Should your research become a medicine? And if it has commercial potential, should you be the scientist who takes it forward?
For academics considering the move from scientist to entrepreneur, that decision starts well before forming a biotech company.
In this episode, we explore how to assess academic research through a commercialisation and drug development lens. Professor Michael Kassiou, Dr Laura Issa and Dr Gorjana Mitic share what industry, investors and tech transfer teams look for when evaluating research with translational potential.
We discuss how an industry pitch differs from an academic presentation, when to seek industry feedback without compromising intellectual property, and the questions researchers need to answer around unmet need, differentiation, competitive landscape and IP.
We also look at a decision that is sometimes skipped entirely: does this research actually need a biotech spin-out?
Dr Laura Issa breaks down five factors to consider, including clinical need, intellectual property, capital requirements, stage of development and the people behind the project. We explore when staying within academia, licensing or partnering with industry may be a better route than starting a company.
You’ll hear about:
This episode is Part 1 of a six-part series exploring the path from academic research to biotech and drug development, based on conversations from the 2026 Drug Discovery Forum in Sydney, happening at the ARCS conference.
The series brings together scientists, biotech entrepreneurs, industry experts and technology transfer professionals to examine what it actually takes to move promising science towards patients.
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