Lab technologists’ late-night tinkering yields patented invention
Patentable inventions don’t always emerge from
years of research by senior scientists in Dana-Farber
laboratories. In fact, almost anyone at the Institute
with a bright idea could see it filed as a patent and
turned into a commercial product. A case in point: A
recently patented device was invented by two
laboratory technologists during their night shift in
March 2011. They built the device, a novel bloodcell processing gadget, using bubble gum to stick
together a plastic flask, tubing, a hypodermic
needle, and spare parts from the stockroom. They
called their prototype the “bosquito” – part bottle,
part mosquito. Karl Stasko, 36, is the cell processing
lab supervisor, and Heather Garrity, 30, is a cell
processing technologist in the Connell and O’Reilly
Families Cell Manipulation Core Facility (CMCF).
Their challenge was to make a critical step of the
blood-handling process more efficient, sterile, safe,
and time- and cost-effective. Blood collected from
donors requires complex steps of processing in
sterile conditions. In many cases, it’s necessary to
reduce the volume of red blood cells before
infusion into the patient. Even though this
process takes place in an environmentally “clean”
room, parts of the equipment are open and
contamination is a risk, so the two technologists
started thinking about ways to close and seal the
system. Stasko and Garrity began brainstorming,
and initially tested their “bosquito” contraption
using a flask filled with red fruit juice and
vegetable oil to simulate a layered blood sample.
Stasko recalls: “We said to each other, ‘This
might work!’” On the advice of a colleague, they
stashed away their model and the original
drawings in a box, hid it in a locker, and
considered their next steps. The colleague “told
us to keep our mouths shut, document what we
had done, and contact the Dana-Farber
technology transfer office,” say Stasko and
Garrity. The secrecy was necessary because
patentability may be lost if an invention is
disclosed publicly before a patent application is
filed. Stasko and Garrity reached out to Elena
Vaillancourt, senior licensing associate and case
manager for the Connell and O’Reilly Families
CMCF, at the former Office of Research and
Technology Ventures, recently renamed the
Robert and Renée Belfer Office for Dana-Farber
Innovations. Vaillancourt and Erica LoRe (DFCI’s
assistant general counsel for intellectual
property) met with Stasko and Garrity to
examine their invention, then conducted a prior
art search and market analysis. They concluded
that the device had novelty, utility, and
commercial value – making it patentable and
marketable. Vaillancourt then began a search for
potential commercial partners, while Stasko and
Garrity continued to tweak and test their device.
Once Dana-Farber had identified a commercial
partner and filed patents to protect the
technology, a confidentiality agreement was put
in place to enable DFCI and the inventors to
openly discuss the technology and the associated
patent applications with the commercial partner,
to ascertain mutual interest in entering into a
business relationship to develop the device and
bring it to market. These discussions progressed,
and last February Dana-Farber signed a two-year
co-development and option agreement with a
company which is a major international vendor of
cell culture supplies and other laboratory
equipment. The company’s engineers will build a
more advanced prototype that Stasko and Garrity
will then assist in beta testing in academic
centers across the country. “If development of
the device leads to a commercial product, then
Dana-Farber will receive a royalty percentage
based upon the company’s sales of the product,
which will be shared with Karl and Heather in
accordance with our standard royalty sharing
policy,” says Vaillancourt. “Any staff member at
Dana-Farber who is an inventor shares in the
distribution of royalties – it’s not just senior
researchers.” “Anyone who has a bright idea with
commercial potential should contact us,” said
Prem Das, chief research business development
officer who leads the Belfer Office for DanaFarber Innovations. “We are always ready to
work with you to develop it and find companies
that can commercialize it.”
For more information, please contact the Innovation Office at DFCI: [email protected]