The Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation at the University of Kansas is soliciting new project proposals to support the advancement of the growing pipeline of medical innovations at KU. Eligible faculty and research staff with an interest in applying for product development support from IAMI must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) using the attached template. LOI submission will be via email to oppm@kumc.edu and must be received no later than 5 p.m. (CST) on October 15. Based on the content of LOI, IAMI Leadership will invite LOI authors to submit formal project proposals. IAMI will work directly with invited LOI authors to prepare formal project proposals.
Description of the IAMI Proof-Of-Concept (POC) Program
The goal of the IAMI POC program is to generate new and innovative medical products (e.g. drugs, medical devices, drug-device combination, and diagnostic applications) and advance these technologies down the development and commercialization path. These projects will leverage KU’s R&D expertise in chemistry, biology, pharmacy, bioengineering, and medicine.
Supported or funded POC projects will have the following characteristics:
Full-time faculty and professional research staff employed by the University of Kansas located at the Lawrence, KUMC and Wichita campuses are eligible to apply as the Project Lead (PL). Each project must have one PL and he or she can apply as the PL for multiple projects; however, an individual can receive only one award per RFP as a PL. Individuals may apply as a collaborator on multiple projects. Project Leads may collaborate with experts from industry and/or other academic institutions under the framework of these product development projects.
Because the technical focus of the projects will be in one or more of the areas of pharmaceuticals, bioengineering and/or medicine, the Project Lead is expected to be associated with the schools of Arts and Sciences, Pharmacy; Engineering; Medicine; Allied Health; and other departments, institutes, and centers which have strong research efforts related to drugs, medical devices, and/or medicine. Collaborators can be associated with any KU school, institute, or center. Collaborators may also be associated with academia, industry, government or disease philanthropy organizations.
Each LOI and subsequent full proposal must clearly define the opportunity for Value Creation. The proposal must convey knowledge of the consumer’s interests and trends, the competitive landscape, other technological innovations, as well as industry developments. Funded proposals will be executed by multi-disciplinary, and in some cases, multi-organizational project teams, led by the PL with project management support provided by IAMI. Product development decisions are not made in a vacuum and successful project teams will have demonstrated an ability to position their technology to exploit a market opportunity. POC funds will be awarded to teams with a high degree of Value Creation sophistication that are able to communicate such in the LOI and proposal.
Invited LOI authors will be required to work directly with IAMI Project Directors to develop commercially focused project plans contained within the full proposal. Project plans will include clearly defined project milestones, go/no go decisions, decision-making criteria, project activities, costs and timing.
Because the focus of this RFP is on funding proof-of-concept projects, the duration for each project will be based upon meeting project milestones. It is anticipated that many projects will be completed within 12 months; however, each funded project may be extended and/or renewed based on performance. Key performance indicators include: 1) milestones achieved, 2) strength of intellectual property, 3) opportunity for licensing the intellectual property to an entity capable of completing product development and bringing the product to market. Renewal for existing projects is not automatic and will be evaluated based on the merits of the technology and availability of funds.
Project budgets should be carefully aligned with the proposed scope of work. Funding will be determined according to the proposed scope of work and will be released as milestones are achieved. The median value of projects funded to date is $100,000. Funds are to be used for KU expenses including salary support of faculty, graduate and doctoral students, and other staff; operating supplies; minor equipment purchases; prototyping expenses; imaging time; and travel directly associated with the proof of concept activity. The project budget may include non-KU expenses if it can be demonstrated that KU does not have the necessary personnel or facilities to perform the specified product development tasks.
In many cases, medical innovation comes about through the “cross-pollination” of ideas from researchers with different backgrounds. Additionally, medical research that involves interaction with clinicians, physicians, patients, and/or medical companies has a higher probability of being commercialized and improving patient care. Therefore, interdisciplinary and collaborative project team formation is a high priority. Project Leads will work with IAMI to assemble project teams that represent different but related backgrounds. Potential examples of these teams include:
Proposals will be evaluated on five main criteria:
Full proposals will be evaluated by the IAMI Advisory Board in accordance with the attached set of evaluation criteria. All Advisory Board decisions are final. Funded projects will be subject to standard KU compliance policies.
| RFP released: | October 1, 2010 |
| Letter of Intent due: | October 15, 2010 |
| Invitations to submit full proposal: | November 1, 2010 |
| Proposals due: | December 15, 2010 |
| Evaluations completed: | February 11, 2011 |
| Awards announced: | February 18, 2011 |
Letters of Intent must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. (CST) on October 15, 2010 to:
Michael Hughes
Director, Office of Project & Portfolio Management
Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation
oppm@kumc.edu
Upon award, the assigned IAMI Project Director will continue to work with the Project Lead to execute an agreement that defines key milestones, expectations, and payment terms. Funds will be transferred to the Project Lead’s research account as needed to ensure timely completion of the project (provided that the project is achieving the proposed objectives). The IAMI Project Director will continue to support the project through the completion of the scope of work and will conduct regular team meetings as agreed with the project team. IAMI Management, Staff and Advisory Board will be involved in each selected project on an ongoing basis to ensure that each technology is best positioned for clinical and commercial success.
For those proposals not funded, the IAMI team will evaluate them for possible next steps. For example, some of these proposals could be revised to better meet the POC criteria and resubmitted at a later date. Or the proposal may be better positioned for a federal research grant or other funding opportunities. The goal is for IAMI to generate as much value as possible from the growing pipeline of medical innovations at KU.
To view or download a copy of the LOI template, go to http://www2.kumc.edu/iami/
If you have questions or would like assistance, please contact Marilyn Helms or Michael Hughes in the Office of Project and Portfolio Management, oppm@kumc.edu (913-588-2079).
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The University of Kansas Medical Center