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News and Events > Newsletters > Monthly Newsletter: July/August 2005
University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office
Monthly Newsletter
Volume 2 ~ Issue 1 ~ July/August 2005
Today at the TTO
Windom Peak Pharmaceuticals Options Three HSC Technologies and is Awarded Proof of Concept Funding
Windom Peak Pharmaceuticals, a company seeking to develop novel antibiotics to treat infectious diseases, has entered into an exclusive option arrangement for three provisionally patented HSC technologies. These technologies include a method developed by Dr. Michael Vasil for identifying antimicrobial agents which directly affect the function of a pathway that may abolish the ability of a variety of bacteria to cause disease. Additional research performed by Dr. Robert Hodges, Yuxin Chen, Robert Hancock and Susan Farmer performed in conjunction with Dr. Vasil led to the discovery of four novel peptides that have the potential for broad spectrum antimicrobial activity against a variety of multidrug resistant strains of common pathogens. These discoveries are significant advancements in addressing infections that are increasingly resistant to existing reagents. To facilitate the commercialization of these early inventions, Windom Peak Pharmaceuticals was awarded $100,000 from the TTO's Proof of Concept funding program.
CU Licenses Arctic Connections Software to Videodiscovery
The Arctic Connections software was developed by Scott Elias of the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. The software has been licensed to Videodiscovery, Inc. of Seattle, WA, which is a leading publisher and distributor of quality, innovative multimedia products for educators and families.
Arctic Connections has been implemented on a new CD-ROM that integrates life, earth and physical science in the setting of arctic tundra of northwestern Alaska. It is a collection of stories set in a science research station. The primary focus is on arctic physical and biological science with interactive simulations, quizzes and problem solving that require interactive participation to keep each story progressing.
For further information about the Arctic Connections Project, see http://arctic.rhul.ac.uk/.
CU Licenses Wind Profiler Technology to Vaisala, Inc.
In collaboration with NOAA scientists, Dr. Alan White developed a method for snow level detection by Doppler radar, see US Pat. No. 6,615,140. CU has licensed the technology to Vaisala, Inc., for commercial development and implementation. Vaisala is a global corporation that develops, manufactures and markets products and services for environmental and industrial measurement. Their mission is to provide basis for better quality of life, environmental protection, safety, efficiency and cost savings. Vaisala maintains Boulder operations and collaborates actively with NOAA and CU through the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, CIRES.
GleeCo Signs Option Agreement to License Software
GleeCo is a company that was co-founded by Dr. Lorraine Ramig of CU Boulder's Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences to commercialize products related to the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT), a method for improving the speech of patients with Parkinson's Disease. LSVT-Companion software was developed in 2003 by Carlos Matos, a student in the Computer Science Department studying under Dr. John Bennett. LSVT-Companion takes a patient through the same therapy steps that a patient would go through with a live clinician. GleeCo now plans to commercialize LSVT-Companion software by introducing it to clinicians to supplement the one-on-one treatment. GleeCo is developing its business plan based on a business plan written by a group of MBA students from CU Boulder Leeds School of Business. The business plan won second place in the fall 2004 business plan competition.
TTO Announces Fall 2005 Proof of Concept (POC) Investment Round
The University of Colorado's Technology Transfer Office (TTO) announces the fall 2005 round of its new funding program to move ideas from the lab to the marketplace. The Proof of Concept (POC) program will make early stage investments ranging from $50,000 - $100,000 in promising technologies that are currently, or could become, the basis for a start-up company. A CU faculty member, or an entrepreneur working with a CU faculty member, must submit proposals by October 7, 2005. (more)
Commercialization Strategies for Fall POC Applications
MBA student interns will continue to work with the TTO on a part time basis in the fall semester. These interns will analyze the commercial feasibility of new inventions. Boulder-based interns are also available to continue working with advisory boards from theBoulder Innovation Center to shape the business plans for new CU startup companies. Inventors planning to apply for the fall round of Proof of Concept investments may be able to get some help on the commercialization strategy from the MBA interns and the Boulder Innovation Center. Inventors should contact the TTO as soon as possible for help from MBA interns. Interns will not be available close to the deadline for the POC fund applications.
