Journey begins!
Sometimes new business ideas emerge from scientific research that lead to an idea of a start-up or spin-off company. The idea is to provide the science-based novel solutions to the community and customers. The process from research-to-business is generally similar as foundation of any new company, but it has many distinct features that are time-consuming and require a lot of additional research, regulations etc. Especially when it comes to clinical applications. The process includes management of extensive demanding regulations that direct the development and entering the business-world. There are many attempts to pass through the path, some make it, some don’t.
ALGOA PROGRESS is in the beginning of this journey and we felt that it would be important and valuable to us and to other future entrepreneurs to share the progression of our project. We hope that together with the updates on the project progression, also the learning curve of the team would be observable.
This blog is about describing the overall progress, discussing all the good and bad moments, milestones, and pitfalls. Everything covering software development, research, dissemination, attended events, regulation issues, etc. you name it. (Without revealing the most precious secrets, of course). We plan to update this blog every second week (or so) to provide a continuous overlook of the progression of our project.
With this introduction of the idea behind this blog, let’s get to the point and introduce the progress of the project this far! Since this is the DevBlog # 1 and we want to cover all things that have happened this far, it will be quite long, but try to stay focused! We promise to keep the future blog updates shorter with less topics!
To get a glimpse of the idea behind the project, check out the short ALGOA PROGRESS teaser-video below!
The project kick-off
We started the project during fall 2019 when M.Sc. (econ & bus.adm) Joona Kemppainen and PhD Mikael Turunen “stepped to the big boots” (a Finnish phrase) to work fulltime on the project. It is a “new business from research ideas” (TUTLi) –project funded by Business Finland and the European Regional Development Fund headed by Professor Rami Korhonen. The idea behind the project is based on long research by Rami and PhD Mika Mononen (and others). Mika is an active member of the team and his role is crucial for his strong expertise on computational modeling and prediction of progression of osteoarthritis. Because of the nature of the project, M.Sc. (econ) M.Sc. (pharm) Soili Törmälehto was also recruited to take care of the health economic assessment and relating matters. The background of the team members as well as the challenges and aspects related to the project are diverse, but we all have found our roles and we are very excited about the project. Check our fancy titles on the Team-page!
Technical development and research
As said, the project idea is based on a long history of research and the first results applying the technique was published earlier this year (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-018-02184-y). Since the idea is based on prediction of osteoarthritis progression using clinical image data for simulation of the disease progression while simultaneously providing an easy-to-use and clear user-interface. We have noted two major aspects regarding this challenge: 1) development of the user-interface (software for the user, see glimpse of the current version in the figure below) and 2) development of the simulation (the core of the idea). While we have working solutions for both aspects, the key now is to make everything faster and more automated, requiring less input from the user. We are currently working on both fronts implementing our ideas. After the start of the project, there has already been huge steps forward! Because most of us are scientists, we never forget research. As soon as we have implemented the necessary upgrades to our solution, we will proceed with relating studies. But that is a theme for another DevBlog update!
Accelerating, disseminating and competing! Full speed ahead!
To secure the quality of our outputs and the smooth progression of our project, we’ve gathered a multidisciplinary steering group and an advisory board consisting of professionals with wide range of expertise. Commercialization of a health innovation is a unique and complex process. Like many startups, also our team is surrounded by experts who have worked on commercialization projects before and have the essential knowledge and networks to guide us. Our steering group consists of experts from life-science commercialization, management personnel from health tech startup scene, innovation experts, and esteemed medical professionals.
In addition, we have been networking with local business experts and investors. Since October, we have been participating in an innovation and startup accelerator program called “HAVUJA #!@%&! (another traditional Finnish phrase coming from cross-country skiing) hosted by the North Savo Business Center. HAVUJA- accelerator is a new program aimed to accelerate new innovative ideas with global potential. The program gives us important guidance to kick-start our project with the assistance of our experienced coaches, consisting of business professionals and innovation experts. Together, we solve our challenges and plan the next steps on our journey. Moreover, the program gives us essential experience, as we are pitching our projects to each other on weekly basis. These weekly meetups push our project forward and keep us on the right track. So far, the program has been a great help, and we would already want to thank our beloved havu throwers!
In general, the startup scene in Kuopio is becoming increasingly vivid. There are several new organizations who are together creating an innovation ecosystem in Savilahti area. Some of few great examples are KuopioHealth, Pohjois-Savo Business Center, and the soon to establish North Savo Startup Fund. In addition, the Kuopio Chamber of Commerce’s Ski Academy provides workshops and pitching events for local startups. One of their main events is the annual Tahko Ski Pitch – competition, where local startups can pitch their ideas to esteemed business professionals and investors. Our team is already preparing for this event and getting ready to compete with our peers! In addition to Tahko Ski Pitch, we are going to participate in various academic and professional conferences related to musculoskeletal diseases, such as the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS 2020) and the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI 2020). One of our main events next year is going to be ORS 2020, in Phoenix, Arizona. We were elected as one of the semi-finalists in the global Business Innovation Competition, where we can present our project to people from all over the world. In addition, this gives us a great opportunity to network with industry professionals and investors. Exiting times ahead!
Business opportunities, is there a market for us?
We have been conducting numerous interviews with health professionals to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current procedures used for osteoarthritis diagnosis and treatment planning. We have been gathering thoughts and feedback and discussed about the market potential of our solution. These discussions have been extremely fruitful, as we have gained a clear idea of what kind of value we are offering and what kind of requirements our potential beneficiaries might have from us. These conversations have enforced our thoughts and made us more confident that we are on the right track. New methods are required and the demand for preventive solutions is apparent!
In most western countries, the lifestyle changes and shifts in the demographic age structure give additional pressure to the health care and social welfare systems. Especially, the aging population and increased amount of overweight people increase the risks for osteoarthritis. As the so called “baby boomers” are soon going to retire, the share of the working age group from the total population is constantly shrinking, implying that there is soon going to be significant increase in the social and health care costs and fewer taxpayers to cover them. There is a need to sustain the working capacity of the working age population. The message is quite clear: new innovative solutions are required to enhance the efficiency of health care services. There isn’t just a single solution for this matter, but it is the outcome of multiple innovative solutions. To succeed in this, a shift in people’s attitudes is required, to change the perspective from treating merely pain and symptoms to a more comprehensive health care where disease prevention is in the center.
So what next?
The year 2020, for us, is completely reserved for gaining a deep understanding of the markets and regulations. We will continue interviewing health professionals from Europe and the US. Later we will share what we’ve learned! If you want to discuss with us, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would gladly talk about the current issues related to osteoarthritis. Also, if you have any tips or advice on how to commercialize an innovative medical solution, please share your experiences!
Until next time!
