Author: Marie Powers

The University of Rochester (NY) is taking a different approach to enlist students in commercializing promising technology. The school has created a graduate program designed to put its vast collection of IP to use in medical devices, consumer electronics, and other applications instead of leaving patents to collect dust. As a component of the Masters of Science degree, the Technical Entrepreneurship and Management (TEAM) program will require students to look through the archives of the university’s nearly 400 available patents, find those that can be turned into profitable technologies, and develop businesses around them. Designed for students with a bachelor’s degree in a technical field, the approach is being tested by four students in a pilot class this school year. Participants take graduate level engineering courses from U-Rochester’s Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and business courses from the Simon Graduate School of Business.

One of the program’s founders, vice provost for entrepreneurship Duncan Moore, has started a few companies of his own during his tenure at U-Rochester using technology that he helped develop. Many academics aren’t comfortable in industry, Moore says, making it difficult for potentially job-creating technologies incubated in universities to enter the marketplace. Local engineers need to learn to start their own companies, he adds — especially in Rochester, where traditional large, high-tech companies are struggling and engineering jobs are leaving the city. The university also has a financial incentive to use some of its dormant patents, adds Jack Fraser, deputy director of U-Rochester’s OTT. The university pays roughly $15,000 in attorneys’ fees to file a patent. When a patent sits unused, that money is not recouped.

Source: University of Rochester News

Imperial Innovations Group plc, the tech transfer arm of Imperial College London, has granted Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics a worldwide, exclusive license to a preclinical-stage vaccine candidate against meningitis B. Although full terms of the deal were not disclosed, Imperial Innovations received an upfront payment and will be entitled to development milestones and royalties if the vaccine goes to market. In addition, Novartis will pay £1 million (US $1.62 million) to fund further preclinical research at the university over the next two years. The vaccine is based on the work of Christoph Tang, professor in the Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection at Imperial College London and Susan Lea, professor of chemical biology at Oxford University.

Although vaccines are commercially available against meningitis A and C strains, the meningitis B strain is not addressed by current vaccines and presents a significant disease burden. Meningitis B vaccines have been elusive for two main reasons, according to Novartis. Unlike other serogroups, MenB polysaccharide produces a poor response from the immune system, and some MenB antigens are similar to glycoproteins found in humans, prompting concerns about autoimmunity. The vaccine outlicensed from Imperial Innovations has the potential to produce an enhanced immune response, which may confer greater protection than other vaccines currently in development. Completing the deal with Novartis “provides the finance to move the research towards clinical development,” says Susan Searle, CEO of Imperial Innovations. “If successful, such a product could provide a significant royalty stream to Imperial Innovations.”

Sources: Science Business and Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

A company developing potential treatments to help heal damaged hearts and muscle wounds has exclusively licensed patents that will help move the protein therapy closer to actual patients. In 2008, NellOne Therapeutics was spun out of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) contractor UT-Battelle by Battelle Ventures to probe the potential of a gene that showed promise in helping to restore damaged tissues in patients who had suffered from heart attacks or muscle-related injuries. Battelle Ventures invested $1.5 million in R&D, which has shown enough promise for the company to license three patents associated with the research, explains Cymbeline “Bem” Culiat, founder of NellOne and discoverer of the Nell-1 gene’s role in controlling tissue growth and maturation in mammals. “We’re in the process of completing the wound healing studies and some other studies the company started with other funding from ORNL,” Culiat says. “[NellOne is] committed to taking the licenses and pursuing the wound therapy.”

With proof of principle nearly complete, the company plans to carry out an array of follow-up experiments to determine exactly how the gene works and how to develop a therapy from it. NellOne estimates a potential market of more than $3 billion. To continue the work, the company plans to pursue a Series A round of funding — likely $12 million to $20 million, says Tracy Warren, NellOne CEO and general partner at Battelle Ventures. In addition to the ORNL licenses, which establish NellOne’s platform discovery, the company is pursuing other potential applications of the genetic research. NellOne may commercialize some therapies on its own while partnering with outside companies on others, according to Warren. “We hope to have some announcements this summer,” she says.