TTO Starts New Fiscal Year With Three Additional Employees
Fiscal year 2006 brings three new employees to the TTO. Two are permanent life sciences Licensing Associates and the third is a temporary Marketing Analyst. Please welcome Andrew Gano, Susana Read and Elizabeth Towner to the TTO. (more)
CU Technology Transfer Today
|
2001-2002 |
2002-2003 |
2003-2004 |
2004-2005 |
| Invention Disclosures |
121 |
124 |
147 |
177 |
| US Patent Applications Filed |
69 |
82 |
100 |
139 |
| Options and Licenses |
14 |
33 |
41 |
59 |
| Revenue Received * |
$2.2M |
$3.4M |
$5.8M |
$21.7M |
| Start-up Companies |
3 |
6 |
9 |
9 |
*does not include revenue derived from legal settlements which in FY 2003-2004 amounted to $28.1M and in FY 2004-2005 amounted to $6.7M
University of Colorado School of Medicine Ranks in Top 20 for NIH Research Awards, Ninth Among Public Universities
Out of 126 private and public medical schools nationwide, the University of Colorado School of Medicine ranks 20th overall and ninth among public institutions in total award funding received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2004. Between Oct. 1, 2003 and Sept. 30, 2004, the NIH granted 445 awards totaling more than $172 million to the CU School of Medicine, located on the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center campus. The awards funded biomedical research as well as training grants, fellowships, career awards and more. In FY 2003, the school ranked 22nd overall, receiving 460 NIH awards totaling $165 million.
Motorola Inc. and Phiar Corporation Announce Joint Development of High-Speed Circuits with Potential to Operate to Terahertz (THz) Frequencies
Motorola and Phiar Corporation announced a Joint Development Agreement for a project focusing on the creation of next generation electronic circuits which can be incorporated with tiny antennas to deliver high-speed millimeter wave receive arrays. These next generation receive arrays are expected to be low cost with the ability to be incorporated into multiple high-speed applications including Device-to-Device wireless communications and Personal Consumer Near Field Communications (NFC) as well as Medical Imaging, Automotive Radar, Homeland Security Scanning, and Defense applications. (more)
TTO's Learning Laboratory: The Student Connection
From the Classroom to the Market
At the CU Boulder Leeds School of Business, graduate students are encouraged to find and obtain an ideal summer internship. Ideally, the internship should complement your skill set, enhance your education, and provide a stepping-stone towards your career path. With an academic focus on entrepreneurship, interning at the CU Technology Transfer Office ( TTO) provided an extension from the classroom to the intricacies of not only transferring university technology but also starting a business. (more)
Spotlight On:
| CU Boulder's Technology of the Month |
CU HSC's Technology of the Month |
CU's Company of the Month |
| CU1296B - Crystal Structures of ArnA (Pmrl) |
CU1270H - Pro-inflammatory Properties of Urokinase |
Globeimmune, Inc. |
Dr. Sousa and his group have solved the crystal structure of the N-terminal domain of ArnA, the C-terminal domain of ArnA and the full length protein, both with and without substrates. In addition, they have performed site-directed mutagenesis and mechanistic studies to confirm the importance of amino acids predicted by the crystal structures to be functionally important for the ArnA mechanism and to establish differences between ArnA and human enzymes that catalyze similar reactions to find the basis for the design of selective inhibitors. They have also designed an assay to measure the activity of the oxidative decarboxylation reaction catalyzed by the C-terminal domain of ArnA.
More than 80% of patients with CF develop chronic airway infections with the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. CF patients have a reduced ability to kill bacteria infecting their airways, and these infections are a major cause of mortality in CF individuals. Pseudomonas modify the structure of their cellular surface to decrease their susceptibility to innate CAMPs (cationic anti-microbial peptides) and antibiotics, mainly by modifying lipid A, a major component of the cell surface, with 4-aminoarabinose. The enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of 4-aminoarabinose-lipid A are clustered in two loci, PmrHFIJKLM and PmrE; mutations in any gene except pmrM abolishes the addition of 4-aminoarabinose to lipid A. ArnA, the protein product of the pmrI gene, is a key enzyme in the 4-aminoarabinose-lipid A modification pathway. Inhibition of ArnA will abolish the addition of 4-aminoarabinose to lipid A. This will increase the susceptibility of Pseudomonas to the immune system and improve the effectiveness of anti-microbial treatments in individuals with CF.
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Inflammation is an essential part of survival, yet when injury or infections produce uncontrolled responses, collateral damage to vital organs may occur leading to septic shock and death. Levels of Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) which increase in acute inflammatory disease, such as sepsis, are associated with an increased rate of mortality.
The incidence of severe sepsis has increased 9% per year for the past 22 years and is currently a leading cause of death in intensive care units. Out of 751,000 people having surgery, serious injury or infection, 375,000 will deteriorate to septic shock, and 215,000 will die. Mortality has remained high at approximately 25% even with intensive medical care. In addition to being fatal, sepsis accounts for $16.7 billion a year in health care costs. Furthermore, there are no new treatments in clinical trials that can substantially improve these numbers.
Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) is a serine protease that catalyzes the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin, an enzyme responsible for digesting fibrin in blood clots. At the University of Colorado, scientists previously found that uPA potentiates lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neutrophil responses. They have also demonstrated that the uPA receptor (uPAR) is not required for such effects since uPA potentiates proinflammatory cytokine expression in neutrophils lacking uPAR.
