McGowan Institute’s Center for Industry Relations
“Advancing innovation through academic-industrial collaboration”
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An important effect of many of these changes is that research activities are becoming decentralized and diffused across many networks. Industry is now relying on intimate contacts between industrial and university researchers to continue to grow and discover the next technological breakthrough.. Incorporating the knowledge created by basic research into a stream of new products is a critical skill that companies must now possess. Companies must have the ability to assemble and manage complete value chains to transform the successes of research into economic value and remain competitive in the market. The McGowan Institute’s Center for Industry Relations (CFIR) bridges the faculties in the biomedical research field with industry through compelling university research and knowledge. The Center is a key element in the University of Pittsburgh’s drive for industry engagement and partnerships in regenerative and rehabilitation medicine. The Center will advance the assembly of academic and industrial "homes" that can provide integrated intellectual and physical resources for the conduct of original clinical and translational science. The creative installation and development of this environment will, over time, penetrate the industrial markets and redirect investment dollars to the region, further stabilizing the economics of Southwestern Pennsylvania while providing a research environment that is more nimble, conducive to, and responsive to the demands of modern translational and clinical research. As we prepare to compete in the economic development arms race that has developed surrounding stem cell (and regenerative medicine) research, the McGowan Institute’s Center for Industry Relations will provide the backbone to support programmatic initiatives in the field. The McGowan Institute (and the Pittsburgh region) have for years been crafting structures that reduce the resistances between disciplines in regenerative medicine and related areas. Through the provision of a central, coordinating focus at the Center for Industry Relations, the Institute can provide Pharma and technology partners with the following:
The journey from knowledge generation to knowledge utilization, with the goal of establishing evidenced-based practices geared to address a need, challenges those in our field to rethink the meaning of our research enterprise; it is why the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine has created the Center for Industry Relations. |
Business strategies for managing the research and development process have changed significantly in recent years. Companies are more likely now than in the past to acquire technology through external sources. Many companies now exploit research more systematically from within a global strategic perspective, organizing activities in multiple locations. They collaborate and carry out research in an interactive way with a multitude of partners. Research has become a business opportunity, and therefore needs to be managed more commercially..