Sources: Knoxville News Sentinel and Newswise

A new software tool, the Competitive Advantage Valuation (CAV) system, was specifically developed to provide the precision you need in IP valuation at a price every organization can afford. The low price has been cut even further under a collaboration with 2Market Information Inc., parent company of Tech Transfer E-News. Readers pay only $380, a full $250 off the regular price. The system gives TTOs and other IP holders an in-house alternative to costly outside analysis that can take months and often delays negotiations. The CAV Software offers users a single, straightforward method for determining IP value. Created by nationally recognized IP law expert Ted Hagelin, the CAV tool yields clear and logical valuation results through a single program platform for effective negotiation, planning and reporting. The easy-to-use system includes detailed explanations and instructions for each step of the process, and over 75 research resources to obtain the information needed for valuation. For complete details and to order, CLICK HERE.

A Sioux Falls company is using patent-pending technology developed by researchers at the University of South Dakota to create a specialty sock line with germ-killing additives designed to help diabetics and athletes. Yuyu Sun, PhD, associate professor in biomedical engineering at USD, has spent the past 11 years conducting research in the antimicrobial field. Last summer, USD signed a licensing agreement with Antimicrobial Technologies Group of Sioux Falls to commercialize Sun’s research. The sock line will launch in March. The seamless diabetic socks have an antimicrobial finish that kills bacteria which leads to viruses and fungi, acting to prevent infection associated with cuts and wounds. The antimicrobial athletic socks work by killing bacteria that causes odor. The diabetic socks will be similar in price to other diabetic socks on the market, which range in price from $8 to $25 a pair, according to Pamela Goldschmidt, executive vice president of Antimicrobial Technologies Group. Brian Mathers, director of research development at USD, says the innovation is believed to be the first university technology to result in a revenue-producing license with a commercial partner. “It’s kind of a milestone for the university,” Mathers says. “We have really high expectations for this.”

Goldschmidt says Antimicrobial Technologies Group is excited about the sock line and by the potential to apply the research in other product areas. The company was created in April 2009 specifically to commercialize research conducted at USD. “It’s been a long-time dream of our founder and Dr. Sun to see these technologies actually get out there in products that will help people,” Goldschmidt says. The company also is working to manufacture Sun’s antimicrobial paint, which would kill germs and make environments such as hospitals, kitchens, and locker rooms cleaner and safer. Although many antimicrobial paints are on the market, Sun says his contains specific agents that are more practical, durable, and easier to monitor.

Source: The Volante

Having low vision can seriously limit life for individuals with macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy. Low-tech vision aids such as hand-held magnifiers, stand magnifiers, reading telescopes, spectacle-mounted magnifying lenses, and bright reading lamps often are recommended, but each of these devices has drawbacks, says Jeffrey Sonsino, OD, an optometrist at the Vanderbilt University Eye Institute. Smaller devices can be tiring to use because the hand must constantly move to pick up the print. Larger devices may help, but they’re expensive and can’t be moved easily. A bright reading lamp also helps but isn’t portable. “Somebody has to be sitting in the same spot to use these strategies effectively,” Sonsino says.

Sonsino and colleagues have devised a better solution: low vision eyeglasses. The glasses combine the three factors needed for clearer reading: magnification to enlarge the image, prisms to keep the eyes straight and focused, and LED lighting for bright illumination. The glasses are powered by rechargeable batteries and designed so that when the bows are opened, the light automatically turns on. In a small clinical trial, users reported an 89% improvement in their reading ability. With the assistance of Vanderbilt’s TTO, Sonsino is working with a manufacturer to produce the glasses, which are expected to be available later this year for about the same price as a pair of bifocals.

Sources: 6abc.com and WSOC Charlotte

Having a wide range of services and resources available to faculty entrepreneurs and investors has always been seen as an important goal by the TTO at The University of Michigan, but recently its leadership decided that those services could be provided more effectively and efficiently by creating a central contact point for all interested parties. The result was the establishment of the Michigan Venture Center, whose aim is to provide faculty entrepreneurs with an efficient route to formulating a business plan, addressing IP issues, connecting with U-M alumni, offering limited funding, attracting talent, and securing investors.

“We’re trying to do a better job of preparing our opportunities so our outside partners are willing to take the risk,” says Kenneth Nisbet, executive director of U-M Technology Transfer. At the same time, entrepreneurs and VCs outside the university can look to the center for a portfolio of start-up concepts with the talent, development funding, and connections needed for market success. All individuals seeking help in venture creation will now begin at the same “hub,” and then be directed to the appropriate services “spoke.” One of the main drivers behind the new center, says Nisbet, was operational efficiency. “By integrating a number of programs that had operated independently, we will become more effective and efficient,” he notes. “This integration will allow better sharing of talent and resources across our projects, resulting in higher quality and more timely assistance.” A detailed article on the new center appears in the January issue of Technology Transfer Tactics. To get the complete article and become a subscriber, including access to the entire archive of back issues, CLICK HERE.

