Fit for US consumers
- publish258
- Apr 11, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 7
Atlantic Therapeutics is raising $45m to make UCD’s original IP fit for US consumers
The scientific rigour of a patent from University College Dublin has created the foundation for a new venture to raise $45 million to open up the US and Asian markets. The technology’s range is expanding too. After first building its credibility with medical professionals, it is now appealing more directly to consumers, and new patent applications have been filed for a wearable version. The research started broadly in electrical muscle stimulation, with the initial focus on back pain. As a technique, electrical muscle stimulation goes back to the 1800s, but was previously limited to the treatment of tissue close to the surface. What if instead of two electrodes, you linked up a pathway to reach deeper muscles? A PhD switched the focus to a problem common to the middle-aged: leaky bladders (or stress urinary incontinence), which are suffered by one in three women and one in ten men. Or 400 million people globally. A small test to check how this pathway of electrodes could re-educate the pelvic floor led to marked improvements and glowing reviews. To follow up, a collaboration was formed with medtech company BMR with one of its employees joining the research team that was being formed. As it was likely that significant foreground IP was going to be created, a joint ownership agreement was signed. Such agreements can cause complications when permissions are required later, but in this case, the university’s knowledge transfer office was able to ensure that all the necessary rights were cleared and in place. Together, they filed an Irish patent to secure a priority date, giving them 2½ years to decide in which markets to file. In parallel, the university granted BMR an option on an exclusive licence on its relevant IP in the field of SUI. Royalty rates were set against industry benchmarks and the university was freed of any liability. The technology could still be used by the university for research and teaching. One of the primary potential sources of conflict in such partnerships was thus turned to their advantage. Disclosure through publication can jeopardize the inventive and novel status of an invention. However, scientific credibility was equally important to BMR, particularly in the US in countering me-too offers from competitors. So the principle of patent first and publish later, together with a timetable, was agreed to meet everyone’s academic, legal and commercial interests. Two years later, the product was launched with an initial focus on medical professionals in Europe. The IP portfolio continued to evolve as more know-how was accumulated. By 2018, two patent applications were filed to design the electrodes into a wearable pair of shorts. By then, the product was ready for the next stage of its evolution, which would involve the most intense scrutiny of its IP by investors. Now branded and trademarked as Innovo, the product was spun out into a new company, Atlantic Therapeutics, with the aim of launching in the US and Asia. So far, a total of $45 million in three rounds has been raised to establish Innovo as a mainstream product. None of these developments has come as a complete surprise to the research team at UCD. Within the department, an active IP culture is fostered by holding regular meetings with the knowledge transfer office team and including them in discussions about impact. Such exchanges might seem formal and time-consuming, but the effects are longlasting. The lead researcher on the programme for electrical muscle stimulation, Professor Brian Caufield, has already embarked on two further ventures. • This text is a summary of ‘From research to lift-off’, a chapter about three EPO case studies by Thomas Bereuter and Ilja Rudyk, which highlights the experiences and insights of becoming a high-growth, high-impact venture. The full version of the text is available as a download via the EPO.
