About OED
All scientists are driven by the quest for knowledge and the desire for their research to have a positive impact—through the development of new clinical therapies, novel research tools, or technological innovation.
The Office of Enterprise Development (OED) helps faculty members who have brought their research to the next level—where moving it forward means moving it out of the University and into the hands of a business partner.
OED can help inventors:
- Recognize when a discovery may have commercial potential
- Analyze the market potential and competitive landscape
- Strategize on how to protect IP rights
- Understand how industry will measure risk and assign value
- Position a discovery for adoption by a commercial partner
- Present their ideas as solutions to a problem
- Evaluate when a discovery may require creation of a start-up company
- Navigate University processes/policies for invention disclosure, patenting, COI, and EOC
- Identify and connect with potential licensing partners
- Transform a scientific discovery into a viable business opportunity
OED is a service of the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences, and acts as a resource for health sciences faculty pursuing entrepreneurship and interactions with industry.
OED is a central link bringing the University of Pittsburgh's world class researchers together with the life sciences business community. By connecting University scientists and inventors with industry professionals, OED acts as a catalyst, stimulating academic-industry collaborations. OED also assists in the development of new life sciences start-up companies in the Pittsburgh region.
In fulfilling our mission, we strive to reward and retain our faculty inventors, induce closer ties to industry, and promote economic growth in western Pennsylvania.
History
In 2000, local entrepreneur Scott Limbach had an idea to establish a new kind of resource for entrepreneurially minded academic scientists—one that would go beyond patenting and licensing to educate and assist in the commercialization of new ideas to improve human health.
Working with Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute(UPCI), they crafted a plan to build the Limbach Entrepreneurial Center.
In 2001, Carolyn Green was hired as the center's first Director. She brought her own experiences as a teacher, an entrepreneur, and as director of marketing and sales for a large publicly traded company. Over the following two years, the Limbach Entrepreneurial Center grew to become an integral part of UPCI, growing new companies and spawning new collaborations with industry partners.
The key to the success of the Limbach Entrepreneurial Center was its new model for a different kind of technology transfer—one that was centered around the inventor, not the invention, and that focused on developing a unique plan for each discovery aimed at moving it from the benchtop to the patient. Thanks to generous donations from the family and friends of long-time UPCI supporter Drew Mathieson, OED was able to expand its staff of science-savvy professionals, growing more companies and increasing its outreach to faculty and industry alike.
In January, 2004, armed with innovative concepts such as a peer-role model lecture series, extensive entrepreneurial education, and the development of a highly skilled and deeply experienced staff, the center expanded to serve the more than 2300 health sciences faculty across the University of Pittsburgh's six schools of health sciences.
Team
Marc Malandro
Associate Vice Chancellor Technology Management and Commercialization
Andrew Remes, PhD
Assistant Director, Business Development
Paul Petrovich, CPA
Assistant Director, Technology Commercialization
Amy Brunetto Phillips
Business Development Associate
Michele Honko
Marketing Associate
Karen D. Zellars
Administrative and Program Coordinator