Biomedical research can lead to promising breakthroughs. But what if the lead researcher on the project does not wish to launch a start-up and embark on the development of a new drug beyond the realm of academia? Does this mean a promising discovery that could one day save lives might simply be forgotten? Thanks to companies like LASCCO that specialise in biomedical technology development, this needn’t be the case. Samareh, who co-founded LASCCO with her husband in 2007, gives us an insight into licensing biomedical discoveries.
In a nutshell, what does LASCCO do?
LASCCO in-licenses breakthrough technologies at discovery stage that originate from academic labs and university hospitals. We focus on acute, critical and emergency care. We examine opportunities that are still too immature to interest mainstream investors and the pharma industry, and we validate their commercial potential, conduct clinical trials and develop technologies until the pharma industry is ready to buy them out. We work with researchers who want to dedicate their time and energy to their academic research rather than taking the leap of launching a start-up to develop their pharma solution.
How do you know if a discovery has the potential to be commercialised?
We spend a lot of time checking several parameters. We go through an in-depth due diligence process, during which we collect and analyse data to better understand the assets and liabilities and evaluate the commercial potential of the discovery. For example, we look carefully at the science behind the original IP, whether it fills a medical gap and what our patent protection strategy would look like. We also work on how the drug could be manufactured – forecasting timelines and costs – after which we start designing the non-clinical and clinical stages.