Columbia University and Ascent Scientific have signed a license agreement for FFN511, a fluorescent probe for optical imaging and measurement of synaptic activity in the brain. Memory, decision-making, and learning require activation and modification of synapses in the brain. This synaptic transmission involves the accumulation of neurotransmitters in vesicles within the cytoplasm of the pre-synaptic neuron. Neurotransmitters are released when the vesicle fuses with the plasma membrane of the cell. Previous methods have allowed researchers to measure post-synaptic neuronal activity and to observe the vesicle-membrane fusion process, but the new tool permits direct visualization of neurotransmitter release and uptake and measures synaptic activity. “We expect that FFNs will be useful for both fundamental and applied neurobiology research across a wide range of areas, including learning, neurodegeneration, and drug addiction,” says Beth Kauderer of Columbia Technology Ventures, the university’s technology licensing office.

To develop the technology, Dalibor Sames, PhD, associate professor in Columbia’s department of chemistry, and David Sulzer, PhD, professor of neurobiology at Columbia University Medical Center, created several fluorescent false neurotransmitters (FFNs) — a class of highly efficient optical imaging probes that fluoresce sufficiently to provide resolution at the individual synaptic level but at concentrations that do not interfere with normal synaptic function. “We believe that FFN511 has the potential to become an essential research tool for neuroscientists studying the synaptic transmission of dopamine as well as for drug discovery efforts seeking to identify improved blockers and enhancers of dopamine transporter activity,” Sulzer says. “Blocking of dopamine active transport proteins has been shown to ameliorate symptoms in preclinical models of Parkinson’s disease, and drugs that target dopamine transporters and receptors are used to treat ADHD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.”

Source: News Blaze

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has inked a license agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for patented technology covering the use of deuterium in semiconductor devices. The IP provides a solution to hot-carrier effects, which are known to cause problems with device reliability. The agreement allows Samsung to use the technology for semiconductor devices through the lifetime of the patents. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed. UIUC owns five U.S. and one South Korean patent covering the use of deuterium in semiconductor devices, based on research conducted by Joseph Lyding, PhD, professor in the electrical and computer engineering department; Karl Hess, PhD, Swanlund chair and professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering; and Jinju Lee, PhD, former post-doc in Lyding’s lab and now a research scientist at Intel Corporation.

Source: Cloud Computing Journal and EE Times

Microsoft Corp., McAfee Inc., and Symantec Corp. have joined the Defensive Patent Aggregation service offered by San Francisco-based RPX Corp. The moves bring RPX’s membership to 29, including Sharp Corporation and the U.S. subsidiary of Swedish telecommunications software and services company Enea. “Patents have long been viewed as a transactional problem, but in fact, for companies they really represent risk,” says John Amster, co-CEO of RPX. “In every other market, companies deal with risk through insurance of some form, but with patents, companies generally self-insure. RPX provides companies an alternative.”

RPX established the Defensive Patent Aggregation service 14 months ago to reduce patent assertion and litigation initiated by non-practicing entities (NPEs). These so-called “trolls” cost technology developers around the world billions of dollars annually by acquiring patents solely for the purpose of offensive licensing and litigation. RPX counters this problem by acquiring patent rights and providing them as a defensive patent aggregation for its member organizations, which pay annual fees ranging from $35,000 to $4.9 million, depending on size. To date, RPX has invested $130 million to acquire more than 1,000 U.S. and international patents and patent rights in the mobile, Internet search, telecommunications, networking, consumer electronics, and eCommerce sectors. In 2009, one out of every five of the 470 NPE cases filed involved software defendants.

