Duke-NUS Medical School is launching a $20 million incubator, LIVE Ventures, to help commercialize academic research projects and transform scientific breakthroughs into clinical applications. 

The incubator aims to supply academic innovators with expertise and resources from the public and private sectors – including pharmaceutical companies, market data research professionals, investors, and industry experts – to conduct product-market fit evaluations for project commercialization.

An Investment Advisory Committee was established to determine the experience of the experts who will advise on commercializing the products. The initiative will kick off with a pilot project focused on chronic inflammatory diseases. 

Through the $20 million program, LIVE Ventures will provide up to $500,000 for academic research projects from Duke scientists that show high potential, supporting 20 Duke research projects over the next five years. 

“As an incubator, LIVE Ventures aims to turn scientific discovery into viable commercial opportunities with the potential to create startups by providing industry expertise, mentorship and funding support. Besides supporting our scientists in translating research into new clinical solutions, LIVE Ventures will foster a culture of entrepreneurship within the academic community, ultimately benefiting patients globally,” Dr. Rainny Xie, head of LIVE Ventures at Duke-NUS, said in a statement. 

THE LARGER TREND

Numerous universities offer accelerator programs to support healthcare technology development and commercialization. 

Harvard Innovation Labs (i-lab ventures), out of Harvard University, was founded in 2011. It provides advisors, mentors, resources and programming support to Harvard innovators to help build and commercialize their products. 

MIT Hacking Medicine focuses on innovation through workshops, incubator programs, and hackathons, and the MIT Sandbox Innovation Fund program provides seed funding and mentorship to startups founded by students. 

The Penn Health Tech Accelerator is an initiative that brings together faculty, researchers and students to accelerate the development and commercialization of healthcare technologies and medical devices.