Hubs to Advance Discoveries

NIH has selected three proof-of-concept hubs to help speed biomedical discoveries into commercial products, including new drugs, devices, and diagnostics to improve patient care. The hubs are part of the NIH supported Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs (REACH) program that will be funded at $9 million over three years.

REACH is based on an initiative created by NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) www.nhlbi.nih.gov called the NIH Centers for Accelerated Innovations (NCAI) http://ncai.nhibi.nih.gov/ncai.

The centers are a unique public-private partnership with the objective to change how to identify and develop innovations with scientific and commercial potential. With the addition of REACH, NIH has created a nationwide network of six centers and hubs to develop best practices in translating academic innovations into products.

Each hub will provide funding for feasibility studies and coordinate access to expertise in areas required for early stage technology development, including scientific, regulatory, reimbursement, business, legal, and project management. In addition, the hubs will provide skills development and hands-on experience in entrepreneurism.

The new REACH Awardees are located at the Long Island Bioscience Hub (Stony Brook University www.stonybrook.edu, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory www.cshl.edu, and Brookhaven National Laboratory www.bnl.gov). Also REACH awardees are located at the University of Louisville http://louisville.edu, and the University of Minnesota http://twin-cities-umn.edu.

The REACH program also will include partnerships with FDA www.fda.gov, U.S Patent and Trademark Office www.uspto.gov, and CMS www.cms.gov. The REACH program and NCAIs will work collaboratively, share resources when appropriate, and develop best practices that will be made available to the public.