Four new articles from the NIH Technology Transfer Community have been published in the most recent edition of les Nouvelles, the Licensing Executive Society’s journal.

NIH is not just a funder of science but is a critical catalyst that helps transform bold ideas into treatments that reach patients and change survival trends. NIH’s Berna Uygur and Steve Ferguson showcase how the NIH has quietly shaped modern cancer treatment through decades of sustained research investment and technology transfer in Recognizing NIH’s Role in Turning Discoveries into Cancer Treatments. Focusing on breast, lung, and prostate cancer, this article reveals how NIH‑supported discoveries—enabled by collaboration, licensing, and industry partnerships—have translated into life‑saving therapies and measurable public‑health gains.

You can read Recognizing NIH’s Role in Turning Discoveries into Cancer Treatments here.
 

Why are less than 0.1% of federally funded inventions commercialized? NIH’s Steve Ferugson along with the Center for Advancing Innovation’s Rosemarie Truman and Cody Locke explore this in Accelerating Federal Technology Transfer Through a Startup Challenge Licensing Mode. This article takes a hard look at a persistent challenge in biomedical innovation: why so many government funded discoveries never make it to market—and what can be done differently. Drawing on hands on experience at the NIH, it challenges traditional, passive licensing models and makes the case for more proactive, startup driven approaches to technology transfer. By spotlighting practical barriers, missed opportunities, and promising commercialization models, the piece offers a concise, thought provoking exploration of how smarter strategies could dramatically increase the real world impact of public research.

You can read Accelerating Federal Technology Transfer Through a Startup Challenge Licensing Mode here.

Interested in an insider’s guide to how clinical research discoveries successfully move from the lab into real-world medical products? Steve Ferguson and Jack Spiegel wrote Technology Licensing & Commercialization Considerations for Clinical Scientists on how clinical research discoveries can have a true and lasting impact on patient care. Their article explains why strong science alone isn’t enough, and walks readers through the business, legal, and strategic realities of technology transfer, industry collaboration, and licensing. With clear explanations of collaboration agreements, invention ownership, publication trade-offs, and licensing principles, it demystifies a process many scientists find opaque. Anyone interested in translating research into patient impact—and avoiding common pitfalls—will find this a concise, highly relevant roadmap.

You can read Technology Licensing & Commercialization Considerations for Clinical Scientist here. 
 

Great technology transfer collaborations are built like a great “magic sauce.” Drawing on real case studies from the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), Krishna (Balk) Balakrishnan, Suryanarayana (Sury) Vepa, Rebecca Erwin-Cohen, Christopher Dillon, and Ami Gadhia wrote Technology Transfer Magic Sauce Ingredients - When and Where to Use Them. They reveal how pairing the right people, timing, and intellectual property strategies can dramatically improve the odds of moving discoveries toward patients. Rather than offering a rigid formula, the article shows why successful tech transfer depends on judgment, adaptability, and thoughtful combination of well known tools. It’s an engaging, practical read for anyone looking to better translate biomedical research into real world impact.

You can read Technology Transfer Magic Sauce Ingredients - When and Where to Use Them here.  

All articles are available in our Presentations and Articles archive.