From Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy, Teodora Kljaic is developing a fast screening technology that helps identify the most promising drug candidates early in discovery. By addressing this common bottleneck in research, pharmaceutical companies can test billions of candidates and narrow the field to a small number of high‑value hits that can be advanced for further development.
When Teodora Kljaic entered Purdue Innovates’ Commercialization Fellowship, she believed strong scientific data would naturally drive the adoption of new technology. What she discovered instead was that successful innovation requires a much deeper understanding of customer needs and industry workflows.
Faculty Advisors: Casey Krusemark
The research really reframed how we think about the customer’s needs and what the platform needs to deliver to be useful to companies.
One of the biggest outcomes of the fellowship was learning directly from potential users across the biotech ecosystem through customer discovery interviews with pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, CROs, and venture capitalists. Those conversations reshaped how Kljaic and her team think about the technology’s value proposition and commercialization potential, realizing speed alone wasn’t enough and identifying new bottlenecks.
At the same time, the fellowship has helped move the technology from concept toward validation. The team applied for NSF funding and secured internal support from PRF to conduct its first head-to-head validation studies comparing the droplet platform against conventional high-throughput screening methods.
I came in believing that technology would speak for itself if the data was good enough. One of the biggest shifts in the way I think… is understanding that data is necessary but not sufficient. These partners we were talking to aren’t just asking, ‘Does this work?’ They’re asking, ‘Does it fit how we already operate? And can I trust it enough to stake my program on it?’
The experience has also reshaped her perspective on innovation itself. Rather than focusing solely on scientific performance, she now considers how technologies fit into organizations, from executive decision-makers to the scientists who will use them every day. Through mentorship and exposure to commercialization strategies, she has come to see innovation as a central part of her professional identity.
I’m not just a scientist. I am an innovator at the core of my brain.
Looking ahead, Kljaic’s team is focused on completing validation studies, generating performance data, and beginning pilot discussions with biotech companies and CROs. Those results will help shape future partnership, licensing, and investment opportunities.
Visit the Purdue Innovates website to learn more about the Commercialization Fellowship.
Media contact: Polly Barks, phbarks@prf.org