Source: Enhanced Online News

Writing in Xconomy San Diego, CONNECT CEO Duane J. Roth describes a new funding model for innovation. The Distributed Partnering Model, which Roth co-developed with Pedro Cuatrecasas, former president of pharmaceutical research for Parke Davis Warner Lambert Co. and adjunct professor of pharmacology and medicine at the University of California San Diego, is designed to advance life sciences innovation but also can be applied to high-tech, cleantech, and other technology sectors. The model emphasizes the importance of advancing innovative technologies and products instead of emphasizing the development of individual companies around each new discovery or invention. “In our model, we have identified four independent entities that work collectively to advance innovation, based on the unique assets, skill sets, cultures, and risk tolerance to be applied,” Roth writes. “Each would have a rational investment risk and reward as a specific innovation gets relayed from one business entity to the next.” These four entities are:

• Discovery: A research institute that focuses on new discoveries.
• Definition: A company that invests in defining the initial product(s) from the research-based discoveries in a given field of expertise.
• Development: A company with responsibility for funding and advancing product development.
• Delivery: A company with a significant marketing and distribution channel.

“Our model is fundamentally different than previous models in that it focuses on these independent groups to collectively contribute to advancing products from research discovery to commercialization,” Roth explains. Two key enabling elements of the proposed model include 1) the formation of a new type of company called a product definition company (PDC) to address the “Valley of Death” bottleneck; and 2) more efficient use of infrastructure and product development expertise provided by professional service providers (PSP). PDCs would focus on translating a portfolio of research discoveries into an early, development stage product managed by an experienced entrepreneurial team with significant operating experience in a given field. The PDC business model calls for selling the product or technology assets to VCs or distribution companies after the initial product definition phase for further product development and, eventually, delivery to the market. Potential PDC investors include angels, large corporations, VCs, and foundations, and investor focus would be on their field of interest and the expertise of the operating team.

Instead of investing in infrastructure — the norm for the VC start-up company model — the translational experiments to reach “proof of relevancy” would be contracted to PSPs to perform the key development activities. By transferring the product development and technology to the PSPs, acquirers will not be dependent on the PDC management team for expertise. Following acquisition, the product development company could operate in a virtual mode with a small group of key managers by simply continuing to fund the PSPs. Hence, the vast majority of investment in this model is focused solely on advancing the product or technology rather than on start-up infrastructure and associated operating and maintenance costs. “We believe the distributed partnering model offers a rational framework for a new approach to risk-adjusted financing of innovation,” Roth concludes.

Source: Xconomy

In association with IPRA Inc. and its principal, royalty rate and valuation expert Russell Parr, 2Market Information Inc. has created a targeted reference by deriving all medical device and diagnostics entries from the more comprehensive — and more costly — technology edition of this unique benchmarking series. Why? So if your interest is focused primarily on the medical device industry, you can access this valuable data at a much lower price than the larger volume. Royalty Rates for Technology: Medical Devices and Diagnostics Edition reports all available compensation terms from scores of completed medical device license agreements, gathered from more than 20 years of Mr. Parr’s research. You’ll find details on fixed royalty rates, per unit royalties, scaled royalty rates, and license fees. But you get more than just rates and data — you get context as well. For each transaction you’ll find:

• A description of the licensed technology
• Compensation terms including royalty rates and license fees
• Identity of the licensor and licensee
• Transaction background and history
• Market analysis and benefits of the licensed technology

This new edition is available for immediate download. For more detail and to order, CLICK HERE.

The overhaul of the University of Washington’s tech transfer department continues under the leadership of vice provost Linden Rhoads, and the latest move is about branding. The department — which manages and licenses technology from the state’s largest public university — has changed its name to The University of Washington Center for Commercialization, or UWC4C. “A name can imply a lot about a mission,” Rhoads says. “We hope the transition to the UW Center for Commercialization conveys a proactive, full-service group of commercialization experts committed to long-term relationships with UW researchers.” As part of that effort, the UWC4C has launched an entrepreneur-in-residence program in which industry leaders such as Pathway Medical founder Tom Clement, WildTangent founder Alex St. John, and Seattle Genetics co-founder Perry Fell will peruse opportunities and work directly with university researchers on possible business ideas. The UWC4C also has partnered with the Technology Alliance to showcase technologies from UW to the VC and angel investment communities.

In addition to the TTO name change, UW’s LaunchPad Services is changing its name to UWC4C New Venture Group, with Clement and Rick LeFaivre, managing director of OVP Venture Partners in Kirkland, joining the team to bring a large additional dose of real world start-up experience to the office. Both will report to Rhoads. LeFaivre will split his time evenly between the university and OVP, while Clement is expected to work full-time at UW for about 18 months. Janis Machala, who has spearheaded the LaunchPad since Rhoads hired her in November 2008, is leaving UW at the beginning of February to return to consulting. Machala says she feels “great” about the progress made in stirring more commercial activity in 2009. “New VCs are also engaging from the Bay Area and other locales now that they are seeing commercial progress” coming from UW research, she says.

