#51: Saara Inkinen - The Future of Tech Transfer in a Post-Pandemic World

Tech Transfer describes the process to bring scientific inventions from the discovery stage into companies for translational and clinical R&D.

To gain more insights into this area, I invited a tech transfer expert from the LSG2G Community to this conversation.

Speaker in this Episode is Saara Inkinen, Nordic Catalyst.

Dr. Inkinen is a technology transfer and innovation management specialist based in Vienna, Austria. She originally came from Finland and had her first position in the chemical industry already in 2000. 

For more details on Dr. Inkinen’s education and professional experience, please have a look at her LinkedIn profile.

The Company - Nordic Catalyst

Nordic Catalyst is a technology transfer and innovation management company founded by Dr. Saara Inkinen in 2018. Nordic Catalyst is located in Austria, and it works with an international client base consisting of both research organizations and companies.

Questions we discuss in the show:

• What is Tech Transfer?
• Why is it necessary to bring ideas from universities into startups and companies?
• Is tech transfer biotech and pharma different from other tech areas?
• What challenges solve tech transfer?
• How has the environment changed with the pandemic?
• And much more…

Follow Saara Inkinen and Nordic Catalyst:

• Saara Inkinen on Linkedin
• Nordic Catalyst on Linkedin

Shownotes:

• Link to Article in the Member & Partner Community

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction

01:45 What is Tech Transfer

02:30 The Tech Transfer Process

04:05 Tech Transfer – Licensing, IP Sale and Startups

05:00 Tech Transfer with Industrial Partners

07:40 Why is Tech Transfer Necessary?

13:20 Which Challenges Does TTO Face in the Life Science Networked Economy?

16:37 How do different Skillsets Interact in Early Stage Development?

19:35 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Startup Ecosystem for Deep Tech Companies

23:10 How did the Pandemic Change the Environment for Tech Transfer

27:17 How long does it take to turn a scientific idea into a finished product?

30:52 What Challenges Exist in the Early Stage Development Field?

33:40 How Do Business and Science Play Together?

35:00 New Trends in Tech Transfer

37:00 How Connected is the European Early Stage Industry?

38:00 What is the First Step Towards Putting a scientific idea into a product?

Podcast Links:
Podcast Website: https://www.lifescienceget2gether.com/
Community Partner: https://linktr.ee/lsg2g
Christian Soschner: https://linktr.ee/soschner
LSG2G Twitter: https://twitter.com/LGet2gether
LSG2G Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/life-science-get2gether
Podcast Episodes: https://pod.link/1493847125
Episodes on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlZfrwd6iXrQ3LIANISUpP22seS2CsCEV