This Commentary highlights the 36‐month longitudinal study following the pilot cohort
of the Innovation‐Corps (I‐Corps™) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) program,
which was launched in the fall 2014. Given the long timeline to commercialization
for life science technologies, this interim evaluation provides an encouraging snapshot
of I‐Corps participants’ progress. As these companies and their technologies mature,
I‐Corps learnings are applied to downstream company research and product lines, indicating
that this entrepreneurial translational training provides lasting value for researchers.
It is late in the afternoon in the summer of 2016 and physician‐bioengineer and entrepreneur
Thomas Neumann, MD, and his team at Seattle based Nortis (an NIH Small Business Innovation
Research grantee) just experienced an “A‐ha!” moment after speaking to an industry
expert about the company's technology. Neumann and his team have learned that their
technology, which could provide a fast and accurate test to gauge the quality of stem
cells for research purposes, while being a useful tool, did not garner the commercial
interest that the Nortis team had anticipated. The researchers and experts they interviewed
stated that even though the Nortis technology potentially was an improvement over
the current test, they did not see a need for the Nortis technology at the moment.
Armed with new information, what was Nortis's next step?
Enter the Nih Small Business Innovation Research I‐Corps Program
What if biomedical entrepreneurs and small businesses like Nortis could get training
to gain a “real‐world” market perspective on their discoveries and innovations and
to cultivate important strategic alliances? Several NIH Institutes and Centers explored
what techniques and learnings could help provide their Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grantees with the necessary tools
to understand where, or if, there is a potential market for their technology.
Through the Congressionally mandated SBIR and STTR programs, the Federal government
sets aside funding from its major agencies to fund research and development as well
as a range of other activities to advance promising technologies toward commercialization.
The I‐Corps at the NIH program brings together phase I SBIR/STTR awardees and biotech
domain experts from the therapeutic, device, diagnostic, and digital health sectors
to provide real‐world entrepreneurship training. I‐Corps teaches scientific teams
customer discovery techniques and trains them on how to develop scalable business
models and identify commercialization paths for their NIH‐funded small businesses.1
This Commentary reflects on the process of adapting the I‐Corps program for NIH SBIR/STTR
grantees and the programmatic impact on translational science.
It should be noted that the NIH provides complementary resources for small businesses:
the C3i program2 serves phase I awardees, and the Commercialization Acceleration Program3
is for phase II awardees. C3i and Commercialization Acceleration Program are 6‐month
to 9‐month programs providing mentoring and pitch coaching from domain experts, whereas
the 8‐week I‐Corps at NIH program provides training in “customer discovery” activities
to researchers to impart entrepreneurial skills. The I‐Corps curriculum is currently
available at agencies across the Federal government in coordination with the National
Science Foundation (NSF); however, the NIH program is the only Federal I‐Corps syllabus
tailored for the life science sector with portions of the curriculum addressing regulatory,
reimbursement, and intellectual property strategies.
Will I‐Corps Really Work For The Life Science Sector?
The I‐Corps curriculum first delivered by the NSF in 2011 was based on (i) the Lean
Launchpad classroom syllabus developed by Bay Area serial entrepreneur Steve Blank4;
(ii) Customer Development, the practice of obtaining customer insights to generate,
test, and iterate ideas for products and services through interviews (i.e., customer
discovery); (iii) the agile development methodology authored by Eric Ries in “The
Lean Startup”5; and (iv) the Business Model Canvas created by Alexander Osterwalder.6
In the first iteration of the NSF I‐Corps, the program was designed for academic researchers
(at the precompany stage) in fields ranging from ecology to computer science. At its
core, the I‐Corps program is a structured method by which entrepreneurs can test and
refine their business models. Initial assumptions around a proposed business model
(i.e., a technology's value proposition, product‐market fit, etc.) are tested by conducting
over 100 informational interviews with key stakeholders and potential customers, which
include regulators and payers within a given technology's ecosystem. Using information
from these interviews, I‐Corps participants are expected to complete a Business Model
Canvas (Figure
1) outlining their business proposition, customer channels, and market segments. The
content of the Business Model Canvas may validate or invalidate the initial hypothesis,
in which case a pivot in the business model may be appropriate, as in the case of
Nortis.
