Identifying potential licensees often forms part of our route-to-market assessments. Accelerate Associates regularly delivers bespoke market research intelligence to support University enterprise activities.
The Brief
A university academic had developed a novel design for a medical device commonly used in ultrasound guided surgery. The University required support to examine the global market for similar devices in order to identify potential commercial partners to approach as possible licensees or to purchase the associated IP rights to the device design. The University required a summary database and report to be returned at the end of the project and for Accelerate to make initial contact with each company to gauge interest and to put a disclosure agreement in place to enable rapid escalation of discussions with the client university.
Our Approach to identifying potential licensees
Accelerate Associates has a substantial history of working in the medical device market. In addition to being able to interrogate our own records, Accelerate conducted a global company search looking for manufacturers and distributors operating in the ultrasound accessories market as well as medical device manufactures utilising injection moulding. Over 8,000 companies were identified and screened against search parameters determined by Accelerate in conjunction with the university.
Results
Accelerate identified several tiers of potential commercial partnering opportunities including:
- companies currently operating in the ultrasound guided surgery accessory market (market leading direct competitors to the novel device)
- companies selling products into similar end markets who were interested in adding new products to their portfolio
- manufacturers of medical devices capable with injection moulding facilities
- companies that are known to purchase medical device IP rights
- contract manufacturers
- distributors operating in key target product markets.
In addition, Accelerate was able to engage the University in direct talks with a global market leader.
Philippa Bevan has over 25 years commercial and public sector experience in marketing, market research and product management spanning the education, laboratory, medical device, technology transfer and packaging industries. Philippa has a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology and Virology and is a Chartered Marketer.
