Funding Commercialization at UHN: Accelerator Fund Transforming discoveries into real applications for patients can take years of development, refinement, validation, and testing. To help early-stage research progress, UHN Commercialization has established an in-house incubation model that includes funding to de-risk commercially promising technologies towards their value inflection point. This is done through UHN's Accelerator Fund (AF) , which offers significant capital to help early-stage technologies advance. The fund is in place to help promising innovations from within UHN and our ecosystem reach patients faster. It acts to maximize their commercial potential, bringing them to market in the form of new medical products, devices or therapies.
“Commercialization accelerator programs are an essential part of our commercialization philosophy at UHN, where incubation funding such as the Innovation Accelerator de-risks technologies, bringing them to pivotal inflection points”.
Innovation Accelerator The Innovation Accelerator (IA) has been established to overcome barriers to research translation. Its objective is to accelerate research discoveries at UHN to demonstrate commercial applicability to potential industry partners and/or investors. NOT a grant and is not intended for basic research.$250,000 is available per proposal. You can learn more here or by contacting us at: IAFinfo@uhn.ca.
Who can apply? Eligible researchers are currently those affiliated with any of UHN's research institutes. UHN researchers applying for this funding will work jointly with our Commercialization Team if their project is selected. A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required prior to proposal submission (please see instructions, below). What to expect Questions ? Contact us at : IAFinfo@uhn.ca
Background The Innovation Accelerator has been established to advance innovative research with promising commercial potential along the path towards commercialization. The program solicits milestone based proposals of up to $250,000 in support of UHN innovations in anticipation of a future commercialization event.in-vivo dataObjective Eligibility The Role of Commercialization at UHN Letter of Intent IAFinfo@uhn.ca at least one month prior to the proposal deadline.Commercialization at UHN team to evaluate the proposed project’s eligibility for this program, and subsequently to work together on the proposal. The Commercialization at UHN team member will act as an internal "sponsor" and represent the proposal through internal prioritization processes until it is selected for presentation to the Innovation Accelerator (IA) Committee. Proposal presentations to the IA Committee will generally involve both the scientific leaders and the affiliated Commercialization at UHN representative.
Overview Proposal Evaluation Criteria
current medical practise(s) & associated drawback(s) market opportunity / value proposition competitive landscape primary (and secondary) markets, market size & potential endorsement or interest from companies / customers / key options leaders / investors how is the innovation better than the current market offerings: benefits it presnets, differentiated value proposition vs. future standard of care IP's title and description IP status key results & proof-of-concept date to date current stage of development technical risks with moving forward clinical / regulatory development plan commercial development strategy funding requirement & project plan proposal objectives / milestones to be met & their achievability Criteria Subject Matter Covered Within Criteria Market
current medical practise(s) & associated drawback(s) market opportunity / value proposition competitive landscape primary (and secondary) markets, market size & potential endorsement or interest from companies / customers / key opinion leaders / investors Innovation's Positioning & Product Differentiation
How is the innovation better than current market offerings: benefits it presents differentiated value proposition vs. future standard of care Intellectual Property (IP) Status
How is the innovation better than current market offerings:
benefits it presents differentiated value proposition vs. future standard of care Key Technical Results
key results & proof-of-concept data to date current stage of development technical risks with moving forward Development Plan
clinical / regulatory development plan Commercialization Plan
commercial development strategy funding requirement & project plan proposal objectives / milestones to be met & their achievability 1. Open to all researchers that hold appointments within any of UHN’s research institutes. Example Eligible Proposal Activities - Data generation to support patent applications, help secure licensing or additional investment(s)
Application & Submission Process
How to Apply Letter of Intent to IAFinfo@uhn.ca at least one (1) month prior to any advertised proposal deadline. Application Process
Submission of Investment Proposal Form (IPF)
IA Subcommittee:
Reviews, prioritizes and selects most commercially promising proposals, according to eligibility and proposal criteria/recommendations of Commercialization at UHN. For each selected proposal, the scientific and commercialization team will:
Prepare an Investment Presentation Pitch (IPP) Present a practice IPP to Commercialization at UHN and other relevant parties for feedback and review prior to recording a final video presentation for submission. For each proposal, the slide deck and video presentation will be provided to the IA Commitee at least 7 days prior to its meeting.
This allows IA Committee members to review proposals, conduct due diligence & seek clarification.
IA Committee Meeting:
Questions from the IA Committee and external reviewers Closed session to discuss and make decisions (based on eligibility criteria and proposal criteria) Unsuccessful Proposals:
Will be provided constructive feedback to enable resubmission
Proposals Awarded IA funding:
Budget, milestones & offer letter to be completed and signed.
The IA Committee will hold responsibility for the IA on behalf of the The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and the UHN Foundation. Selected applicants will be invited to present to the IA Committee, which will then determine whether funds will be awarded and with what provisions.
IAFinfo@uhn.ca with any questions about the application process.
The IA Committee meets three to four times a year and bears responsibility for the administration of the IA on behalf of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and the UHN Foundation.2024 Proposal Calls
Call # Submission Deadline COMMITTEE Meeting 1
April 11, 2024
June 2024
2
June 28,2024
September 2024
3
September 16,2024
December 2024
* Please note these dates are subject to change without notice. Last updated: March 2024
The IA Committee holds responsibility for the Innovation Accelerator on behalf of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and the UHN Foundation. Its objective is to support the acceleration of research discoveries from UHN towards commercialization, in order to advance healthcare delivery and outcomes.
