Technology Accelerator (Tech)

The Technology Accelerator is the umbrella under which new products or existing products with HIV prevention and multipurpose prevention technology indications can accelerate research and development.  This complements the existing product portfolio, allowing for new products or technologies to come into MATRIX and for current products to be on-ramped or off-ramped from the main portfolio when appropriate. The Tech Accelerator allows flexibility in the management of MATRIX’s main critical path portfolio and is comprised of two parts.  Part one is led by PATH (Program for Appropriate Technology in Health) and is designed to accommodate evaluation of new, innovative, potential game-changer concepts in the form of products, drug delivery systems, or drugs, in need of seed funding for demonstration of feasibility, proof of concept, and value added. Concept proposals may come from MATRIX’s existing partners or new R&D organizations outside the collaborative. Special encouragement is submission from low-and-middle income countries with investigators, helping them identify partners and additional resources when necessary. The concept proposals will be initially screened internally for merit and then sent to the steering committee for a decision on whether the new concept should be reviewed by the scientific advisory group. Selection of proposals will follow pre-established criteria prioritizing innovation, value and feasibility. The experimental process will be milestone-driven, time-limited, and controlled by Go/No-Go decision points. Incorporation of some of the Tech Accelerator products into the main portfolio of MATRIX will depend on their programmatic value and properties, as assessed by scientific advisory group and external ad-hoc expert consultants (as needed) and ultimately, will be USAID’s investment decision.

Part two of the Tech Accelerator will be hosted by Magee-Womens Research Institute and will act as the home in MATRIX for on-ramping and off-ramping of critical path products while assuring efficient and streamlined operations.  MWRI provides a parallel pathway for products to pause from critical path activities to re-evaluate development (in a time limited fashion) when unexpected biophysical, rheological, regulatory, socio-behavioral research or business case findings result in failure to meet timelines, benchmarks, milestones and Go/No-Go criteria or for creating an opportunity pathway to take advantage of emerging prevention products and concepts that have arisen outside the MATRIX collaborative.

View our organization chart here.