For Industry

Overview

With approximately $225 million in annual sponsored research funding and more than 800,000 square feet of state-of-the-art laboratory space, Children's Hospital Boston is home to the world's largest and most active research enterprise at a pediatric center. Ranked #1 nationally in 2010 by US News & World Report for clinical care in Heart & Heart Surgery, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Kidney and Urology, and #2 in Diabetes & Endocrinology and Neonatology, and #3 in Cancer, Gastroenterology and Pulmonology—Children’s Hospital is a national leader in numerous clinical and research disciplines. Major areas of research strengths include Vascular Biology, Stem Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Informatics and Genomics. Being a world-renowned academic research hospital, we have the infrastructure to develop technologies from the lab and bring them through clinical trials and to the patient. Specific focus areas for translational medicine are in hematology/oncology, inherited immunodeficiencies, cardiology, autism and related developmental disorders and the study and treatment of rare and orphan diseases, through the Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research.

Children’s is a partner of choice for projects at all stages of research and development. Our investigators know unmet medical needs first-hand, because they see them daily in their practice. With infrastructure to collect tissues and DNA samples from most of our patients in many different departments, Children’s has a large and well maintained tissue repository that is a source for determination of biomarkers and therapeutic targets, and ultimately an enhanced understanding of disease, particularly the rare and genetic disorders that are well represented in our clinics. The laboratory research at Children’s spans pediatric and adult indications, with projects addressing everything from prostate and ovarian cancer to nanotechnology to regenerative medicine to neurodegenerative diseases.

It is the mission of the Technology and Innovation Development Office (TIDO) to translate the laboratory and clinical research excellence of Children’s Hospital Boston into products for the public benefit.

TIDO utilizes a three pronged approach to accomplish this mission:

1. PATENTS and LICENSING GROUP
   With an annual research base of ~ $180M, Children’s Hospital researchers generate an average of 110 new invention disclosures per year. These innovations are evaluated by the Patents and Licensing Group for patentability and ultimately marketed and licensed to strong and committed commercial partners. This has generated 195 active licenses and numerous products currently on the market—generating ~$15M in gross revenue per year that fuels the research enterprise and further innovation.
2. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
   With approximately 200 collaborations with industry over the past five years, Children’s Hospital is a partner of choice for companies wishing to collaborate with our nationally recognized researchers and clinicians. Business Development within TIDO enables R&D collaborations with industry partners by matching parties with complementary objectives and resources—creating partnerships at all stages of research, development, and pre-clinical and clinical investigation.
3. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
   Children’s Hospital Boston launched a Technology Development Fund in early 2009 aimed at advancing the stage of development of promising Children’s Hospital technologies. With an external advisory board of industry leaders in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, device and diagnostic product development and a network of development partners and contract research organizations (CROs)—Children’s Hospital is investing in the discoveries and innovations of its researchers to translate them into products.