Mount Sinai Launches the i3 Asset Accelerator to Advance the Development of Life-Saving Discoveries

“This initiative will foster great discoveries, bringing them to life and to patients in great speed,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs for the Mount Sinai Health System. “The i3 Asset Accelerator is very important to us; it’s what we’re all about, taking great science and helping our patients.”

i3 was established with an initial investment of $10 million to advance  innovative health care discoveries from Mount Sinai researchers, and philanthropic efforts began to increase its size even prior to its launch. With an advisory team of more than 40 scientists, business professionals, and commercialization experts, i3 provides nascent Mount Sinai technologies with the funding necessary to propel their development jointly with contract research organizations, rapidly develop commercially relevant data, and quickly partner with existing companies, startups, or professional investors through a milestone-based development strategy.

“i3 provides funding to accelerate commercially relevant research,” said Erik Lium, PhD, Senior Vice President of Mount Sinai Innovation Partners. “It allows us to de-risk technology, helps us find more partners, and at the same time generates rewards in terms of patient benefits for the future.”

The two initial projects chosen by i3 represent diverse areas of health care technology:

i) A new treatment for cancer using a novel platform technology to develop  new drugs by Ross Cagan, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for the Icahn School of Medicine’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professor of Ophthalmology, Oncological Sciences, and Cell, Development and Regenerative Biology, in collaboration with Arvin Dar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Oncological Sciences and Pharmacological Sciences.

ii) The development of new therapies for influenza B viral infections by Florian Krammer, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology.

“i3 offers the opportunity for advancing commercially relevant solutions to patients on a global scale,” Dr. Lium said. “i3 is the next step in engaging with our community, building upon our translational competencies, and evolving our commercial ecosystem to create major breakthroughs in health care.”

To learn more about the i3 Asset Accelerator, visit ip.mountsinai.org/about-i3-accelerator.

About Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP)
MSIP is responsible for driving the real-world application and commercialization of Mount Sinai discoveries and inventions, and the development of research partnerships with industry. Our aim is to translate discoveries and inventions into health care products and services that benefit patients and society. MSIP is accountable for the full spectrum of commercialization activities required to bring Mount Sinai inventions to life. These activities include evaluating, patenting, marketing and licensing new technologies building research, collaborations and partnerships with commercial and nonprofit entities, material transfer and confidentiality, coaching innovators to advance commercially-relevant translational discoveries, and actively fostering an ecosystem of entrepreneurship within the Mount Sinai research and health system communities. For more information, visit www.ip.mountsinai.org.

Media Coverage: 

Chron.com (The Houston Chronicle)
Global University Venturing
Life Science Daily 
Seattle PI 
SFGate
Stamford Advocate