A Practical Guide to Drug Development in Academia

Written by the founders of the SPARK program at Stanford University, this book is a practical guide designed for professors, students and clinicians at academic research institutions who are interested in learning more about the drug development process and how to start transforming their basic research discoveries into novel drugs. Often many potentially transformative basic science discoveries are not pursued because they are deemed 'too early' to attract industry interest. This comprehensive book lays out simple, relatively cost-effective things that academic researchers can do to advance their findings to the point that they can be tested in the clinic or attract more industry interest. The SPARK model has been adopted in over 60 institutions on six continents, and the program has been honored with multiple awards including the 2020 Xconomy Award for Ecosystem Development, the 2020 Cures Within Reach Award for Patient Impact Research, and the 2022 California Life Sciences Pantheon Award for Academia, Non-Profits, & Research.