The hiring of two individuals with deep expertise in high tech, cleantech, and life sciences is a recognition that UW needs specialized talent on staff to help nurture more start-ups, Rhoads says. The UW conducted more than $1 billion worth of research in 2008 — funded mostly by the federal government, charitable foundations, and corporations — and ranks second in federal research funding nationally behind Johns Hopkins University. Yet before Rhoads and Machala came aboard, business leaders complained that UW was mediocre at best in transforming that research into start-ups or useful products. Recruiting experienced industry talent to mentor scientists and engineers about business operations is a key part of bridging that gap. “This takes a lot of expertise,” Rhoads says. “There’s a lot of domain expertise required in knowing the safety and efficacy requirements, regulatory issues, [and] product reimbursement.”

Sources: TechFlash and Xconomy

The University of Rochester (NY) also is stretching its commercialization efforts by making a key staffing change. U-Rochester has created a new position — vice-provost for technology transfer policy — as part of a multi-year effort to increase the number of science and engineering discoveries that can be developed by entrepreneurs and turned into commercial technologies. Gail Norris, former director of the OTT for the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering, has been named the new vice-provost, while Corine Farewell, former deputy director of the OTT, will take over as director. “By broadening Gail’s responsibilities in tech transfer and bringing Corine into the directorship, we’re enhancing our ability to commercialize the amazing research that goes on here,” says Ralph Kuncl, the university’s provost and executive vice president. “We’ll be more responsive to the needs of entrepreneurs than ever before.”

As vice-provost, Norris will help develop strategies for the licensing and commercialization of IP developed at U-Rochester, foster corporate collaborations, and assist in establishing start-up companies that use technology developed at the university. As the new OTT director, Farewell will continue to provide guidance to university researchers on all aspects of protecting and commercializing innovations. She’ll also offer strategic direction for the licensing and commercialization of the university’s patent portfolio and work with the business community to identify technology needs and negotiate transfers of technology to meet those needs. For instance, students in the department of biomedical engineering senior design class have been working with the OTT to protect IP generated in the class and to produce real products from these discoveries. Farewell also plans to explore novel marketing channels such as social networking and Internet video to publicize research developments that are ready for commercialization and, in collaboration with U-Rochester’s Medical Center OTT, to establish a venture capitalist-in-residence program.

Source: University of Rochester News

A University of Delaware technology that could change the energy world is on a roll. The university has signed the first license for its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology with AutoPort, Inc., a vehicle processing and modification facility in New Castle, DE. Under terms of the licensing agreement, AutoPort has been granted non-exclusive rights in the area of commercial fleet vehicles. The agreement launches the first large-scale demonstration of the UD-developed V2G technology, which enables electric car owners to plug in their vehicles and send electricity back to electrical utilities. The system is designed to generate cash for the driver while strengthening the nation’s power supply and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

The UD agreement with AutoPort stands to benefit not only the owners of electric cars but also the regional economy and the university, which will gain R&D experience as the technology goes into real-world use. If the initial test is successful and V2G vehicles are subsequently manufactured, the university would receive a royalty for each vehicle sold with V2G equipment. During the next year, AutoPort plans to retrofit the first 100 V2G cars as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the technology, which was developed by Willett Kempton, PhD, a professor in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, and UD research fellow Jasna Tomic, PhD.

AutoPort will work with major companies in the area to demonstrate the V2G concept, according to Dick Johnson, the company’s director of business development. A minimum of 60 vehicles is needed to produce one megawatt of power when the vehicles are plugged into the grid. AutoPort is presently completing four vehicles for the State of Delaware and expects to have the first 100 vehicles produced in the next 12 to 18 months, according to Johnson. “We believe there is a great potential to increase the number of conversions from hundreds to thousands of vehicles, and this means a significant growth of jobs for Delaware,” he says. “The estimate for additional jobs at a thousand conversions is approximately 250. So as the numbers increase, so do jobs for Delaware.”

