My RTTP Journey: Aritz Lasarte-Cía

My RTTP Journey: Aritz Lasarte-Cia

For Aritz Lasarte-Cia, Candidate Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) recognition marks an important milestone in a career that has taken him from cancer research to helping biomedical discoveries move towards commercialisation and real-world impact.

Aritz is a Technology Transfer Manager at Cima University of Navarra, where he supports the commercialisation of biomedical research through licensing, industry collaborations and spinout creation.

“Candidate RTTP recognition is an important milestone in my development as a technology transfer professional. It provides a valuable framework for continuing to build my experience and helping translate excellent research into innovations that benefit patients and society.”

From scientist to knowledge transfer professional

Before moving into knowledge transfer, Aritz worked in cancer immunotherapy and translational research. That scientific background now forms an important part of his work supporting biomedical innovation.

At Cima, his role spans commercial assessment, funding, intellectual property strategy, industry engagement, licensing and venture development, allowing him to work with research at different stages of the commercialisation process.

His transition from scientist to knowledge transfer professional also motivated him to pursue Candidate RTTP recognition.

“I wanted to benchmark my professional development against an internationally recognised standard and identify the skills and experience I should continue building as a technology transfer professional.”

For Aritz, Candidate RTTP provides a way to recognise the progress he has already made while identifying what he needs to develop next.

“It represents an important milestone in my transition from scientist to technology transfer professional. It also gives me confidence that I am developing the right combination of scientific, commercial and relationship-building skills.”

Building on a scientific background

Aritz’s participation in ASTP activities through the LifeArc Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fellowship has played an important role in building those skills.

Training in areas including valuation, marketing, intellectual property, licensing and negotiation has helped him develop a more structured approach to commercialisation and complement the scientific expertise he brought with him into the profession.

Learning alongside experienced knowledge transfer professionals also helped Aritz see his previous experience from a different perspective.

It showed him that there is no single route into knowledge transfer and that professionals enter the field with a variety of backgrounds and expertise. In his own case, it helped him recognise that his scientific experience could provide a strong foundation on which to build his knowledge transfer career.

This combination of scientific understanding and developing commercial expertise now supports his work with biomedical research and researchers at Cima.

Recognising progress along the way

The Candidate RTTP application itself gave Aritz another opportunity to consider how far he had progressed since making the transition into knowledge transfer.

“The application encouraged me to reflect systematically on my experience and professional development. It also helped me identify the areas I should continue strengthening.”

The process also gave him a broader perspective on the experience he has gained over the past two years working with venture capital firms and the biotech and pharmaceutical industries to help advance therapies for patients.

That reflection is also central to his advice for other professionals considering the RTTP pathway.

Rather than waiting until they feel they have acquired every possible skill or completed their professional development, Aritz recommends keeping track of experience and learning from an early stage.

“Start documenting your experience and professional development early. Do not wait until you feel you have completed every part of your journey, as the application process itself can help you recognise your progress and identify your next development priorities.”

For those developing their knowledge transfer careers, he recommends combining structured training in intellectual property, licensing, valuation and negotiation with conferences and peer-learning opportunities. While formal training provides the technical foundations, learning from other professionals offers practical perspectives on how those skills are applied.

For Aritz, Candidate RTTP is therefore not the culmination of his professional development, but part of it. It provides a framework for building on the scientific expertise with which he began his career, developing the commercial and relationship-building skills required in knowledge transfer, and continuing to help promising biomedical research move towards innovations that can benefit patients and society.