Last month, we shared Dr. Rodolfo Romañach’s 26-year journey, from a research question to a patented innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing. The Stream Sampling Kit (SSK) solved one of the industry’s most stubborn problems: how to collect real-time quality data without interrupting production.
But a patent sitting in a university portfolio isn’t enough. A patented invention doesn’t automatically become a product. The science is only the beginning. This is where the story of CIS International LLC begins and where the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust’s Technology Transfer Office proved essential.
The Entrepreneur’s Vision
Dr. Carlos Conde, with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, a minor in mathematics, and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Puerto Rico, spent 25 years in pharmaceutical manufacturing at SmithKline Beecham, Glaxo, and beyond. He had seen the pattern repeatedly: brilliant university research, genuine market need, and failed commercialization.
In 2010, he founded CIS International LLC, a Puerto Rico-based consulting, outsourcing, and training services company. Over the past 15+ years, CIS has built deep expertise across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and food and beverage sectors. The company specializes in engineering, quality systems, and environmental health and safety, while also providing research and development services to inventors seeking to commercialize their technologies. This wasn’t a startup betting on one idea. It was an established company with proven credibility across industries in Puerto Rico, the United States, and abroad.
After years of collaboration, Dr. Romañach, professor of chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) and inventor of the technology, asked Dr. Conde: “I have this technology ready for commercialization. Are you interested?” Dr. Carlos Conde immediately recognized what others might have missed: the Stream Sampling Kit wasn’t just scientifically brilliant, it was commercially essential. Pharmaceutical manufacturers were losing millions of dollars each year due to production interruptions and unreliable quality data.
And Conde had a vision: a local Puerto Rican company, led by a UPR alumnus, would commercialize local Puerto Rican innovation. But turning a university innovation into a market product is complex. This is where the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust’s Technology Transfer Office steps in.
When the TTO Steps In
Many promising technologies fail at this exact stage. A researcher has a patented innovation, an entrepreneur has enthusiasm, but the path from licensing to commercial viability is complex. Intellectual property agreements, funding strategies, regulatory pathways, each step depends on the one before it, and getting the sequence wrong can ruin the entire venture.
That’s precisely what the Technology Transfer Office exists to do: orchestrate the sequence professionally.
For CIS International, the TTO:
- Negotiated licensing terms that protected the university’s intellectual property while giving CIS the rights needed to invest in commercialization.
- Established a clear commercialization path: validation testing → regulatory assessment → manufacturing readiness → market entry.
- Provided credibility and guidance by supporting both the technology’s validity and the entrepreneur’s capability.
“The order in which you do things is essential,” Dr. Romañach explained. “The TTO guided us to do everything in the right order.”
The BioLeap Mentorship
CIS International didn’t navigate this alone. The company participated in BioLeap, the incubation program run by Parallel 18 a program of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust.
BioLeap provided:
- Business plan validation with experienced mentors.
- Pitch coaching for communicating the opportunity.
- Market validation through direct customer introductions.
- Investor connections for scaling capital needs.
- A peer network of entrepreneurs solving similar commercialization challenges.
“BioLeap provided guidance to improve our commercialization plan,” Carlos reflects. “That structure made the difference between a good idea and a business that could scale.”
Members of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust’s Technology Transfer Office and BioLeap team visit CIS International as the company advances the commercialization of the Stream Sampling Kit (SSK).
CIS has participated in BioLeap twice, a testament to the program’s value as the company continues to evolve.
From Lab to Market
Prototype of the Stream Sampling Kit (SSK), designed for real-time, in-process pharmaceutical sampling.
With licensing structured by the TTO and mentorship from BioLeap, CIS International LLC invested in transforming the SSK from a university prototype into a commercially viable product. This meant engineering redesign for manufacturing scale, FDA/GMP compliance and validation, customer feedback integration, and building the commercial infrastructure to support industrial adoption.
The result: the Stream Sampling Kit is now positioned and ready to demonstrate its value to pharmaceutical manufacturers waiting for exactly this kind of solution.
“When the pieces align, the researcher, the entrepreneur, the facilitators, and the ecosystem, the path from laboratory innovation to market viability is possible,” Carlos reflects.
Why This Matters
When university research meets entrepreneurial execution, supported by professional facilitators and incubation mentorship, innovation can reach the market.
This model works. And it’s repeatable. The Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Research Trust manages over 70 available technologies ready for licensing and a portfolio of 183 active patents. Each represents years of research waiting for the right entrepreneur.
The story of Dr. Romañach’s innovation and CIS International’s commercialization isn’t unique. It’s a pattern that can repeat across sectors, from medical devices to agricultural technology, from food science to advanced materials. The ecosystem is ready. The technologies are available. The support system is in place.
The question is: who will be the next entrepreneur to recognize an opportunity, and the next researcher to see their work reach the market?
If that’s you, start here: prtto.org
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The path from discovery to commercialization is built on the right partnerships, the right timing, and the right support.
By: Kamille Morales Lebrón
