BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Todd Chappell Its First Entrepreneur-in-Residence at National Institutes of Health Office of Technology Transfer

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- BioHealth Innovation, Inc. (BHI), a new regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Central Maryland, announced today its selection of Todd Chappell as the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) for BHI at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Technology Transfer (OTT). Mr. Chappell, a venture capital-backed entrepreneurial leader and inventor with more than ten years of experience in molecular biology research, drug development and life sciences business strategy, will help support the development of new start-up companies based upon OTT technology license agreements.

"Todd's proven track record in attracting funding and developing successful businesses around research products makes him the ideal candidate to serve as our first Entrepreneur-in-Residence," said Richard Bendis, BHI Interim CEO. "Todd's appointment underscores the goal of the BHI-NIH partnership intermediary agreement that we announced earlier this month: to advance human health while growing jobs in Central Maryland through the formation of new companies."

As the first EIR, Mr. Chappell – who will have dual responsibility to both BHI and NIH – will assist OTT in the evaluation of existing technologies, provide an entrepreneurial perspective to OTT in its evaluation of new licensing proposals from start-up companies, advise OTT on opportunities for new ventures based on NIH/Food & Drug Administration (FDA) technologies, assist with developmental strategies, and mentor scientists to help ensure their research becomes commercially valuable.

"As an entrepreneur whose career has revolved around scientific innovation and product development, this new EIR position at BHI is an exciting opportunity for me," said Mr. Chappell. "There is tremendous start-up potential coming from the 27 Institutes of NIH and the FDA research labs. With the right strategies and management, new entrepreneurial ventures will be created, and with them, new research, technology, and commercially viable health care solutions."

"We are also excited about the opportunity to have Todd Chappell join us to complement and strengthen our skills in licensing inventions made by NIH and FDA scientists to early-stage companies," said Mark Rohrbaugh, Ph.D., J.D., Director of OTT. "We see start-ups and small biomedical companies playing a key role in developing new technologies to address many current unmet health needs. Programs such as the EIR can help us accelerate such efforts." 

Mr. Chappell was selected to take on the EIR position due to his impressive experience in the biotechnology industry, as well as his ability to apply program management, competitive market analysis, and organizational management skills in a leadership role. Before coming to BHI, Mr. Chappell served as the Vice President of Operations at venture-capital backed Shape Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for three years. In that role, Mr. Chappell directly oversaw the advancement of a discovery stage oncology program into a human clinical study. Prior to that, he spent nine years at CombinatoRx, Inc. and served as Director of New Products. Mr. Chappell received his B.S. in Biology from the UCLA and his M.B.A. from Boston University.

About BioHealth Innovation, Inc.
BioHealth Innovation, Inc., is a regional innovation intermediary focused on commercializing market-relevant bio-health innovations and increasing access to early-stage funding in Maryland. Learn more at www.biohealthinnovation.org.

About the NIH Office of Technology Transfer (NIH OTT)
OTT manages the patenting and licensing of a wide range of inventions made by scientists working for the NIH and FDA intramural research programs as mandated by the Federal Technology Transfer Act and related legislation.  More information can be found at www.ott.nih.gov. 

SOURCE BioHealth Innovation, Inc.