We've seen countless headlines about CROs teaming up with universities on drug discovery and clinical trials, but here's a novel arrangement: Texas Tech is looking to launch a CRO of its own through a local business accelerator.
For years, the Development Corp. of Abilene has operated the Abilene Life Sciences Accelerator to foster business growth in the area, but the organization believes that Texas Tech's Center for Immunotherapeutic Research and Product Development could make better use of the facility, and it has granted the school permission to launch a CRO and chase after clients, according to the Reporter News.
The outfit's first targets will be virtual biotechs, the newspaper reports, looking to leverage the center's R&D capabilities to woo early-stage companies in need of discovery and development services.
Texas Tech inked a three-year agreement with the organization, giving it full access to the center and a first-year budget of $600,440. That's small change in the world of multinational CROs, but if Texas Tech's arrangement is a hit, it could become a trend among research universities looking to generate some revenue as they educate students, using their existing clinical capacity to undercut bidders in small to mid-size deals.
- read the Reporter News story