Entrepreneur Spotlight: Rukiyah Van Dross-Anderson, Claradele Pharmaceuticals SBIR Innovation Lab

NCI SBIR Director Michael Weingarten and Rukiyah Van Dross-Anderson, Founder and CEO of SBIR-funded Claradele Pharmaceuticals discuss the journey from postdoc to biotech startup and how women and underrepresented entrepreneurs with innovative cancer solutions can also leverage SBIR support to move their ideas forward. Listen to this podcast to hear: •               Stages of product development (fundraising rounds, company collaborations, team culture development, and more)
•               Lessons Learned when transitioning from academia to the early stages of product commercialization
•               Benefits of contacting program directors when applying for SBIR/STTR opportunities
•               Coaching received through the Applicant Assistance Program
•               Utilizing state biotech professional organizations
•               Programs early-stage businesses can use
 
Podcast Guest Speakers: Name
Bios

Michael Weingarten, MA
Director
SBIR Development Center
National Cancer Institute
 
In this role, Michael Weingarten leads a team of nine Program Directors who manage all aspects of the NCI SBIR & STTR Programs including a portfolio of $182M in grants and contracts annually. The SBIR & STTR programs are NCI's engine of innovation for developing and commercializing novel technologies and products to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. Weingarten has implemented a set of key initiatives for optimizing the performance of the NCI SBIR Program at the NIH. These include the establishment of a new model at the NCI for managing the program - the SBIR Development Center. 
 
 

Rukiyah Van Dross-Anderson, PhD
Founder and CEO
Claradele Pharmaceuticals
 
Rukiyah T. Van Dross-Anderson, PhD is the CEO and founder of NCI SBIR-funded therapeutics company, Claradele Pharmaceuticals. Her work began at East Carolina University, where she is an associate professor and the director of Graduate Programs, Pharmacology & Toxicology Concentration. Dr. Van Dross-Anderson is working to develop an effective and non-toxic drug as an alternative therapeutic regimen for melanoma patients who aren’t responsive to traditional treatments.  To attract third-party investors that would help get her innovation to get to the patients that need them, Dr. Van Dross-Anderson is working through proof-of-concept studies to demonstrate her innovation’s commercial viability. Through her participation in the NCI SBIR program, she used funding to scale up production and received entrepreneurial mentorship to navigate the complex business world. Dr. Van Dross-Anderson graduated from Rutgers University, UMDNJ-RWJMS with a doctoral degree in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology.
 
Programs referenced in this episode: •               Minority Biomedical Research Symposium (MBRS) program - http://mbrs.newark.rutgers.edu/
•               Minority Access to Research Careers - https://www.nigms.nih.gov/training/MARC/Pages/USTARAwards.aspx
•               Applicant Assistance Program - https://sbir.cancer.gov/small-business-funding/application-process/applicant-assistance
•               I-Corps at NIH program - https://sbir.cancer.gov/commercialization/business/icorps
•               NCI SBIR Women’s Innovation Network
•               Office of technology transfer (offered at most school)
•               NCI SBIR Investor Initiative - https://sbir.cancer.gov/commercialization/business/investor-initiatives
•               Small Business Transition Grant - https://sbir.cancer.gov/small-business-funding/grants/small-business-transition
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