NIH has launched a major initiative to improve how basic science advances and discoveries are translated into commercially viable products to improve patient care and advance public health.
The NIH Centers for Accelerated Innovations (NCAI) with funding from the NIH’s National Heart Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is targeting the development of technologies with grants totaling $31.5 million.
According to Dr. Gary H. Gibbons, Director of NHLBI, “These centers will offer a one stop shop to accelerate the translation of early stage technologies for further development by the private sector and for ultimate commercialization. As a result, the public will gain access sooner to new biomedical products that will improve human health while also benefiting from the economic growth associated with the creation of new companies and the expansion of existing ones.”
The plan is to establish three inaugural multi-institution NCAIs.to improve the diagnosis, treatment, management, and prevention of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders and diseases.
Each center will be a consortium of academic, government, non-profit, and private sector organizations to provide funding for feasibility studies, regulatory, legal, and business development expertise along with entrepreneurial training and mentorship.
Each awardee has secured non-federal funding equal to or greater than the NHLBI award. NCAI awardees will leverage existing federal government resources, which can include resources offered by NIH and other federal program partners including the FDA, the U.S Patent office, and CMS.
The three Innovations Centers are:
- Boston Biomedical Innovation Center—Includes Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and President and Fellows of Harvard College
- Cleveland Clinic Innovation Accelerator—Includes the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Ci8ncinnati Children’s Hospital, the Ohio State University, Columbus and the University of Cincinnati
- UC BRAID Center for Accelerated Innovation—Includes the University of California’s campuses at Los Angeles, Davis, Irvine, San Diego, and San Francisco