ABSTRACT
This chapter was introduced in the previous edition of this book to help assist businesspeople requiring an understanding of the microbiology and underlying technologies associated with the companies they were considering supporting. This was important because microorganisms and infectious disease can oftentimes form a main portion of the intellectual property (IP) or the strategic basis of many start-up companies in the healthcare industry. This updated chapter is meant to provide businesspeople with a few basic insights into the industry regarding the various commercialization opportunities. A secondary goal of this chapter is to again introduce academic scientists to some of the factors that businesspeople consider when deciding on making an investment in a company, a technology, or a product. Academic scientists that are considering commercializing their research should find this information useful.
