What we offer

The journey from an initial idea or research result to a commercially available product is usually long and seldom straightforward. All ideas, irrespective of how brilliant they are, need to be reviewed, discussed and evaluated by experts. All legal, financial and business details must be scrutinized and commercial aspects fully considered.
Based on many years of experience, Karolinska Institutet has developed a unique and comprehensive innovation system to help with this process. Karolinska Institutet Innovation is an umbrella organization providing a complete network of experts, organizations and services that offer full support throughout the entire process – from the very first seed of an idea to something which one day could be a new pharmaceutical drug or a new medical technology product.
KIAB is an affiliated company of Karolinska Institutet Holding AB and is at the very heart of the innovation system.

Our Innovation System Offers:

• Evaluation, patenting and business development by KIAB
• Start-up and seed financing by Karolinska Development AB
• Access to a large national network of venture capital companies as well as well-established contacts with the international pharmaceutical and biotech industry
• An active network of experienced project leaders, R&D experts, business developers and professional consultants

Image: KIAB has developed the most successful system to date for turning academic inventions into commercial Life Science products. The innovation system receives a steady flow of incoming ideas from researchers at Karolinska Institutet, as well as other Nordic universities and research centers.

Are you a researcher with an idea? KIAB welcomes all ideas and always makes a serious evaluation, even if the idea is at an early phase of development. But it is important that you are able to describe the project in a clear and distinctive way.
The idea should not have been previously published as this leads to difficulties when trying to secure patents.

All persons at KIAB, including external consultants, operate under total confidentiality.
On average, KIAB accepts about ten percent of all incoming ideas.

The stepwise KIAB evaluation process
The project is first described in a special Invention Disclosure Form (IDF). The researcher is then invited to present the invention for a group of evaluators.
If the idea is considered interesting a more detailed screening is undertaken and background material is gathered to examine if the idea is patentable.
If the idea passes the evaluation process the project is included in the KIAB system. This means that KIAB appoints a project leader responsible for driving the project forward. The project is also allocated resources (covering practical, legal and financial requirements) for the patent application and for the initial commercial and technical evaluations etc.
The patent can either be used as a basis for a license agreement or for starting up a new company.
The whole commercialization process is carried out in close cooperation with the researcher.

Starthuset
Starthuset/Medtech incubator has an entrepreneurial focus and is principally aimed at researchers who want to drive their projects themselves, either as a company or as a project. Most projects in the incubator are directed towards medical technology. Those projects that are screened by KIAB and considered suitable for this program are offered a place at the Starthuset/Medtech incubator. This means that the entrepreneur gets access to a business coach as well as KIAB’s extensive network of various experts.
In cooperation with Karolinska Institutet Science Park AB the project/company is offered access to premises at Flemingsberg. Entrepreneurial drive and the engagement of a business coach provides the project with the initiative and support necessary to take it all the way from academic results to commercial development and growth.

Information retrieval
KIAB also has internal access to information specialist who support KIAB and the whole innovation system with the retrieval of information regarding, among other things, patents, science, market potential and finding projects or licensees etc.
Kersti Sundbro, Information specialist
Kersti.Sundbro@kab.ki.se