Source: Innovations Report

Julie Olson, PhD, wants to help your refrigerator. An associate professor of biological sciences, Olson is working with the University of Alabama’s OTT to bring to market a naturally occurring but previously unknown compound that could assist in food preservation. Although refrigeration slows the growth of many bacterial and fungal contaminants, refrigerators have proven to be no match against certain bacteria — including one group known as Listeria and another called the Pseudomonads. To counter these and a variety of other nasty bugs, Olson is testing the effectiveness of a protein antibiotic known as a bacteriocin, which was discovered in rural Alabama by a former graduate student. “Because this is a broad-spectrum bacteriocin, we are hoping it [will] be effective against a number of species that are responsible for food spoilage,” Olson says. “We’ve done a number of preliminary tests, and they look pretty good.”

The tests indicate the potential preservative is stable at most temperatures and appears to have a long shelf life — two characteristics in its favor, Olson says. It degrades when heated, so it’s not considered a harmful addition to food. The compound could potentially either be injected into food or sprayed onto external food surfaces prior to packaging. UA has obtained a provisional patent on the product and has a utility patent pending.

Source: dialog

TTOs say they are facing a hard truth when it comes to early-stage financing: Projects that would have been considered “venture ready” a few short years ago are having a much tougher time attracting VC funding today. “The definition of the term ‘venture ready’ is definitely different than it was a couple of years ago,” says Rick Silva, PhD, TTO director at the University of Colorado Denver. “With respect to biomedical technologies, for example, it means there’s a higher bar pertaining to data and the quality of the team. Venture investors may not get into a deal as early or be willing to back a deal prior to some meaningful proof of concept being in hand.”

Because downstream funding requirements for drug development are so much greater now, he continues, “there is much more reticence with venture folks to fund therapeutic companies. The prospects of going out and raising $50 million to $100 million are much more difficult now, and [VCs] don’t want to get involved in a deal that will run out of water before it crosses the desert.”

Ashley J. Stevens, D.Phil. (Oxon), executive director of technology transfer and senior research associate in the ITEC School of Management at Boston University, describes a typical VC’s criteria in the current economic climate: “If you want to fund a drug discovery company, they are comfortable with coming in about one year pre-clinical — and that is a very difficult standard for an academic institution to meet. I’m not saying that in a specific case they won’t consider coming in at an earlier stage, but that’s their current starting point.”

But Mark Lupa, PhD, a principal at High Country Venture, LLC, in Boulder, CO, cautions against painting all VCs with a broad brush. “It depends what [your fund] is focused on,” he says. “We are focused on an earlier stage; I think we are earlier than most VC firms, but I would not call us unique.” In short, he offers, “there are a large enough number of venture firms that will get into pre-clinical stage deals.” Lupa concedes that “every VC would prefer to get into later deals from which more of the risk has been removed, but that’s not always realistic or practical. We certainly look at pre-clinical deals. He also stresses that the general VC freeze which came in reaction to the global recession is now thawing. “There was a period from when the market imploded until last summer where it was very difficult for anyone to raise capital — a recessionary black hole. Since then it has opened up, but it is more difficult than it was two to five years ago.” A detailed article on the what it takes for TTOs to attract venture funding in the current economy appears in the January issue of Technology Transfer Tactics. To get the complete article and become a subscriber, including access to the entire archive of back issues, CLICK HERE.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has inked an exclusive over-the-counter license agreement covering the United States and Canada for a nanoemulsion treatment for cold sores developed by Ann Arbor, MI-based NanoBio Corporation. James R. Baker, Jr., MD, director of the Michigan Nanotechnology Institute for Medicine and Biological Sciences at the University of Michigan Medical School, developed nanoemulsions in the 1990s at U-M and founded NanoBio. The nanoemulsion technology is patented by U-M and licensed to NanoBio, where Baker serves as CEO. “For the university, this agreement demonstrates the value of our technology and fulfills our goal of getting the benefits of our research deployed broadly to the general public,” says Ken Nisbet, executive director of the U-M’s OTT.

Nanoemulsions are superfine mixtures of soybean oil and water, stabilized by surfactants and blended at very high speeds so that the resulting droplets are less than 400 nanometers in diameter. Nanoemulsion droplets fuse with a microbe’s outer membrane, disrupt the membrane, and kill the organism. Under the agreement, New Jersey-based GSK will pay NanoBio an up-front fee of $14.5 million for licensing rights to the nanoemulsion product, called NB-001. NanoBio is eligible to receive additional milestone payments of up to $40 million plus high single-digit royalties on future sales. Baker believes that the GSK-NanoBio partnership will “enable the development and commercialization of NB-001 to its fullest potential and validate the promise of our proprietary platform technology and its potential use in a wide range of dermatological and anti-infective applications.”

