Unité de recherche universitaire CHU-ULg : Pour une expertise des implants dentaires et des biomatériaux de régénération tissulaire. Une étude de marché et un positionnement de produit

« Science to make you smile »: this very catchy slogan best describes the corporate strategy of the Dental Biomaterials Research Unit (d-BRU) of the University of Liège that focus on industrial company satisfaction by offering a wide range of expertise in dental biomaterials from the bench to the clinic. The current business plan thesis about the research unit’s strategy and its strategy for industry-cooperation development aims to identify the opportunities and threats in the biomaterial market for regenerative and implantable devices.
The growing perspectives for implantable device companies are due to the fast-growing old age population and the evolution of technologies. Consequently, the industry demand for characterization, development and improvement of dental biomaterials is high and provides opportunities for company-university collaborative research project through clinical trials project initiation.
We conducted a market demand analysis to measure the attractiveness and the dynamics of the dental biomaterials industry market. Among the 15 interviews with representatives of the dental industry, more than a half companies showed a positive reaction to our expertise presentation, which confirmed the demand trends. Few european acadmic centers behave like US universities in terms of industry-oriented marketing ; although the dental industry experienced favourable supply conditions for leading European clinical trials, d-BRU seized the opportunity to positioning as a modern research unit and taking advantage of a competitive edge.
The market we aim is divided into 3 distinctive segment. We defined and implemented a distinctive strategic and marketing direction to reach the target market. The d-BRU differenciates itself by providing a Premium all-in-one service from in vitro/in silico tests to clinical performance for the dental industry in the field of biomaterials and implants. Articles published in top-tier scientific journals reflect the well-established scientific expertise of the d-BRU. The research team fulfils its academic goals with strength, conviction and dynamism and devotes the necessary technological and human resources to create the optimum conditions for collaborative research. The financial sustainability of d-BRU is guaranteed by recent existing agreement which assure regular revenue for the next 3 years. Moreover, our revenue forecast show a positive increase from 2016 to 2020.
The high-added value of this project stems from a differentiated market positioning and innovative customized service process supported by skilled and highly motivated team of searchers.