Technology Commercialization Case Study

Robin Winsor

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries

Julius Caesar. Act IV, Scene 3

Agenda

•  Technology Description

•  Timeline

•  Struggles, Setbacks and Successes

•  Lessons Learned

•  What’s Changed

What does IDC do?

Competing Technologies circa 2000

Digital "Family Tree"

A:Se A:Si CMOS

Flat Panel

Multi-Camera Single Camera

CCD

DR

CR

Film Scanners

Kodak GE / Seimens CaresBuilt SwissRay IDC

Kodak Fuji Agfa

CMOS

Market

125k

Cost (US$)

350k DR

CR

FILM

Large hospitals

Small & Medium Hospitals

Clinics

45 secs

8.5 mins

8 mins

Foothills+

Market

125k

Cost (US$)

350k DR

CR

FILM

Large hospitals

Small & Medium Hospitals

Clinics

750

10,000

Uncounted

Market

125k

Cost (US$)

350k DR

CR

FILM

Large hospitals

Small & Medium Hospitals

Clinics

750

10,000

Uncounted

IDC : 45secs : <$150k

TimeLine

November 8th, 1895

November 8th, 1995

TimeLine

Mutiny Clinical Testing Regulatory Approvals

Clinical Use New Products New Building Rapid Expansion

U.S.”Expert” arrives N.American

Sales U.S.”Expert” leaves

Downsize Mgmt financing Liquidate assets Luminary Sites

Scientific Validation $$ Revenues $$

Production Ramp-Up Rapid Revenue Growth International Distribution OEM Partners

$100,000

$1,000,000

$10,000,000

$100,000,000

$1,000,000,000

20-Oct-93 16-Jul-96 12-Apr-99 06-Jan-02 02-Oct-04 29-Jun-07 25-Mar-10

Company Value Over Time

Market Cap

Futures

Lessons Learned

•  Trust

•  It has to be earned

•  Don’t discount the bizarre

•  Beware of new friends in good times

Lessons Learned

•  Contingency Plans

•  Save for a rainy day… it rains a lot !

Lessons Learned

•  Build The Right Team For Each Stage

•  Scientists NEED marketers and financiers and …

•  Management team must complement, not duplicate, each other

•  Finder / Minder / Grinder

•  Expect and celebrate change in the lineup

•  Do the paperwork

Lessons Learned

•  Build An Active Board

•  Think carefully before putting a customer on BoD

•  Don’t appoint for appearances sake, make it WORK

•  Try for diversity

Lessons Learned

•  Know When To Let Go

•  If you can do it all, you’re not doing enough

•  “There is no limit to how much a man can accomplish or how far he can succeed as long as

he doesn't mind who gets the credit”

Lessons Learned

•  Know What You Do

•  Core competencies

•  Be clear

•  Keep checking for drift

Lessons Learned

•  Lawyers Can Be Your Friends

•  Don’t cheap out on legal services

•  Understand their specialities

•  Look for chemistry

•  File plenty of patents

Lessons Learned

•  Pay Your Taxes Happily •  Cybera

•  National Research Council (NRC)

•  Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)

•  Alberta Heritage Fund for Medical Research

•  Shad Valley

Keep it in Canada

Lessons Learned

•  Culture

•  Why do you and your staff work so hard – is it for the same reasons ?

–  Fun

–  $$$ / Options

–  Vision

Corporate Vision

To provide the highest quality, most cost-

effective digital radiography (DR) products in the

healthcare market

Vision

Tuberculosis 35% of the world’s population infected

Lessons Learned

•  Believe In Angels

•  Douglas Street

•  Geoffrey Galley

•  …and be sure they believe in you

Lessons Learned

•  Retail Investors

•  Most brokers don’t care

•  Learn the elevator pitch

•  Expect turbulence

Lessons Learned

•  Institutional Investors

•  Fund Managers DO care

•  Know your numbers

•  Expect to be held accountable

Lessons Learned AREA Image

Quality Radiation

Dose Cost

North America 1 2 3

Europe 2 1 3

Asia 2 3 1

Lessons Learned

China is a huge market Chinese prefer Chinese Protect your IP, then go

What Has Changed

•  Barriers to entry –  Equipment costs falling

–  Information easy to access

–  Regulatory is a little easier

–  Computing power increased by ~8000 x

–  Design, prototype cycle reduced from weeks to days

–  Competitors know what you’re doing

What Hasn’t Changed

•  Need for a good team

•  Need for financing

•  Need for hard work

•  Need for speed

There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries

On such a full sea are we now afloat, And we must take the current when serves, Or lose our ventures.

Julius Caesar. Act IV, Scene 3

? ? ? Questions ? ? ?