In seeking out licensing partners, it’s important to recognize what you’re good at — and what you’re not. That recognition can lead to deals like the one struck recently by Minneapolis-based medical startup Medspira, LLC, which has inked exclusive licensing deals to sell two commercially available products invented at the Mayo Clinic and another two that are currently being developed by Mayo doctors. While the company’s investors don’t have a real background in health care (although they have invested in medical start-ups), they’ve convinced Mayo that they could prove to be a valuable asset by allowing Mayo to focus on what it does best — research and development of innovative products in health care — while letting Medspira manage the sales by building a strong distribution network.

A few years ago, a couple of Mayo clinicians developed what is known as the Interactive Breath Control System. It’s an electronic visual guide for patients to help them know how they should control their breathing to make it optimal for surgeons to operate in the lungs and upper abdomen region. Mayo Clinic began selling the Breath-Hold device under the Mayo Clinic Medical Devices banner, but could never get enough traction, says Tim Anderson, president and CEO of Medspira. Anderson and his two partners convinced Mayo officials that while they excelled at dreaming up and developing medical products, they didn’t have the needed expertise to commercialize them. “They really aren’t a sales and marketing organization,” Anderson explains. “They are a hospital and a clinic.”

Source: Finance & Commerce

Posted January 5th, 2010 under Intellectual Property Marketing

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