The University of Utah‘s Technology Licensing Office is offering an open door to partners helping researchers build companies. Its venture-development team connects scientific founders with business expertise, funding resources and licensing support.
Kyrsten Woolstenhulme, Senior Director for Venture Development, described those efforts ahead of BioHive Premieres: Utah & The Future of Health. The event runs Thursday, Oct. 8, from 1:00 to 6:30 p.m. at Megaplex Salt Lake City at The Gateway.
An Open Door To Business Partners
Woolstenhulme told TechBuzz in an interview that her office wants active partners to help build companies. Partners can offer market perspective, identify funding or take operating roles.
The office helps them find opportunities and navigate university resources. Its goals include attracting outside funding, working with larger organizations, meeting regulatory requirements and delivering products.
Startup Launchpad connects researchers and founders with mentors, business talent and service providers. Woolstenhulme described it as a bridge connecting companies with the right resource at the right time.
A new company may need accounting or marketing assistance before hiring full-time executives makes sense. The program aims to surround scientific teams with business support rather than require researchers to master every function.
Related reporting examines hiring gaps at biomedical startups. That separate account also addresses the people young companies need to operate.
Funding Supports Different Stages Of Development
Life science companies can receive grants for early research but still lack evidence investors need. Woolstenhulme said this gap can leave promising companies seeking another piece of data before securing investment.
Investors may want validation in humans or strong preclinical evidence. Further work can involve reproducibility, quality systems or data suitable for regulatory review.
The university’s Tech Discovery Microgrants support early feasibility work. Ascender Grants fund further development and validation, while the Launchpad Seed Fund supports initial company operations.
Woolstenhulme said investors consistently seek differentiated science, strong and reproducible data, and a defined first product. Researchers with broadly applicable technology still need to explain where their company will begin.
“A broad platform with no initial focus doesn’t show them a path to return,” she said.
The office’s open door extends to work on licensing agreements. Staff reviewed obligations with investors and startup legal counsel, then addressed potentially troublesome provisions in the standard template.
Some provisions remain constrained by state and federal law. Woolstenhulme said the office wants flexibility where possible as companies raise money and bring in strategic partners.
Related coverage follows Penn’s faculty startup investments and Pitt’s planned life sciences incubator. Those are separate university efforts to support emerging companies.
Researchers Urged To Seek Help Before Publishing
Woolstenhulme described precision and personalized medicine as recurring themes in university research. She also reported interest in AI-enabled drug discovery, diagnostics, oncology, rare disease, infectious disease and neuroscience.
She pointed to Recursion as a company that began in a University of Utah laboratory. Recursion is on the BioHive Premieres agenda in a cancer-care session hosted by Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
Inside the university, nearby health sciences and engineering teams can support product development. Woolstenhulme said a diagnostic or device may need both clinical understanding and engineering skill.
The office measures success through jobs, follow-on financing and products brought to market, alongside company formation. Woolstenhulme said Utah’s closely connected university and state resources can help partners build relationships.
Protecting discoveries also depends on when researchers approach the licensing office. Her open door invitation asks faculty to engage before publicly disclosing research, allowing intellectual-property protections to be arranged first.
“We don’t want to stop you from publishing,” she said. “We just want to make sure we have the right protections in place before that publication occurs. So come talk to us early.”