title: Found in translation; from the laboratory to the operating room to the market.
abstract: Translation is a term, of late, frequently used in medical research. It means different things to different people. For some it is moving from conception to science and engineering to application; for others it means moving technological development into the treatment of patients; and for still others it means moving a research development into a commercial system. In 2004 in a pique of frustration with big medical device companies and academic administrators, I founded a spin-off company from my laboratory to take a development of ours to the market place. The company, Pathfinder Therapeutics Inc., as of this writing, is still in business so I presume it can be defined as a success. We have faced each of the above defined translation challenges and more remain. The presentation (and paper) will cover the process of achieving that success and of lessons often painfully learned.
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Engineering, Neurological Surgery, and Center for Technology-Guided Therapy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. bob.galloway@vanderbilt.edu
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Galloway
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008389:Marketing of Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009873:Operating Rooms / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012106:Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018581:Technology Transfer; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities / Q000458:organization & administration*