This course is an opportunity for students to work on commercialization plans for technologies developed at Duke University, in particular in the areas of therapeutics (pharmaceuticals), diagnostics and medical devices.

In most cases, students will work to define a plan for a start-up that would license the technology from Duke, but other strategies are also possible (e.g., not-for-profit). The technologies chosen will have been screened by the Office of Licensing and Ventures (OLV), so they will all be determined to have commercial potential. The project teams will work in close collaboration with OLV. Student teams will be assigned one technology to work on. They will have access to the scientist or inventor of the technology, and will also work with an academic and a business mentor.

Teams will be interdisciplinary and students will gather and analyze data, develop recommendations, formulate implementation plans, and provide other capacity-building support to clients. Students will work on teams that have relevant business and technical backgrounds. Student teams will follow a structured process to develop a strategy and plan for the venture.

Instructor consent required