Figure 1
The Business Model Canvas is a framework tool utilized to help Innovation‐Corps (I‐Corps)
teams understand and describe the ecosystem surrounding their potential product. The
right‐hand side of the canvas focuses on the customer and the left‐hand side focuses
on the business. The I‐Corps curriculum addresses each of the nine components, starting
with Value Propositions and Customer Segments (right side) and progressing later to
Revenue Streams and Cost Structures (left side). Image adapted from Strategyzer AG.
The Business Model Canvas, Alexander Osterwalder, and Business Model Foundry AG, <https://www.strategyzer.com/canvas/business-model-canvas>,
CC BY‐SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>.
When I‐Corps was initially designed, it was not thought to be a good fit for life
sciences technologies due to the recognized and perceived complexities around regulatory
affairs in health technology and the limits for established companies to pivot. However,
after observing the early success of the I‐Corps program at NSF, the NIH recognized
the potential for a modified version of I‐Corps to positively impact the development
of early stage biomedical businesses. Although phase I SBIR and STTR grants are designed
to foster proof‐of‐concept or feasibility work and phase II grants support continued
research and development for a technology, it is widely recognized that the “Valley
of Death” between research and development and commercialization in the life sciences
field is a huge chasm. I‐Corps at NIH aims to equip companies to anticipate the barriers
(e.g., adoption, regulation, and finances) surrounding early stage technologies.
Toward that goal, the NSF and NIH collaborated to modify the I‐Corps curriculum to
better address the needs of biomedical companies. In the NSF I‐Corps program, academic
teams are comprised of a research Principal Investigator, an Entrepreneurial Lead
(e.g., student or postdoctorate), and a business mentor. The NSF team's technology
or innovation may not be fully developed but rather a nascent idea. By contrast, the
NIH program is working with small businesses that have somewhat more mature ideas
and technologies. Participating companies enter the program with three‐person teams:
C‐Level Corporate Officer (e.g., CEO), Principal Investigator, and Industry Expert.
By design, the NIH program's team structure incorporates the titles and roles of individuals
with decision‐making authority within the company.
During the course, these teams receive training to effectively conduct Customer Development
interviews. Each week focuses on various aspects of the Business Model Canvas (Figure
1), beginning with Value Propositions and Customer Segments. Teams conduct in‐person
interviews, distill key learnings from the conversations, then present them to the
class and receive feedback from the instructors. Throughout the course, the continuous
process of conducting informational interviews allows the teams to simultaneously
refine their business models and explore their technology ecosystem. The focus for
each week's interviews progresses through the right‐hand side of the canvas, to the
left‐hand side, and culminates with the bottom components of Cost Structure and Revenue
Streams.
Because the NIH cohorts address life science technologies, it was equally important
that the NIH teaching team reflect both domain expertise in the life sciences (e.g.,
therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health areas) and competency
with delivering the I‐Corps curriculum. A key resource for building the teaching team
is the National Innovation Network, a national pipeline of collaborators, mentors,
and partners that was developed by the NSF. I‐Corps at NIH learnings are applied directly
to each company's technology or product under development, so the teams are vested
in practicing what they learn during their customer interviews and making necessary
changes and pivots. These learnings are not restricted to the duration of the course
but are applied throughout their entrepreneurial careers. These teams are also being
taught how to cross the threshold from the clinical or academic medicine settings
to those of the world of business and eventual commercialization:
“We have a very complex market that we deal with in life sciences,” says Bob Storey,
an I‐Corps at NIH instructor and medical device domain expert. “There are lots of
stakeholders, lots of conflicting and complimentary needs in the marketplace. I‐Corps
at NIH provides the opportunity to look at the entire patient management process from
start to finish. It helps [the teams] see how the ecosystem overlays and understand
how they're going to either disrupt or add efficiency to that process. That complexity
in the market is what we really dive into in this I‐Corps process.”
Making Connections
A defining feature to the I‐Corps program is the customer discovery process. For many
teams, conducting those first 100 interviews is just the beginning, and the rippling
effects of network building are not seen until after the 8‐week course ends. For team
GigaGen, the process of conducting 163 interviews during the pilot cohort in 2014
was critical to differentiating everyone from end users to buyers and decision makers.
