Release date: Dec. 3, 2024
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In the journey of commercializing a technology, a big part of the task is clearing the hurdles along the way. There can be hurdles and potential hazards from the discovery and development of a technology to the testing, manufacturing and marketing. The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) tackles early-stage challenges, which can be some of the biggest in healthcare: making drug discovery and development faster, more efficient, and accessible for rare diseases.
Krishna (Balki) Balakrishnan, the director of NCATS’ Office of Strategic Alliances, and Ami Gadhia, a senior technology transfer and patenting specialist at NCATS' Office of Strategic Alliances,join us to talk about how NCATS breaks down the barriers that stand in the way of drug discovery and development from pioneering the use of human organoids to creating innovative collaboration models with external researchers. You’ll hear real-world examples of success, like the development of Metarrestin, a promising cancer treatment, and a partnership with Cincinnati Children’s that’s driving advancements in therapies for rare blood disorders.
If you’ve ever wondered how federal labs work to bring life-changing technologies to market or what it takes to accelerate the path from research to real-world impact, this episode is for you. Get ready to be inspired by the people, the mission, and the progress shaping the future of medicine. You can hear and share more Transfer Files conversations on the FLC website, YouTube, Apple, Spotify and other popular podcast platforms.
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In This Episode:
[01:49] The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) breaks down the barriers that stand in the way of drug discovery and development.
[02:17] Balki explains NCATS which was established in December of 2011. The system is dedicated to reducing barriers that stand in the way of drug discovery and development. They want to get more treatment to more people more quickly.
[05:02] NIH's dual role in the scientific ecosystem as a funder of research through our extramural staff and an active doer of research through intramural labs makes it a uniquely powerful scientific organization.
[06:16] Balki shares an example of how NCATS was able to combine the powers of internal research and external grant funding.
[07:20] Human organoids have become more and more predictive of drug toxicity and efficacy.
[09:14] Confidential Disclosure Agreement, or a CDA, which is a gateway agreement to facilitate discussions among scientists so that they may share information. There are also MTAs and a variety of collaboration agreements.
[12:13] Applying research and the principle behind tech transfer and how it intersects.
[15:32] NCATS has taken the lead to develop Metarrestin, a promising cancer drug.
[19:02] Ami shares an example of collaboration.
[21:08] NCATS reduces barriers to earlier stage drug discovery and development to avoid risk for investors.
[25:36] Balki talks about licensing deals and tech transfer. He's glad he works in tech transfer full-time at NIH.
[26:58] Ami worked on technology transfer policy for international jurisdictions when she was at the International Intellectual Property Institute.
[28:20] Tech transfer brings together a lot of disciplines. Collaboration has been a source of success and job satisfaction for Balki.
[31:05] Biggest challenges facing the federal tech transfer community today.
[35:23] Marketing and staff challenges are both issues.