KU Leuven and Wellcome Trust will pilot a tech transfer scheme equipping early-stage scientific research with mentoring, prototyping and regulatory assistance.

KU Leuven and charitable research foundation Wellcome Trust have joined forces for a pilot program intended to give the university’s researchers a better strategic grounding during the earliest stages of innovation. The knowledge transfer pilot will commence in the new year with the objective of providing nascent KU Leuven projects with resources to augment the progression of their scientific proposals. These measures could include mentoring, prototyping and regulatory advice – areas beyond the scope of scientific research where faculty face barriers to unlocking the real-world potential of their ideas. Bridging the gap between discovery-stage science and translation is among Wellcome’s core innovation objectives, and the new scheme aims to strengthen the prospects of KU Leuven spinouts. Having launched in 1972, KU Leuven’s Research & Development tech transfer office is one of Europe’s oldest, and the university has topped the Reuters European innovation ranking of academic research institutions for the past four years. Paul Van Dun, general manager of KU Leuven Research & Development, said: “Thanks to the partnership with Wellcome, we will be able to build our spinouts on stronger foundations, providing them with extra competitive advantages to tackle challenges and grow successfully. “This joint initiative will allow us to deepen our expertise in regulatory affairs, to conduct even more extensive market research, to make business cases stronger and to attract experienced entrepreneurs who can support our projects.”

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