GigaGen's platform provides a service for the custom generation of personalized or
rare antibodies. Jennifer Keller, GigaGen's Head of Marketing, filled the role of
Industry Expert and reflected, “When we first started I‐Corps, I thought our customers
would be doctors. As we went through the process, we talked to doctors, we talked
to patients, we talked to manufacturers, we talked to regulatory specialists—basically
everyone across the whole touchpoint of how our business would be delivered.” By July
2017, the team's investment in understanding their ecosystem had paid off in a big
way. The company had secured a multimillion dollar private financing and co‐development
deal with a strategic partner. David Johnson, GigaGen CEO, also noted that the government's
investment in these programs brings dividends, “Normally, a company might raise tens
of millions of dollars to achieve such a milestone, but we only spent $225,000 of
NIH money.”
Leaving the Building
I‐Corps participant Raj Singh is no stranger to getting out of his comfort zone. Formerly
a research assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Singh licensed
his invention and created spin‐off company Vivo Biosciences (VBI). As VBI President
and CEO, Singh successfully navigated the company through multiple SBIR and STTR grants
and contracts to develop a three‐dimensional material for growing cells and tissues
for research use. As part of the pilot I‐Corps class of 2014, Singh and his team focused
on identifying key partners and activities necessary to translate their technology
to market. As a result of those customer discovery activities, VBI increased its network
of connections and ultimately was acquired by LifeNet Health of Virginia in 2017 with
a strategic focus on expanding the technology to oncology, personal diagnostics, and
regenerative medicine applications. Singh reflects:
“At Vivo Biosciences I did that ‘multi‐hat’ role all these years—but now I'm a Chief
Scientist at LifeNet Health. I have come from a 5‐employee company to a 1000‐employee
company. LifeNet has internal R&D funding programs, so I'm not going to need to apply
anymore for SBIRs. I've graduated from SBIRs, and I've found a new strategic partner
via mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Moreover, I am continuing with my scientific pursuits,
and applying the I‐Corps practices to my innovation‐driven research ideas.”
In the case of Nortis, Neumann and his colleagues were also surprised to discover
that they needed to adjust their product plan to meet customer needs because there
was little interest in the product they were proposing. Nortis had planned to use
their tissue chip technology to create a human tissue environment that allowed them
to study stem cell quality, but after interviewing over 100 potential customers they
learned that there would be no market for their product. In conversations with their
I‐Corps instructors and their NIH Program Officer, Nortis researchers discovered that
there was a need for a tissue chip with a stem cell–based model to study kidney function.
When Nortis polled potential customers again, they found a very different response:
99% of interviewees were interested in such a tissue chip.7 The new product would
deliver a steady source of stem cell–derived kidney cells and allow researchers to
test the effects of drug concentrations on the kidneys7—a very important pivot for
the company. The Nortis case study is a theme observed repeatedly in I‐Corps at NIH
with platform technologies. There are many possible directions to pursue, and I‐Corps
helps teams focus and make a data‐informed decision prior to pursuing their chosen
option.
Empowering Entrepreneurs
Because the leading reason for startup failure is lack of market need, validating
or verifying a technology's product‐market fit should be a top priority for businesses
and their investors. However, for entrepreneurs in the biomedical arena, such skills
and learning that are critical to translating innovations to patients are not taught
in medical school. After running seven successful cohorts, early analyses have shown
that I‐Corps at NIH fills a need for small businesses with early stage projects and
provides biomedical entrepreneurs with the tools necessary to evaluate and translate
technologies in a market ecosystem. Teams that conducted customer discovery interviews
report a range of lessons learned: (i) how to pivot to address new market opportunities
or new customer segments and (ii) how to pivot because a change was needed in the
product's value proposition. Specifically, for these NIH SBIR/STTR grantees, some
of the pivots necessitated refinements to their business model, which also needed
to be captured in their NIH SBIR/STTR phase II grant submissions. From the NIH perspective,
we believe this is one of the most important outcomes of program—getting out of the
laboratory and meeting with customers (which include regulators and payers) sometimes
necessitates a pivot that creates a translational path for their innovation that can
ultimately benefit patients. Teams that have gone through the training also observe
other benefits in the later stage of their small businesses’ development.
