Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures Expands the Path from Discovery to Commercialization

For more than 150 years, Johns Hopkins University has been recognized as one of the world's leading research institutions. Today, the university is increasingly focused on ensuring that groundbreaking discoveries extend beyond academic publications and into products that improve patient care.

At the BIO International Convention 2026, Pharmaceutical Executive spoke with Christy Wyskiel, executive director of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures (JHTV), about the organization's commercialization strategy, the growing role of artificial intelligence in startup formation, and why partnerships across academia, venture capital, industry, and philanthropy are becoming increasingly important for bringing new therapies to market.

Below is an edited version of the conversation.

Pharmaceutical Executive: Can you start by explaining the role of Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures and how it supports innovation across the university?

Christy Wyskiel: Our work really falls into three primary areas.

The first is corporate partnerships and engagement. Last year alone, we facilitated more than $100 million in research collaborations with industry partners. These partnerships allow companies to work directly with our faculty on research that has a clear path toward commercialization, while giving our researchers the opportunity to see their discoveries translated into products that can ultimately reach patients.

The second area is startup creation through our FastForward initiative. We launch about 10 companies each year, and historically those companies have raised hundreds of millions of dollars annually. About 80% of our startups are in the life sciences, although we also support companies in software, energy, and other sectors.

The third area is our traditional technology transfer work. We're one of the busiest technology transfer offices in the world. Faculty disclose approximately 400 to 500 inventions annually, and we patent roughly one-third of those discoveries before licensing them either to startup companies or established industry partners. The ultimate goal across all three areas is the same, bringing as many impactful products to market as possible.

PE: Where does the investment capital for those startups come from?

CW: We don't operate our own venture fund, nor do we have preferred investment relationships. Instead, we work with virtually every major life sciences venture capital firm interested in our technologies.

Our team spends a significant amount of time cultivating relationships with investors and preparing faculty for those conversations. Most researchers are experts in science, not venture capital. Part of our role is identifying technologies with commercial potential and helping faculty understand how to communicate that value to investors.

PE: Johns Hopkins has long been known for research excellence. How has the university expanded its focus toward entrepreneurship and commercialization?

CW: We see commercialization as a natural extension of research impact.

I often tell our faculty that discoveries don't simply jump off the pages of Nature or Science and become therapies. Someone has to build that bridge.

Our younger faculty increasingly want to understand how to work with industry and investors because they want their discoveries to reach patients.

President Ron Daniels recognized that opportunity when he joined Johns Hopkins. He invested in building the resources necessary to support commercialization. That means helping researchers answer questions they aren't typically trained to consider, including regulatory strategy, reimbursement, clinical development, and business planning.

Ultimately, we're helping researchers answer one important question, "So what?" If the science succeeds, what does success look like for patients?

PE: Artificial intelligence was a major topic throughout BIO 2026. Where are you seeing the biggest opportunities within Johns Hopkins startups?

CW: AI is becoming an overlay across nearly everything we're doing.

One exciting company is Semaphor Surgical, which originated from researchers in computer science, neuroscience, robotics, and biomedical engineering. They initially focused on improving surgical training but ultimately realized they could build the operating system for the operating room of the future by integrating robotics, sensors, and AI.

Another company, Aprentis, is using AI to support primary care physicians by automating routine administrative tasks such as prescription refills and test ordering. Given the nationwide shortage of primary care physicians, technologies like these can help clinicians spend more time with patients.

We're also seeing AI reshape diagnostics, which has historically been one of Johns Hopkins' greatest strengths.

PE: How do you determine whether a technology should be licensed to an established company versus developed through a startup?

CW: It's usually driven by where the technology sits along the development pathway.

Established pharmaceutical companies generally prefer assets that have already been significantly de-risked, often those that have entered clinical trials or demonstrated substantial validation.

Earlier-stage discoveries frequently require additional development before they're attractive to industry, and that's where startup companies become so valuable. They provide the opportunity to continue generating the data needed to eventually attract strategic partners or acquisition interest.

PE: Looking toward 2030, what would success look like for Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures and for Baltimore's life sciences community?

CW: I'd love to wake up and see a headline that says a Johns Hopkins startup has hired its 5,000th employee.

That would mean several important things happened. It would mean we've developed a therapy that impacts hundreds of thousands of patients. It would mean that commercial success generated resources that flow back into research. And it would mean we've created thousands of high-quality jobs in Maryland.

That's really the vision, creating companies that improve lives while strengthening the regional economy.

PE: Is there anything else you'd like readers to understand about Johns Hopkins' approach to innovation?

CW: One message I'd emphasize is that Johns Hopkins is an incredibly welcoming place for collaboration, whether you're a corporate partner, an entrepreneur, or an investor.

We're also fortunate to be part of a broader Baltimore effort to build a thriving life sciences community. One example is Blackbird Laboratories, which brings together philanthropy, investors, universities, and industry to help companies move through the critical stages of commercialization.

Those partnerships are becoming increasingly important. Scientific discoveries alone aren't enough. Companies also need guidance on regulatory strategy, reimbursement, financing, and business planning. When those pieces come together, you dramatically improve the likelihood that promising research ultimately becomes a therapy that reaches patients.

Editor’s Note: Semaphor Surgical will be changing its name to Inner Logic either shortly before or shortly after press time.