The primary goal is to introduce students from various backgrounds to the issues and process of translating a medical discovery into a business opportunity. A secondary goal is to experience an interdisciplinary work project.

The course consists of 2 parts:
1) a weekly seminar series during which the etiology, current state of therapy and unmet need of a neurological/neurosurgical disease is being discussed, followed by a company presentation describing how a scientific idea was turned into an actual business. In addition, the students are lectured about drug development, regulatory processes, reimbursement and intellectual property strategies, venture capital, etc. as they relate to healthcare start-up formation.

2) an interdisciplinary team study project, which is comprised of three parts: i) Finding a clinical need; ii) Hypothesizing a solution and iii) Evaluating the solution regarding all aspects necessary to assess whether a scientific idea can be turned into a business or not. The ultimate goal of the project is to argue for a go or no-go decision on whether a business plan should be written (which may be an independent study project – NSUR 279 - in the following semester). Some student teams may also “intern” at biotech or device companies and evaluate the merits of a company-sponsored project. Besides the instructors, mentors from the venture capital and entrepreneurial communities are available to the student teams for additional advice and guidance.

Medicine, other Life Sciences, Business, Engineering

• Team project formulation
• 1-2 interim reports
• Final 10 page paper and team presentation

The student teams may come up with or already have a “solution to a clinical need” when joining the class
Instructor provides ideas

Mentors, which may include “internship” at a biotech or device company regarding a specific scientific project to be evaluated

Peter Wallenberg Learning Theatre - Main Quad
Web Site for posting course materials  http://med.stanford.edu/neurosurgery/science2business