A 4 unit graduate course offering at the UCLA Anderson School of Management that introduction to the transformation of new knowledge and inventions into viable commercial products and services with particular emphasis on the technology development process at major research universities like UCLA.  In particular, a focus is placed on opportunities in the life science sector, including a framework for the development of medical technology, including devices and diagnostics and tangential markets in consumer healthcare, digital health, and tech-enabled healthcare services.  An assessment of concepts, disclosures and intellectual property in development with respect to the potential for commercialization will be performed by student venture teams across the early stage lifecycle for new healthcare technologies.  Key barriers to entry, such as clinical adoption, regulatory pathway, and healthcare economics will be de-risked through a framework for medical technology development.  The complexities of launching a new venture in the healthcare ecosystem will be thoroughly explored with respect to emerging trends, business models, and the convergence of industry segments.  The goal of the course is to provide students with a framework for deploying innovations in highly regulated industries, such as healthcare, and each class session consists of both a didactic lecture and small-group workshops.

At onset of the course, students form interdisciplinary venture teams from engineering, computer science, business, science, law, and medicine.  Venture teams are presented with a selection of emerging technology in development in the UCLA Biodesign Program, or alternatively, teams may pursue a meaningful unmet need from the greater healthcare ecosystem.  Teams select a project or need of interest and validate whether an opportunity for medical device, diagnostics, software development, or service offering exists.  A key component of the course is a series of “Innovation Sprint” workshops that advance the clarity of technology commercialization with respect to the underlying physiology and pathophysiology, patient population and segmentation, total addressable market, intellectual property landscape, competitive advantage, business model viability, regulatory path, and healthcare economics.  Teams will have access to the UCLA Health Innovation Studio to advance the technical development of mechanical or digital prototypes and a budget for prototyping project concepts.

This course will require field work to determine product-market fit and due diligence in customer discovery and end user validation, followed by the refinement of business concepts to meet the demands of the marketplace. Students exercise lean startup principles, design thinking ideology, value proposition development, and business model generation.  The mechanics of transitioning technology from an academic setting to a new commercial entity will discussed with respect to strategies for IP licensing, valuation, and downstream funding opportunities.  At the conclusion of the course, students will have assembled the fundamental components and interdisciplinary team structure for initiating an Anderson Business Creation Option project or new venture in the healthcare sector.  A final innovation opportunity pitch will be presented to a panel of clinicians, industry experts, and venture capitalists during finals week of the quarter.