Associate-Business Development - Commercialization

The primary responsibility of this Associate position is to directly support the mission of Mayo Clinic Business Development throughout-licensing of Mayo Intellectual Property.  The Associate will perform as an individual contributor, responsible for advancing and completing workflows and processes, and for developing or contributing to assessments, reports, analyses, business plans, market research and other material related to licensing various technologies.  The Associate will be expected to work on multiple projects simultaneously, and to organize and manage work accordingly.  This position is part of the Commercialization Work Unit for Business Development and will work alongside both Partnerships and Technology Development colleagues.

The department of Business Development is organized into three functional Work Units, with responsibilities as described for each area:

Partnerships – Source, evaluate, analyze and develop new business opportunities for Mayo Clinic, including but not limited to partnerships, joint ventures, new company spin-offs, investments, mergers and acquisitions. Work with areas throughout Mayo Clinic and the marketplace to identify new business opportunities, including the ability to connect these activities with existing Mayo Clinic operational units, in alignment with the Mayo Clinic strategic plan, prioritized market opportunities, and competitive activity. Contribute to the development of a network of industry, entrepreneurial and investor contacts to serve as a resource for business development and/or commercialization activities.

Commercialization – Evaluate the commercial potential of a variety of medical inventions and discoveries coming from Mayo's clinical and research activities, developing and implementing technology sales and marketing plans, managing the patent process, identifying potential commercial partners, negotiating license agreements and other commercialization arrangements, managing relationships with industry and advising Mayo physicians and scientists regarding protection of intellectual property and technology-based business matters.

Technology Development – Evaluate invention disclosures coming from Mayo's research and clinical activities and assistance in processing these disclosures and any resulting patent applications: a) assist in identifying potentially patentable inventions; b) provide background materials, such as prior art searches; c) assist in drafting patent applications; d) assist in evaluating all patent correspondence, including the review of cited art with investigators; e) assist in right to use searches by identifying and evaluating third party intellectual property requirements; (f) assist in preliminary analysis of patent threats related to current Mayo products; and g) assist in educating Mayo Clinic staff regarding patent issues. Where such activities will become part of legal analysis or legal risk assessments, such work is performed at the direction and oversight of Mayo internal counsel and/or external legal counsel delegated to that role by Mayo.

Based on the needs of the department, positions will also be primarily assigned to one or more technology teams, each focusing in a specific area: Biopharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Diagnostics, Health Information Technology/AI, Health Services & Robotics, Investments, etc. Projects/ opportunities are categorized within one of these six areas, and staff are attached to each project accordingly.  

This role will be focused on out-licensing of Mayo’s Intellectual Property portfolio from various assigned technology teams, with a goal of returning value to Mayo while also limiting risk to Mayo.  The Associate will collaborate with Business Development and Legal colleagues, innovators at Mayo, and commercial entities to evaluate the value of a Mayo technology and negotiate the terms and conditions in the license.  An ideal candidate has healthcare policy background knowledge, and experience working with various stakeholders of a commercial or healthcare institution to advance or commercialize technologies.