Kick-off Event to Joint Training Series with EPO: From Lab to Market - Successful Tech Transfer Journeys Driving Innovation Against Cancer

According to estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is one of the leading causes of death before the age of 70 years in over 100 countries. Worldwide, almost 20 million new cancer cases and almost 10 million cancer deaths occurred in 2020 alone, with the cancer burden expected to increase further in the coming decades. Thus, it comes as no surprise that the global cancer therapy market surpassed USD 150 billion in 2020 and is expected to double by the end of this decade.

Start-ups and universities play a significant role in this market since they are often the first to develop new diagnostic approaches, new drugs and therapies and work closely together to conduct research and clinical trials.

Therefore, the EPO has developed a new set of innovation case studies covering three cases in total to highlight the importance of good IP management and smart IP strategies to facilitate the exploitation and commercialisation of novel technologies to fight cancer. Based on these case studies, the subsequent seminar series aims to illustrate how patents facilitate technology transfer from R&D-conducting organisations and promote market success.

Spotlighting two of the new cases, this kick-off event will set the scene for the upcoming training sessions, which will deal with each of the studies in more detail. Moreover, participants will gain insights into recent developments regarding EU knowledge valorisation policies and get an update on the unitary patent system and its implications for SMEs and universities.

Programme