendly quick guide and hosting information sessions and office hours (see detailed schedule in the MTAShare™ Roll-Out Plan) . We encourage you to attend one of the info sessions before exploring MTAShare™ and to register for one of the office hours if you need further assistance.
We look forward to providing a better service and user experience by putting MTAShare to full use!
***To encourage the adaptation and full utilization of MTAShare at Einstein/Montefiore, all complete and accurate submissions that do not require additional information before institutional approval will be entered into a quarterly raffle for a Starbucks Gift Card, awarded to the person submitting the request***
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Upcoming Seminars In 2024
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Our seminar series Science Meets Business and IP & Coffee will continue to cover various topics related to intellectual property, technology commercialization, entrepreneurship and startups. Here is a look at some of our topics that we have lined up for 2024. Save your spot now!
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SBIR & STTR Funding Programs in Minority Health & Health Disparities Space |
Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 @ 1:00 PM ET
Michael Banyas (SBIR/STTR Program Manager) and his team will provide information on different SBIR and STTR programs in minority health areas, the application process, and tips for applying to the program.
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From Chemist To CEO: Introducing Our Newest Addition To The Technology Transfer Team
Date: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 @ 1:00 PM ET
Shivali Gulab, Ph.D (Associate Director) our recent addition to the OBBD team will share her experience and journey from bench chemist to CEO
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Partnering And Collaboration Opportunities With Sanofi |
Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2024 @ 1:00 PM ET
Karen Chandross, Ph.D, (Head, Scientific Relations & Initiatives, Sanofi R&D North America) and her team will provide a wide perspective on different areas of partnering and collaborating with Sanofi in the therapeutic space.
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Dedicated Virtual Office Hours On Intellectual Property (IP) - Related Matters
Time: Thursdays from 1:00 – 2:30 PM
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To assist and guide the Einstein community on matters related to intellectual property, Mark Baron, J.D., (IP Manager), will be holding weekly dedicated office hours starting from January 4, 2024 (see above). We encourage the Einstein & Montefiore community to make full use of the opportunity if you have an idea for an invention that you want to protect, but not sure where to start or have any question related to it or any of your filed IP |
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Einstein Assets in Clinical Development |
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Moving technologies from bench to bedside takes a lot of resources and dedication, both from scientific and business perspectives. To emphasize the promising translational work being done at Einstein, we take the opportunity to share assets from Einstein that are currently at various stages of clinical development by our licensing partners. Read related story on translating discoveries here.
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Introducing New OBBD Team Members |
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Shivali Gulab, Ph.D | Associate Director, Licensing & Business Development
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Dr. Shivali Gulab is an internationally recognized life sciences executive and entrepreneurial scientist, with over 15 years of experience in drug discovery, business development, technology transfer, and the preclinical/early clinical development of therapeutics and vaccines. Dr. Gulab completed her PhD in Chemistry at Victoria University of Wellington in 2007 and was a Visiting Scientist at Einstein in the laboratory of Dr. Vern Schramm in 2010. Since then, she has held multiple business development roles with research institutions and contract manufacturers, working with partners and clients around the world. In 2015, she co-founded and led a start-up company focused on developing preventative and therapeutic vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases. Dr. Gulab is an Embedded Entrepreneur with the DARPA Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative, co-founded the New Zealand Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa to support building New Zealand's capability in vaccine development during the COVID-19 pandemic and is an inventor on multiple therapeutic and vaccine patents. |
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David Schoenhaut, Ph.D | Research Contracts Specialist |
David joined OBBD recently as a specialist focused on managing and negotiating various type of research agreements, primarily with commercial enterprises. He has a wealth of experience in academic technology transfer, initially as Assistant Director at Einstein for five years through 2011, until he was recruited as founding Director to launch the first technology transfer office at the State University of New York’s Health Sciences Center (“Downstate”) campus in Brooklyn. At Downstate, he directed all administrative and business development activities for technology transfer through 2021. David also has a solid background in the commercial arena, working in R&D and later in intellectual property related transactions, in large pharmaceutical and start-up biotechnology firms. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and immediately afterward worked mainly on immunology-inflammation related biotherapeutics at Hoffmann-La Roche, BASF Bioresearch Corp (now AbbVie), and Wyeth Pharma’s Vaccines Divisions (now Pfizer) as a research scientist and project/laboratory leader. He is a co-inventor on the foundational patents that supported AbbVie’s hugely innovative and successful antibody drug Humira®. Immediately prior to joining Einstein initially in 2006, David had spent two years as Director of Scientific Affairs, managing intellectual property and contracts at a venture capital backed startup company developing RNAi-based therapeutics. |
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Technology Transfer Interns - 2023 |
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We take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge our interns, Aleksandra Fryc and Veronica Veksler for their participation and contribution to the program. Their effort has been instrumental in developing marketing materials and marketing several Einstein technologies. |
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Alexsandra is a 4th year Ph.D. student in the Department of Neuroscience and her thesis advisor is Dr. Lucas Sjulson (M.D., Ph.D). |
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Veronica is a final year Ph.D. student in the Department of Clinical Investigation and Pathology. Her thesis advisor is Dr. Joan W. Berman (Ph.D). |
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The Technology Transfer Intern Program or T2IP has been a great opportunity for Einstein graduate students and postdocs to broaden their career options through hands-on training in technology transfer. To learn more about the program click below. |
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