1. Building U.S.-Israel
Innovation Partnerships
The BIRD Model
Dr. Eitan Yudilevich
Executive Director
BIRD Foundation

2. BIRD Foundation
BIRD = Binational Industrial Research and Development
Joint fund, established in 1977 as a joint initiative
between the US and Israeli governments
Mission Funding
To stimulate, promote and Income from interest
support joint (non-defense) earned on $110 million
industrial R&D of mutual endowment grant and
benefit to Israel and the from repayments from
successful BIRD projects
United States
August 2011

3. BIRD’s Approach in a Nutshell
 BIRD helps in finding strategic partners (“matchmaking”)
 BIRD offers conditional grants for joint development on a
risk sharing basis (private sector cost-share)
 BIRD funds up to 50% of each company’s R&D expenses
associated with the joint project
 BIRD claims repayments as royalties only if commercial
revenues are generated from the project (repayments: up
to 150% of the original conditional grant, CPI adjusted)
 As an example of mutual benefit: U.S. company benefits
from access to innovation and IP; Israeli company benefits
from complementary required capabilities and market
access (other combinations are possible, e.g.,
complementary technologies)
August 2011

4. BIRD – Performance Summary
 $290M granted
 825 projects
approved
 $91M repayments
from projects
 ~$8B in sales
generated directly and
indirectly by BIRD
sponsored activities
August 2011

5. The BIRD Model
August 2011

6. No Revenue Reasons
Market
36%
Partnership/
Company
47%
Technical
17%
10/30/2011

7. Repayments Schedule
(Based on Revenue)
Years from % of the grant
Project to be repaid
Completion Maximum repayment
obligation: 150%
1 100%
2 113%
Repayment rate: 5% of
Sales
3 125%
Semiannual repayments,
4 138% indexed to CPI-U
5 & Beyond 150%
July 2011

8. Submitting Process (Next Cycle)
Executive Summary of the Proposal- March 2012
Final Proposal – April 2012
External Evaluation – Evaluators appointed by NIST &
Chief Scientist Office
Board of Governors – June 2012
Company to Company Agreement
Cooperation and Project Funding Agreement
July 2011

9. Candidate
BIRD Project Funnel
Projects (Typical/Twice a Year)
Signed Executive
Summaries GOs to Submit
Full Proposal Submitted
Proposals Approved
Projects
Project
Flow
30 - 35 20 - 25 15 - 20 ~10
October 2011

10. BIRD Approved Projects by Industry
2006- 2010
Total # of Projects = 121, including “BIRD Energy” (9 projects)August 2011

11. Examples of BIRD Awardees
Israeli Companies
MITAM
Exotech
Bio Solutions
August 2011

12. Examples of BIRD Awardees
Israeli Companies - continued
August 2011

13. Examples of BIRD Awardees
Israeli Companies - continued
August 2011

14. Examples of BIRD Awardees
Israeli Companies - continued
Bet Shemesh Engines
August 2011

15. BIRD Awardees
Examples of US Companies
August 2011

16. BIRD Awardees
Examples of US Companies - continued
August 2011

17. BIRD Awardees
Examples of US Companies - continued
August 2011

18. BIRD Awardees
Examples of US Companies - continued
August 2011

19. 3 Decades of
collaboration
More about BIRD -
Specific Project Examples

20. Medical Devices
Project title:
Fox Digital Distal Tip Urological &
CByond specialized in Gynecological Flexible Endoscope
designing video-scopes for
medical applications.
ACMI (American Cystoscope Makers,
Inc.; Now: Gyrus ACMI, an Olympus Joint development product:
company), is a leader in the
Flexible endoscope with integrated
development and production of the miniature video camera and LED as a
world’s finest endoscopy light source.
instrumentation for the medical
industry.
Slide Approved by Companies or Information is Public Domain August 2011

21. Medical Instrumentation
Project title: ReWalk – Clinical Trials at
MossRehab (Philadelphia)
Argo Medical invented the
external wearable skeleton
enabling the walking of
paraplegic patients.
Joint development product: :ReWalk is a
Allied Orthotics & Prosthetics motorized exoskeleton suit that
business is the design, custom- enables patients with lower limb
manufacturing, fitting, training of disabilities, including complete
a complete range of orthotic and paralysis, to independently engage in
prosthetic products for disabled ambulatory activities, including
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaiO8cases
standing, walking and in some a1ZY5g
people.
climbing stairs. April 2011

22. Life Sciences - Pharma
Project title: Development of
PEG-Uricase for Treatment of
Bio-Technology General Ltd. had
Intractable Gout and Related Conditions
extensive expertise in production and
purification of recombinant proteins
for parenteral use (acquired by
Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
Joint development product: Development of
Mountain View effective therapy for patients with
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. severe and presently untreatable gout.
experts in protein chemistry The drug is called Krystexxa,
and the synthesis of PEG marketed by Savient
derivatives. Pharmaceuticals
August 2011

23. Software/Education
Project title: Lotus
Tegrity Ltd. is the maker of Tegrity
Campus, the leading class capture
Web service, leading provider of
platforms for e-learning content
creation and distribution.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education, a unit Joint development product:
of McGraw-Hill Education, is a premier Active access to students and
provider of teaching and learning instructors between multiple types and
solutions for 21st century post- sources of learning objects (lectures,
secondary and higher education tutorials, sessions, etc.)
markets worldwide.
Slide Approved by Companies or Information is Public Domain April 2011

24. Software/Brain-Training
Project title:
The Hockey IntelliGym
ACE (Applied Cognitive
Engineering) develops software Joint development product: A software-based
based "Brain-Gyms" to improve program that allows players to develop
the performance of trainees in perception, short-term memory focus and
targeted tasks decision-making skills, as well as enables
coaches to fine-tune programs and follow
up on each player's progress.
USA Hockey, Inc. is the National
Governing Body for the sport of ice
hockey in the United States.
Slide Approved by Companies or Information is Public Domain August 2011

25. Biogasoline Production
Project title: Wood Sugars for
Biogasoline and Bioproducts
HCL Cleantech’s technology is Production
based on proprietary acid recovery
replacement in a proven industrial Joint development product: low cost
process for the conversion of cellulosic sugars to produce biogasoline
biomass to fermentable sugars
Virent was founded in 2002 based
on catalytic, aqueous-phase
reforming technology, named
BioForming® which readily converts
renewable plant sugars to
biogasoline, other liquid hydrocarbon
fuels, and chemicals August 2011

26. Fourth Call for
Proposals:
QI 2012
Decisions on
Projects:
QIII 2012
August 2011
April 2010

27. Neurotechnology:
Training the Brain: Neuroplasticity & the Human Mind
Keynote Speaker:
Michael Merzenich, Ph.D.
Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Posit Science
Founder of Scientific Learning Corporation (Nasdaq: SCIL)
Professor Emeritus, University of California, San Francisco
Date: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 - 5.00pm-8.00pm
Venue: KPMG - 500 E. Middlefield Rd. Mountain View, CA
10/30/2011

28. TRIDE Project – Example
Name of Second Generation, Bio-Synthetic Diesel
Project: Fuel Production
Project budget: $1M (TRIDE grant: 50%)
Duration: 15 months
Jordanian Co. Israeli Co. U.S. Co.
Name of Co. NERC MME-IL Nibor
Enterprises
Location Amman, Jordan Beit Yitzhak, Miami, Fl
Israel
August 2011

29. CA NJ
Asaf Chava Yuval Eitan Michal Shlomo
Maha Limor
Andrea
Ron Einat
A
u

30. Thank You!
www.birdf.com
August 2011