To assess the impact of I‐Corps on companies and entrepreneurs, a combination of market
analyses, electronic surveys, and telephone interviews were conducted 3 years postcourse
with pilot program participants. I‐Corps strengthened the companies’ management teams
to help them expand networks, identify new commercialization opportunities, and add
new personnel (Table
1). Of the 19 teams that participated in the pilot, 13 respondents provided feedback
to evaluators (12 respondents plus 1 partial respondent). I‐Corps led to synergistic
and strategic partnerships for eight responding teams. Market data for all teams show
that the companies in the pilot cohort raised more than $78M in funding after I‐Corps
(> $53M in non‐Federal funds). After considering opportunities for pivots and validated
market needs, 18 patents related to the I‐Corps technologies were filed or issued
and two companies reported revenue generation from licensure. Academic pursuits remained
active, as 24 publications resulted from development of the I‐Corps supported technologies.
Two companies had a spin‐off that was a result of their I‐Corps technology; one company
was acquired; and 108 new jobs (32 full‐time, 17 part‐time, and 59 contract workers)
were added to the workforce since 2014.
Table 1
Longitudinal metrics collected from pilot I‐Corps participants
Activitya
Metrics
Attributed I‐Corps activities and network to synergistic and strategic partnerships
8 companies
Follow‐on funding secured
$78M (more than $55M in non‐Federal funds)b
Patents issued
18
Revenue‐generating licensures
2
Publications based on I‐Corps supported technologies
24
Spin‐off company generated
2
Acquisition/merger
1
Jobs created
108 new jobs (32 full‐time, 17 part‐time, and 59 contract workers)
I‐Corps, Innovation‐Corps.aCompany Activities, with the exception of Follow‐on funding
secured, collected from 13 respondents (of 19 teams) ranged from December 2014–April
2018. bFunding data for all 19 teams sourced from Pitchbook.
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Lessons Learned and Next Steps
The greatest revelations witnessed by the NIH are that the customer discovery process
and I‐Corps curriculum do work for life science technologies with teams from small
businesses. The NIH approach to I‐Corps is an experiment in pivoting the focus of
the program from academic teams to established small businesses. Through customer
discovery activities (i.e., interviews with past participants and others), the NIH
has validated the positive impact of I‐Corps on small business grantees and continues
to offer the program with an eye to expand to non‐SBIR teams.
Quantitative lessons learned reveal that I‐Corps at NIH contributed to the progression
of technologies toward commercial products and services, and also had important economic
impacts in job and company creation. Qualitatively, completion of the 8‐week course
serves to educate researchers and empower entrepreneurs. In reflecting upon their
experiences during I‐Corps, course graduates recall a valuable learning experience
in applying I‐Corps principles to refine their work, evaluate their target clinical
population or research focus, and learn how to best translate their discoveries by
proactively reaching out to the right people—whether it be an experienced CEO or a
strategic partner.
The most impactful revelations are less calculable but rather cultural. The sustained
practice of conducting Customer Discovery persists years beyond the I‐Corps course,
as the mindsets shift within small businesses in approaching translational research.
Although many commercialization assistance programs provide some measure of mentorship,
I‐Corps at NIH stands out in building an enduring ethos for entrepreneurs.
For Thomas Neumann, the Lessons Learned from I‐Corps continue to help push Nortis's
innovations forward into the next as well as the “final frontier”:
“We knew we would never get a perfect product without understanding the user space.
During I‐Corps, we talked to so many people and really learned about how our technology
could address the unmet needs of potential customers. Back in 2012, we had a prototype
device, but it wasn't until after going through Customer Discovery that we were able
to launch our fully commercial ParVivo product in 2016. The principal idea behind
the chip did not change, but the devil was in the details…. In addition to refining
product value propositions, at Nortis we've identified partners and avenues for new
research activities. We've launched collaborations in partnership with NIH and NASA,
and recently Nortis chips were selected for experiments on the International Space
Station. So, it's not just people getting out the building—it's the technology, too.”
Funding
This work was funded by the NIH.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declared no competing interests for this work.