Arundeep S. Pradhan, RTTP profile

Summary

Good ideas, money, management, hard work (and some luck) - At Apio we know what it takes to commercialize innovations. We enjoy learning about new research, innovations, and technologies to determine how they can be commercialized.

After working at three universities, establishing and growing technology transfer offices, working with hundreds of innovators and entrepreneurs, having evaluated hundreds of innovations, and participating in the launch of over a hundred startups, I co-founded Apio in 2012.

At Apio, we use our expertise in innovation ecosystems, economic development, assessing innovations, marketing, startups, training and mentoring to work with clients from the US, The Middle East, and Asia. Our experience in building and leading teams, intellectual property management, strategic relationships, and business development and economic development gives us the ability to work with a variety of clients. Our skills encompass assessing, marketing, and licensing technologies, negotiations, research and strategic alliances, intellectual property, technology and business valuation, innovation ecosystem capacity building, and training.

I received my B. Pharm (Hons.) from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science and Masters from the University of Utah. I started my career in technology transfer at the University of Utah in 1987 and subsequently established the technology transfer office at Colorado State University in 1999. In 2004, I moved to Portland, Oregon (whose motto is "Keep Portland Weird") to head the office at Oregon Health & Science University.

I’ve been an Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) member since 1988, the president of the AUTM in 2009 and the AUTM Foundation in 2010, and served on the AUTM Board of Trustees from 2006 to 2010. I’m also a member of the Licensing Executive Society and American Chemical Society.

Work Experience (2)

President

Apio iX

September 2012 - Present

Portland, Oregon Area

We help our clients find commercialization partners. There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to innovation transfer. Each innovation is unique and requires strategic analysis to effectively navigate the path to market. While an innovation may have commercial potential, it may not necessarily be licensable. We help identifying barriers to licensability and determine whether the innovation is licensable in the current market environment. Our members are veterans of commercializing innovations resulting from academia, industry research and development, and product development.

More to the point, we help with:

Licensability Assessment:
Going beyond commercial potential, we determine if the innovation is licensable and if not, what needs to change to make the innovation licensable.

Marketing and Lead Generation:
Develop appropriate collateral, identify leads and make contact to identify the right companies and individuals.

Collaboration and Licensing:
Determine an appropriate commercialization strategy (including potential start up options) and develop the right commercialization models, including assistance with negotiations, drafting and executing agreements.

Valuation:
Determine the value of innovations and early stage companies.

Strategic Planning, Policy Support and Operations Management:
Deliver turnkey operations for university technology transfer offices (providing the necessary tools required to operate an office ranging from procedures, database access, reporting template agreements etc.); developing strategic plans for office creation and expansion; and, providing policy development and analysis.

Operation Assessment and Audit:
Assess operations of the innovation transfer enterprise and audit for information gaps.

Mentoring, Training and Capacity Building:
Advise and train individuals to become more effective at their jobs through structured courses and one-on-one interactions.