Technology Development Fund
The Technology Development Fund (TDF) Program
One challenge for innovators at MSK and elsewhere is that technology development is costly and funding options are limited—especially once the potential for federal grant funding has been exhausted. Industry partnerships have often been significant in helping to advance MSK technologies. From an institutional perspective, however, it can be advantageous to find ways to further development internally before the OTD team pursues licenses or collaborations with external partners.
One important strategy in addressing crucial gap funding needs is MSK’s Technology Development Fund (TDF), created in 2009 to provide early-stage investment for MSK inventions and initiatives with strong commercialization potential. The TDF is administered by OTD, which is responsible for managing the commercialization of MSK innovation.
For MSK’s community of innovators, TDF investment can make the difference between their ability to progress their technologies—or not. The TDF program, among many measures of success, has advanced technologies to more than 30 industry partnerships and successful startups, generating valuable dollars that help MSK fuel future research and support our institutional mission.
Upcoming: A new program under TDF is planned to launch in 2025. The pilot AITDF program is a specifically dedicated track for MSK projects that substantially rely on AI or cloud technology.
- $30M TDF investments to date
- 65+ MSK projects have received TDF investments
- 30+ Industry partnerships and startups involving TDF projects
- 2 FDA approved drugs from TDF projects
Technology Development Fund (large-scale projects)
TDF investments deliver essential funding and support to MSK innovators, helping transform promising ideas into practical solutions and advancing MSK's mission to lead in groundbreaking research. The TDF program awards up to $500,000 over a two-year period.
Projects may be appropriate for TDF funding at various stages of development. Early-stage TDF projects might generate in vivo survival data, or the construction of a device prototype.
Later-stage TDF projects might lead to pre-clinical animal toxicology data to support an IND application, or involve activities necessary to meet Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) requirements for new drug products. MSK innovators also may apply for support for a Phase 1 clinical trial or for drug manufacturing, including scale-up and formulation.
FlexTDF Program
Expanding upon the TDF program’s success, MSK launched a sister program in 2022 known as the flexTDF. It provides up to $200,000 in institutional investment for smaller-scale research projects that might take up to a year to complete, along with the same type of internal and external advisory guidance that has proven so valuable in the original TDF program.
Typically, 8-10 innovation projects with strong commercialization potential receive flexTDF awards yearly. To date, MSK has invested nearly $4.5 million in 30 flexTDF projects and the 2025 application process is ongoing.
