Alfred E. Mann, for which the Institute is named, is an American inventor himself. As a medical device entrepreneur who helped create the pacemaker, insulin pumps, and cochlear implants, he became a billionaire.
With his wealth, he decided to give back by founding institutes that foster medical technology creation. Three Alfred E. Mann Institutes exist — the other two are at Purdue University and at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
At USC, the Institute helps tackle the more difficult parts of bringing medical invention to market — the U.S. patent process and FDA approval. They practice “parallel processing,†a way to accelerate the legal, the business development, and the science at the same time. The Institute aids researchers in intellectual property issues, regulatory issues, testing, scaling, product design, marketing, sales, and distribution.