COMMERCIALIZATION
The path to commercialization has been a focus for the Gates Center from the very beginning. 2020 proved a seminal year as Gates Center member David Wagner, Ph.D., became the first Gates Grubstake Fund awardee at the starting gate to launch a clinical trial scheduled to begin in February 2021 (see Dr. Wagner’s profile on page 36). Following the Gates Frontiers Fund’s generous funding of two promising Gates Center members in 2014, the Gates Grubstake Fund (GGF) was incorporated as a private 501(c)(3) foundation in 2015 to advance innovative ideas with potential for commercial application in the field of regenerative medicine or stem cell technologies. Since
then, funding has been awarded on a competitive basis to promising investigative teams whose research may lead to new therapies, commercial devices, technologies, or even spin-off companies. The Gates Grubstake Fund’s name comes from the Gold Rush, when investors would give prospectors seed money known as “grubstakes” to buy food and supplies while they searched for gold. Similarly, academic researchers focused on developing new therapies or devices with commercial potential are in critical need of gap funding while they work on product development.
THE PATH TO COMMERCIALIZATION SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY & VALIDATION
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
REGULATORY STRATEGY
CLINICAL DEVELOPMENT
STARTUP/ LICENSE
BUSINESS MODEL FINANCIAL PLAN
CLINICAL TRIALS
CORPORATE FORMATION BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
ACADEMIC FUNDING
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Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine
GATES GRUBSTAKE FUND STARTUP TOOLBOX
INVESTMENT FUNDING PUBLIC & PRIVATE
MARKET
FDA & REIMBURSEMENT APPROVALS
