iBridge Network announces tangible proof points for innovation, entrepreneurship

Feb 5 2011

The recent launch of the 'Start-Up America Partnership', a coordinated public/private effort to celebrate, inspire and accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship and support the White House's Start-Up America initiative, validates the importance of stimulating economic growth, creating quality jobs, and building the new industries of the 21^st Century.

“As evidenced by the increased attention given to innovation in recent weeks and by the uptick in activity on our own site, it is clear that this issue is at the forefront of agendas within both government and the private sector”

The iBridge^SM Network, a program of the not-for-profit Kauffman Innovation Network, Inc., today announced several new, tangible proof points demonstrating that international institutions are increasing their commitment to collaboration and that innovation and entrepreneurship is forging ahead. The Network has added seven new members in the past month including leading research institutions from around the world, and has also played an integral role in enabling Emunamedica LLC to license technology from Drexel University.

"As a life science merchant bank, Raphael Capital Partners was looking for exciting technology with large market potential and a clear go-to-market strategy. We found tremendous value and benefit in using the iBridge Network to broaden our access to people we never would have been able to previously connect with, and more easily find and filter research, ideas and innovations of interest to our business. A perfect example is our portfolio company, Emunamedica LLC, and its recent licensing agreement with Drexel University for novel non-invasive wound diagnostics," said David Kolb, CEO and chairman of the board, Emunamedica LLC.

Stanford University, Methodist Research Hospital, Medical University of South Carolina, Jefferson Science Associates, North Dakota State University, Universita' degli studi di Trieste in Italy, and the Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd., the Technology Transfer Company of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, are all now using the iBridge Network to promote and identify research opportunities, collaborate with other experts in the same or complementary fields, and, potentially, license their innovations for practical benefit.

"As evidenced by the increased attention given to innovation in recent weeks and by the uptick in activity on our own site, it is clear that this issue is at the forefront of agendas within both government and the private sector," said Katie Petersen, manager of the iBridge Network. "As a not-for-profit organization, we are uniquely positioned to not only attract leading universities, companies and entrepreneurs but also to work closely with high levels of government to facilitate and help drive innovation forward."

With nearly 5,100 members and 123 organizations supplying more than 13,200 innovations, the iBridge Network has become the destination of choice today for university researchers, entrepreneurs and industry looking to share and discover best practices and research across a variety of topic areas and inspire extraordinary innovation.