BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - June 25, 2008) -
ideaPoint, an emerging leader in web software applications
that enable Open Innovation business models, today announced the launch of
its flagship product, ideaPoint Innovation Portal -- a fully integrated
Web application that connects inventors with organizations to streamline
the development of new commercial technologies. Currently serving companies
in the Life Sciences and Healthcare market, ideaPoint has a growing sales
pipeline of more than 500 companies with early revenues from customers such
Pfizer and six divisions of Johnson & Johnson, including the
Johnson & Johnson Corporate Office of
Science and Technology (COSAT), Ethicon, DePuy and Cordis. The solution
is now available as an enterprise software suite, or as a hosted service.
The ideaPoint Innovation Portal has enabled these large innovative
companies to seek, identify, evaluate and track opportunities from external
sources for the purpose of commercializing selected products and
technologies. It is the only integrated software platform covering the
depth and breadth of open innovation needs across R&D driven organizations.
"Our research indicates that the market opportunity within Life Sciences
alone exceeds $400 million, and stretches to $2 Billion when considering
other R&D focused industries," offered Scott Shaunessy, president and CEO
of ideaPoint. "Big companies today cannot afford to develop their own R&D
and rely on external partners for the majority of their innovation.
ideaPoint fills the innovation pipeline by connecting companies with
external innovation sources, transforming insights and materials gained
from external sources into viable new products."
First Customer Johnson & Johnson
"We were looking for a way to interact with our partners from around the
world," said Dave Bowser, VP corporate office of science and technology,
Johnson & Johnson. "We designed a process for how to capture ideas, but
couldn't find a software solution that met our needs. We needed a solution
with backend databases to house our information as well as a quick and
easy-to-use interface. The ideaPoint team built exactly that system for
us."
Open innovation is an emerging trend among large organizations wanting to
innovate and collaborate more effectively with external partners, such as
universities and research hospitals; private & government labs; emerging
companies and suppliers; and OEMs. In an environment where the innovation
opportunity management process is ad hoc, disorganized and frustrating for
both inventors and corporations, ideaPoint provides a disciplined,
structured approach. By enabling the ideaPoint solution, organizations have
the ability to effectively manage opportunities and relationships across
the spectrum of corporate development options, including licensing,
discovery research, strategic sourcing, global alliances, joint ventures,
mergers & acquisitions and corporate venture capital.
"If we didn't have the ideaPoint software, we could never have handled the
amount of opportunities we were getting," added Youseph Yazdi, corporate
director of science and technology, Johnson & Johnson. "ideaPoint has
helped us build and grow relationships with external research partners by
giving them visibility into the evaluation process and assurance that their
IP is being protected. We are very happy with the investment and appreciate
that other companies can now benefit from this solution as well."
Key features of ideaPoint Innovation Portal:
-- Submission -- screening process assures that only well thought-out
ideas are submitted.
-- Initial Assessment -- easy initial assessment allows for ideas not
meeting criteria to be rejected with one click. The submitter is instantly
notified of their status in the review process via email.
-- Deeper Look -- domain experts can be called upon to review ideas that
are potential innovation opportunities.
-- Confidentiality Disclosure -- once a CDA is signed and submitted, the
system regulates all confidential information so that only authorized
parties have access.
-- Milestones -- project evaluation stages through commercialization can
be set as milestones for easy look up and reporting purposes.
-- Funding Management -- funding amounts can be established and scheduled
for allocation.
-- Contact and Institution Management -- user-friendly look-ups and cross
referencing by project, individual, or institution.
Since being established in 2007, ideaPoint has been funded by its founders.
Having established a beachhead in Life Sciences, the company is seeking
expansion capital to execute on its first mover advantage and to establish
itself as the market leader in Open Innovation Solutions. For more
information please visit the company's website at
www.idea-point.com.
About ideaPoint
ideaPoint is a provider of web software and information technology
services that help organizations leverage all sources of innovation and
drive growth. The ideaPoint management team consulted with industry
business development experts to streamline their innovation management
process and improve communication with the inventor community. The
company's primary product,
the ideaPoint Innovation Portal, was
successfully deployed first at Johnson & Johnson's Corporate Office of
Science and Technology in 2004.
Founded in August 2007, the ideaPoint group had been doing customer web
application development for more than 10 years with various companies in
the Life Science and Pharmaceutical space. With roles-based workflow tools
and deep application functionality, ideaPoint is the only integrated
software platform covering the depth and breadth of open innovation needs
for R&D driven organizations. ideaPoint is available as an enterprise
software suite, or as a hosted service.
About Johnson & Johnson
Caring for the world one person at a time inspires and unites the people of
Johnson & Johnson. We embrace research and science -- bringing innovative
ideas, products and services to advance the health and well-being of
people. Our 119,500 employees at more than 250 Johnson & Johnson companies
work with partners in health care to touch the lives of over a billion
people every day, throughout the world.
Contact Information: Press Contacts:
Emerge PR
Jennifer Moebius
617-729-3183
jmoebius@emergepr.com