Mann provides $4 million initial funding of Israeli Institute.

Los Angeles biomedical entrepreneur Alfred Mann has finally gotten a second major research university to sign on to his vision of creating a life sciences/biomedical engineering research institute that takes a more focused approach to commercializing academic research.

After two years of talks, Mann signed an agreement this month to establish a second Mann Institute, this lime at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel's leading science and technology university.

Mann will provide initial funding of $4 million for the institute's operating expenses over the next two years as a bridge to creation of a $100 million endowment. In addition, a multiyear agreement would provide millions of dollars annually for the institute's operating budget as the endowment is established. The gift would be one of the largest ever to an Israeli institution.

"The Technion's true interdisciplinary nature allows for the melding of biomedicine and science with engineering and technology not possible at most universities," Mann said in a statement. "I'm confident this unique focus will make the institute a world leader, and a place that will help cure the diseases that plague mankind."

Technion is the first university outside of the United States to agree to participate in Mann's goal of establishing 12 Alfred Mann Institutes as top research centers. The first such institute was established at the University of Southern California in 1998, and two other sites are in later stage discussions. The USC institute is known for providing opportunities for academic researchers to commercialize their inventions or clinical research.

But the serial entrepreneur has had challenges getting more universities to sign on to his vision, reportedly because of the strings attached. Mann wants the institute to be able to screen and pick the inventions it will incubate, rather than relying on a university-selected committee. Some academics consider Mann's approach interfering with academic freedom.

Mann, who has an extensive record of commercializing medical devices, currently is chairman and chief executive of Valencia-based MannKind Corp. and Sylmar-based Advanced Bionics Corp., and chairman of Valencia-based Second Sight LLC.