The design of a translation effort to aid in drug discovery requires the integration of a number of desperate streams of data ranging from preclinical considerations through to Market considerations.

Join the Technology & Innovation Development Office in hosting Mark Namchuk, PhD, on Wednesday, May 14 for a lunch and learn presentation focusing on the concept of Patient-Centered Ideation as a process to help select therapeutics programs with the highest promise to patients and to help design a translational research program to support the effort.

Lunch will be provided on a first come, first served basis. Please RSVP here.

Guest Speaker:
Mark Namchuk, PhD | Puja and Samir Kaul Professor of the Practice of Biomedical Innovation and Translation– Harvard Medical School

Mark Namchuk is the Puja and Samir Kaul Professor of the Practice of Biomedical Innovation and Translation at Harvard Medical School.  He Joined HMS is 2020 as the inaugural Executive Director of the school’s Therapeutics initiative and was appointed as the first Professor of the Practice at HMS in the Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology in 2021.  The therapeutics initiative looks to accelerate the progression of discoveries at HMS from breakthrough biological insight towards a medicine and includes a scientific core to support drug discovery efforts and an on-campus biotech incubator.  The initiative also aims to train the inventors of tomorrow’s medicines and includes the therapeutics graduate program for PhD students and a masters in therapeutic sciences that will be launched in 2025.

Namchuk joined HMS after a 24-year research and development career in biotech. In 2015, he joined Alkermes as SVP of research and nonclinical and pharmaceutical development. Previously, he held a number of research positions over a 17 year career at Vertex including SVP of Research.  During his time in biotech he played a key scientific or leadership role in drug discovery and development efforts across numerous areas including oncology, infectious disease, immunology, CNS disorders and orphan diseases.   To date these programs have led to six approved drugs and an additional molecule in active Phase 3 clinical development.

Namchuk obtained a B.Sc. with honours in chemistry from the University of Alberta, a PhD in bio-organic chemistry from the University of British Columbia and was an HFSP post-doctoral fellow at UCSF.

Date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Time: 12-1 PM
Location: Karp, First Floor Boardroom
RSVP: Click here.

Join us Thursday, May 29 in the Folkman Auditorium for a lunch and learn about identifying patentable subject matter within software, including novel algorithms, unique functionalities, and innovative technical solutions, as well as understanding different software licensing models and their implications for IP ownership and rights.

Lunch will be provided on a first come, first served basis. Please RSVP here.

Guest Speaker:
Andrew Tibbetts | Intellectual Property & Technology Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig

Andrew (A.J.) Tibbetts is an Intellectual Property & Technology Shareholder in Greenberg Traurig, LLP’s Boston office. Leveraging his technical proficiency and prior software engineering A.J. provides business-oriented IP legal counseling for software, AI and electronics-based technologies. His strategic approach incorporates open source practices and trade secret policies alongside patents, and he advises clients on licensing, enforcement, diligence, and defense against infringement accusations. A.J.’s patents have directly led to clients closing funding rounds, and software patents A.J. wrote for clients have survived PTAB invalidity challenges and been enforced against competitors. He co-authored influential amicus briefs cited favorably by the U.S. Supreme Court and Federal Circuit Court of Appeals relating to patentability of software.

A.J. counsels traditional software and electronics companies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) across a variety of domains, networking/telecom/CDN, fintech (including market data and infrastructure), blockchain and distributed ledger tech, speech recognition, natural language processing, and more. As “software eats the world,” a growing number of companies look to A.J. for advice protecting new investments in software and data science, including life sciences, biopharma, medtech, medical devices, radiology, digital health, health care IT, and healthtech companies. A.J. advises a broad clientele, from multinational corporations to small enterprises, serves on the boards of MassMEDIC and HealthTech Build, as well as on a digital health advisory panel for MassBio.

Prior to his legal career, A.J. worked as a programmer for IBM/Lotus, contributing to the development of Lotus Notes. He also served for several years as the lead developer for a sales analytics tool, overseeing its end-to-end implementation, including planning, coding, documentation, testing, and roll-out.

A.J received his J.D. from Suffolk University Law and his B.S. in Computer Science and Computer and Systems Engineering, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Date: Thursday, May 29, 2025
Time: 12-1 PM
Location: Folkman Auditorium
RSVP: Click Here.

Deerfield has pledged up to $65 million with the goal of facilitating the translation and commercialization of novel biomedical research at Boston Children’s Hospital through a new collaboration called Blackfan Circle Innovations. Through Blackfan Circle, Boston Children’s Hospital scientists have the opportunity to submit therapeutic proposals for potential funding.

Deerfield will provide research funding and operational support in product development and commercialization to co-develop the jointly-selected research therapeutic candidates with the goal of achieving Investigational New Drug (IND) readiness. Successful projects that reach IND-enabled status may receive additional funding.

We would like to invite BCH investigators to begin the submission process to Blackfan Circle Innovations, the newly established entity created to accelerate research at BCH.

Areas of Interest:

  • Broad interest across all therapeutic areas and modalities
  • Early-stage projects with potential to progress to IND-enabled status, early clinical development, and human proof-of-concept

Proposal Process:

  • Proposal Concept Sheet
  • Letter of Intent
  • Full Proposal and Presentation

In order to engage initial interest with Blackfan Circle Innovations, TIDO encourages BCH investigators to submit one or more Proposal Concept Sheet(s), each of which will constitute a brief overview of the proposed project focusing on the areas listed below.

  • Genetic Evidence
  • Biologic Rationale
  • Preclinical Execution
  • Unmet Need
  • Clinical Development (if applicable)
  • Novelty/ Differentiation

A Proposal Concept Sheet submission template will be provided by TIDO. For more information on proposal submission to Blackfan Circle Innovations, a copy of the Proposal Concept Sheet, or questions related to the application process, please contact Sabrina Kamran, Strategic Alliance Manager at Sabrina.Kamran@childrens.harvard.edu.

If your Proposal Concept Sheet is selected for advancement, you will be asked to complete a Letter of Intent with a more detailed description of the proposed project. Finally, at the Full Proposal stage of evaluation, you will be asked to submit a detailed research plan and budget and meet with the Deerfield review team to discuss your proposal. Deerfield Discovery and Development experts will be available to consult with you on your proposal throughout the entire evaluation process.

Who Can Apply:

  • Full-time BCH Principal Investigators
  • Principal Investigators with faculty appointment who are subject to Boston Children’s policies regarding the conduct of research and ownership of intellectual property

Submissions:

Proposal Concept Sheets submitted to Blackfan Circle Innovations will be considered on a rolling basis, with operational and scientific guidance and support from TIDO during the submission process.