472 Indiana CTSI Think Tank Program

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The Think Tanks’ aim to assist faculty innovators along the path from discovery to commercialization; serving as a one-stop-shop where investigators can access advice, pilot funds, and direction toward other available resources within the Indiana CTSI.

METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Faculty receive guidance from a pool of advisors in the drug and device industry, as well as their respective university commercialization offices; who serve as an essential resource for a wide range of scientific, technical, clinical, business, and regulatory questions. Investigators submit a simple intake form to connect with a project facilitator for detailed guidance prior to formal meetings. Projects are guided from start to finish with robust tracking and milestone-based funding to help generate data for Investigational New Drug (IND) or Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) applications. Project tracking is conducted using REDCap, which is used for all investigator submissions, with internal processes also tracked in REDCap.

RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: From Feb-Aug 2021; the Think Tanks provided feedback to 15 drug projects and 6 medical device projects. This included 12 from Indiana University; 4 from Purdue University; and 5 from the University of Notre Dame. Interestingly; drug innovations were submitted primarily by tenure track faculty (100%) with a history of NIH/NSF funding (50%); while device innovations were submitted primarily by clinical faculty without a history of NIH/NSF funding (66%). Based on first-round feedback, a total of approximately $3;400 in pilot funds were provided. Efforts are underway to obtain survey-based feedback from all applicants to date; which will be used to inform future program modifications.

DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The budding “Think Tank” program provides faculty with a broad perspective of the entire drug and medical device development process, helping investigators understand the critical interplay development stages. Future work seeks to enhance faculty engagement in, and understanding of the commercialization process across Indiana CTSI institutions.