In a separate development, GSK is partnering with scientists at the Emory Institute for Drug Discovery (EIDD) in Atlanta and with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals on research to develop new drugs for neglected tropical diseases in underdeveloped countries. Emory signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GSK as the first university to join the company’s new “intellectual property pool,” consisting of hundreds of patents and patent applications, scientific reports, and analyses. Under the MoU, Emory will have access to GSK scientists who can provide information about the history and current development of selected compounds targeting 16 neglected diseases identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: tuberculosis, malaria, blinding trachoma, buruli ulcer, cholera, dengue/dengue haemorrhagic fever, racunculiasis, fascioliasis, human African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil transmitted helminthiasis, and yaws.

The patents in the IP pool are not generally filed in the least developed countries, and the new initiative is designed to encourage R&D of new medicines for these countries, as defined by the United Nations. The MoU states that, once the EIDD identifies technologies or selected compounds to pursue, Emory and GSK will develop a license agreement and additional collaborative research aimed at advancing the development of new medicines. The independent group BIO Ventures for Global Health will administer GSK’s IP pool. GSK also will collaborate with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and the South African company iThemba Pharmaceuticals, using the IP pool, to encourage R&D into new medicines to treat tuberculosis. iThemba, founded in 2003 by Dennis Liotta, PhD, professor of chemistry at Emory, and research partners in the United Kingdom, the United States, and South Africa, is developing new and affordable medicines for infectious diseases of the poor.

Sources: zikkir Technology News and Health News Digest

Two upcoming distance learning events will offer a wealth of best practices for IP marketers and tech transfer professionals:

• Performing Market Research Studies: Testing the Waters to De-Risk Your IP Investments, on Wednesday, February 24, 2010, features a high-powered roundtable of four marketing pros and an IP attorney, who’ll focus on improving triage using market research tools and strategies. CLICK HERE for full faculty and program details.
• Tech Transfer Marketing on a Shoestring: Guerilla Tactics in a Budget-Cut World, on Tuesday, March 9, 2010, will deliver a treasure trove of inventive, clever, out-of-the-box ideas to move your innovations to market without busting your budget, and also features a 30-minute idea-sharing add-on session. CLICK HERE for complete information and to register.

PLUS, don’t miss:

• IN TWO WEEKS, Tuesday, February 9: Patent Prosecution: Best Practices for Reducing Costs While Improving Patent Quality.

A device that gently rocks embryos while they grow during in vitro fertilization (IVF) improves pregnancy rates in mice by 22%, according to researchers at the University of Michigan. The device could one day lead to significantly higher IVF success rates in humans as well. Researchers built the device to imitate the motion that embryos experience as they make their way down a mammal’s oviduct (comparable to a woman’s Fallopian tube) to the uterus. Currently in IVF, eggs are fertilized with sperm and left to grow for several days in a culture dish that remains still until the embryos are transferred to the uterus. “By making the cells feel more at home, we get better cells, which is key to having better infertility treatment,” says Shu Takayama, PhD, associate professor in the department of biomedical engineering and in macromolecular science and engineering. Takayama and Gary Smith, PhD, associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the U-M Medical Center, co-authored a paper detailing their findings in Human Reproduction.

Their device holds the tiny early-stage embryos in a thimble-sized funnel. The bottom of the funnel is lined with microscopic channels that allow fresh nutrient-rich fluid to flow in and waste products out. The funnel sits on rows of Braille pins that are programmed to pulse up and down, pushing the fluids in and out of the channels. The current generated simulates flows that occur in the body due to muscle contractions and the motion of hair-like cilia that line the oviducts. In the body, these motions help to push fertilized eggs to the uterus and flush out the eggs’ waste products. Compared with mouse embryos grown in a static dish, those incubated in the new dynamic device were healthier and more robust after four days. Approximately 77% of the rocked mouse embryos led to ongoing pregnancies, compared with 55% of the statically grown embryos. In a control group of mouse embryos conceived naturally and grown within the oviduct, 83% led to ongoing pregnancies. In humans, IVF currently has a success rate of about 35%. “If we could increase that, even just to 45%, that’s significant,” Smith says. Takayama and Smith founded the company Incept Biosystems, which has initiated human clinical trials of the device.

Source: Science Daily