From ideation to commercialization: Bridging the gap

Published on November 7, 2022

By University of Ottawa

Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, OVPRI

Research and innovation

Faculty of Medicine

Commercialization is a way of linking science to the economy, benefitting the entire society. However, researchers interested in pursuing commercialization face challenges in navigating the multifaceted journey from ideation to commercialization when the time comes to introduce breakthrough discoveries on the market. This struggle is often due to lack of know-how, entrepreneurial thinking and, more importantly, preliminary financial support to get their project off on the right path.

3P Fund

A new program developed by the Faculty of Medicine in 2021, Path to Patenting & Pre-commercialization (3P), is a concrete example of an innovation-focused approach to provide our top-flight researchers with the assistance needed to bring their most promising breakthroughs to the wider world. This is part of a long-term plan to boost health and biomedical research at uOttawa that has the most promising commercialization potential. The University’s ISS team supported the genesis of the 3P Fund by bringing in key commercialization experts on the selection committee, and by helping to leverage external partners as co-investors in the 3P Fund.

Launched last year, the 3P initiative has already provided financial support to three projects in its first cycle, and four new recipients have just been announced.

“Supporting promising early-stage research projects with strong commercial potential, in partnership with the Faculty of Medicine’s innovative 3P program, is one of the many ways the Office of the Vice-President Research and Innovation is fostering excellence, relevance and impact within our research community,” says Sylvain Charbonneau, vice-president, research and innovation. “My team is laser-focused on increasing innovation, partnerships and entrepreneurship across all of our uOttawa campuses. We’re calling this approach #MissionInnovation!”

“The 3P program promotes innovation and commercialization in the Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated research institutes.  We greatly appreciate the OVPRI joining the Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated research institutes in the 3P program to further accelerate the development of spin-off and innovation,” says Daniel Figeys, director of innovation and partnerships at the Faculty of Medicine.

The OVPRI will invest in the Faculty of Medicine’s 3P program to support its most promising projects. Over the coming years, the OVPRI will also continue to look for other innovative approaches across the uOttawa campus to support entrepreneurship initiatives and to help commercialize research projects.