Innovations for Substance Use Disorders (I4SUD): Entrepreneurship Education to Help Substance Use Disorder Scientists...

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are a persistent health issue in the United States that demand interdisciplinary strategies. A major obstacle has been turning scientific innovations into successful commercial products. Our aim was to teach technology commercialization to a national group of SUD researchers, boosting their ability to develop and implement effective SUD solutions.

With the Office of Translational Initiatives and Program Innovations at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), we created a 7-week program at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School called Innovations for SUD (I4SUD). Participants visited Baltimore for 3.5 days of in-person lectures, workshops, networking, and a visit to local SUD treatment centers. Online were 7 asynchronous modules (3-4 hours each), 3 1.5-hour synchronous sessions, and office hours. Each year, I4SUD ended with a 3-hour, 2-round "pitch" competition where one innovation received a $10,000 award. We report the evaluation of the first 3 cohorts.

Out of 265 applicants, we enrolled 100 participants from 45 academic institutions from 2023 to 2025. Most had limited experience with basic technology commercialization concepts but improved significantly across 5 core learning objectives in pre- and post-assessments. Over 75% were motivated to seek additional funding at the program's conclusion. Participants rated highest the clinic site visits, workshops on defining unmet needs, office hours with NIDA and I4SUD experts, and pitch sessions.

I4SUD provides a successful model of entrepreneurship education for SUD scientists that can be adapted to other settings, helping innovations reach the market and potentially impact people with SUDs.