Dr. Edward Abraham has identified the kringle domain (KD) of uPA as the proinflammatory domain being responsible for the potentiation of LPS (endotoxin) induced neutrophil activation. He has data demonstrating that blocking the KD decreases organ injury and improve survival in sepsis. Additionally, he believes that manipulating the KD responses has also a role in the therapy of cancer.Currently the inventor is working on a cloned mouse uPA kringle domain and will start producing antibodies, with potential therapeutic properties.
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GlobeImmune, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery, development and manufacturing of potent, targeted molecular immunotherapies called Tarmogens for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. The Company's lead product series, GI-4000 for the treatment of cancers of the lung and gastrointestinal tract, is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials. The Company initiated a Phase 1b trial for its second product, GI-5005, a Tarmogen for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection in July 2005.
Tarmogens are whole, heat-killed recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast genetically modified to express one or more protein antigens that stimulate the immune system against diseased cells. Tarmogens are avidly taken up by the cells that activate the immune system called antigen presenting cells, to stimulate a T cell response against the desired target(s). GlobeImmune's patented Tarmogen platform has a number of advantages over current approaches including that Tarmogens generate potent T engineered and are simple to manufacture.
For additional information, please visit the company's website at: www.globeimmune.com |
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Technology Transfer Bulletin of the Month
Upcoming Events
TTO Educational Seminar: "Alternative Funding Sources in Science, Federal SBIR and STTR Programs: Where the money is and how to get it"
August 15, 2005 - Alternative Funding Sources in Science, Federal SBIR and STTR Programs: Where the money is and how to get it" with Russ Farmer, President and founder of PBC, Inc., Richard Duke, Board of Directors and Scientific Founder of Globeimmune, Inc. and Tom Smerdon the University of Colorado Office of Technology Transfer Director of Business Development. (more)
Faegre & Benson Sponsors $10,000 Biosciences Venture Capital Showcase Award
August 31, 2005 Deadline - The law firm of Faegre & Benson, L.L.P., in conjunction with the Colorado BioScience Association and Colorado Office of Economic Development is sponsoring a $10,000 unrestricted cash award, to be given to the outstanding presenting company at the Venture Capital Showcase, part of the 2005 BioWest conference in Denver, November 8th and 9th. The VC showcase will be judged by a distinguished panel of venture capitalists representing local and out-of-state funds. (more)
TTO Seminar: "CU Technology Transfer: Maintaining the Momentum"
September 8, 2005 - CU Technology Transfer: Maintaining the Momentum with David Allen, Associate Vice President of Technology Transfer. Topics to be covered include: an update on Technology Transfer performance, new programs within Technology Transfer, and accessing CU biotech intellectual property. (more)
Innovation in the News
High Country Venture Completes Partnership Agreement to Manage Colorado Venture Capital Fund
High Country Venture, LLC, which is affiliated with private investment company Tango, has reached final agreement with the Colorado Venture Capital Authority (VCA) to begin managing its first state-backed investment fund. The Colorado Venture Capital Authority board of directors selected High Country Venture from four finalists last December to facilitate investment funding and provide related management expertise to promising seed and early-stage companies throughout the state. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade provides staffing support to the VCA, which was created last year by the Colorado State Legislature.
Colorado's Biotechnology Push Garners Attention
Colorado is "charging hard" in its quest to be a leading center for biotechnology, said James Greenwood, president and chief executive of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. "The political leadership in Colorado and academic leadership has recognized that biotechnology is really the future in many ways," said the head of the national group that advocates for the biotechnology industry. "They are making some pretty dramatic strides. They're running very fast."
Code Composer Holds Chip's Key
In the early 1990s, Hewlett-Packard chief scientist Bill Worley dreamed up the principles behind Itanium, intended to be the world's fastest and most secure chip. Since then, elite computer engineers at H-P's research lab in Fort Collins have toiled in a partnership with Intel to bring Worley's ideas to life.
At America's Top Health Institute, the Writing Is on the Wall
American biotech startups and universities have probably lost the wisdom of government scientists for the foreseeable future. Indeed, if there was any chance that US National Institutes of Health boss Elias Zerhouni might find a way to let NIH scientists consult-without compensation-for biotech startups, or teach courses at American university business or medical schools, it is surely gone now. The latest chapter in the NIH ethics saga has government watchdogs screaming for blood and NIH scientists crying foul and likely headed for the door.
Research: Third of study results don't hold up
New research highlights a frustrating fact about science: What was good for you yesterday frequently will turn out to be not so great tomorrow. The sobering conclusion came in a review of major studies published in three influential medical journals between 1990 and 2003, including 45 highly publicized studies that initially claimed a drug or other treatment worked.
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