University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office

 Interview: ColdQuanta Makes 1924 Prediction Come True
Rainer Kunz, President and CEO of ColdQuanta, Inc. along with founder/CSO Dana Anderson, Professor of Physics at CU discuss the short and long-term future of ultracold matter. ColdQuanta recently received a $100,000 proof-of-concept investment from CU TTO.

CU-Boulder Professor and Inventor Named First Ever Fellow Of American Society Of Plant Biologists
UCB Professor Andrew Staehelin has been named the first recipient of the new Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists award in 2007 for his distinguished contributions to plant biology.

Sixteen CU/NREL Energy Research Seed Grants Selected for Funding  
Sixteen renewable energy and sustainability research projects involving faculty and students at the University of Colorado at Boulder have been selected for funding beginning this summer. Topics of winning proposals include new materials for photo-conversion and hydrogen storage, and improving control of wind turbines.

Do you know of a recent award, new position or transition of interest to the CU tech community? Please send information to TTOnews@cu.edu.

TTO's Learning Laboratory: The Student Connection

TTO Bio Intern Nate Brown
Nate Brown, TTO’s biotech intern since last fall, received his undergraduate degree from the Department of Integrative Physiology in May and is enrolled as a graduate students at CU beginning fall 2008. Over the past year, Nate conducted extensive market research, identified several high potential applications and assessed the product feasibility per each application for an early stage hydrogel technology.  While still in an early stage of development, this technology will likely be used as a tissue sealant and a hemostatic agent to control bleeding during surgery.

Since starting at the TTO, Nate has worked dozens of cases, prepared due diligence information and worked closely with the licensing associates to ensure proper protection and commercialization of intellectual property developed out of the University of Colorado. He plans to continue working at the TTO as a graduate intern for the next year. Nate enjoys backcountry activities and will compete in the 24 Hours of Moab Mountain Bike Race this October.

Spotlight On:

CU-Boulder Technology of the Month:
CU1791B – Synthesis of Bulk Left-Handed Materials with Response in the Visible

UCDHSC Technology of the Month:
CU1527H – New Drugs for Prostate Cancer Bone Metastases

Upcoming Events

BioBreakfast and Medical Device Symposium
August 22, Timbers Hotel, Denver
Immediately after the CBSA BioBreakfast, the CU TTO will continue the medical device focus with a symposium.  The symposium will highlight medical device technologies from CU and other Colorado universities, as well as the capacity of universities and local companies to commercialize medical device technologies. Industry panelists will discuss current trends and resources in device development.

Seeking the Patent Truth: The New Rules for Developing & Protecting IP Assets
August 23, Spatial Corp, Broomfield
Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the 2007 Patent Reform Act, and globalization are changing the patent game. This program analyzes the pros and cons of these significant new developments to the patent landscape, explores their impact on Colorado technology companies, and charts a course for successful adaptation by corporate executives. Hosted by the Colorado Nanotechnology Alliance (CNA).

Colorado's Bioscience Community: Building on the Foundation
August 28, Denver Athletic Club Grand Ballroom, Denver
Join some of Colorado's top bioscience, business and venture capital experts to discuss the future of the bioscience industry in the Rocky Mountain State. Free registration online.

Sustainable and Renewable Energy Symposium
August 30, University Memorial Center, Boulder
The CU Graduate School and Energy Initiative will sponsor this year's event, "The Global Energy Crisis - Climate Change, Mitigation, and Adaptation."  The symposium will focus on Sustainable and Renewable Energy issues and related initiatives in Colorado, and is free and open to the public.

BioEntrepreneurs Club
September 6, Holland and Hart, Denver
David Allen presents a summary of TTO FY 2006-07 performance with an emphasis on bioscience. Additional topics include TTO’s bioscience initiatives and goals for FY 2008, the evolving early-stage biobusiness assistance infrastructure, and the CU Biomedical Initiative (perspectives from UCB and UCDHSC).

BioScience Bogie: CBSA 2007 Annual Golf Tournament
September 17, Omni Interlocken, Broomfield
Put down the test tube, step away from your monitor, turn off your cell phone. It's time to tee it up at the BioScience Bogie, the 2007 CBSA Golf Tournament in association with Colorado Science + Technology Park at Fitzsimons. Register online.

Rocky Mountain Nanotechnology Showcase & Conference
September 17-18, Driscoll Event Denver, University of Denver
Sponsored by the Colorado Nanotechnology Alliance (CNA); more info coming soon.

CTEK Angels LIVE
September 25,  Davis Auditorium, University of Denver
This event allows the general public to obtain an insider's perspective into what angel investors look for in a deal, what gets them excited about an opportunity, what they shoot down quickly, and how the angels process is organized. Register online.

CSIA DEMOgala 2007
October 11, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Denver
This industry show highlights the best innovation Colorado has to offer. From robotics and nanotechnology to software and gaming, CSIA finds the companies making a difference with their innovation and showcases their efforts at this premier advanced technology event.

TiE-Rockies MentorFest 2007  
October 25, PPA Center, Denver 
TiE-Rockies announces MentorFest 2007, the continuation of a TiE tradition. This will be a chance for anyone who is working on a business concept to get their plan in front of a highly experienced group of serial entrepreneurs for review and assistance with, planning, funding, starting, operating, developing, and selling their business. Register online.

To have your event featured here, please send an email to TTOnews@cu.edu.

CU Resources

Biotechnology Business Course Offered by UCDHSC Bard Center for Entrepreneurship
This course examines the process of technology transfer in the academic, government laboratory and corporate setting. The focus of the course will be on the process of creating innovation from inventions, protecting the innovation and intellectual property and deciding whether to proceed with commercialization.

Innovation in the News

Legislation to Increase America’s Competitiveness
President Bush signed the America COMPETES Act August 10 to authorize funding for research, education and teacher-training programs in the fields of science and technology over the next few years. The law also creates a new Advanced Research Projects Administration for Energy (ARPA-E) with three principal goals: reduce foreign energy imports, reduce greenhouse gas and other emissions, and improve energy efficiency.

NGA Awards $500,000 Grants to Six States to Improve STEM Education
The National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices awarded Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia $500,000 grants to establish K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education centers in their states.

Key Senator May Call for Law Requiring Disclosure of Payments to Researchers
U.S. Sen. Charles E. Grassley has written several universities to ask for details about how they monitor payments by drug companies to their biomedical researchers. Senator Grassley, an Iowa Republican, is considering proposing legislation that would require corporations to report those payments in a national, public database.

Bill Calls for FDA to End All Conflicts of Interest
The Food and Drug Administration could face a tough new assignment from Congress: Eliminate all conflicts of interest on outside advisory panels whose votes heavily guide the agency's decision-making. Even researchers whose grants or consulting fees amount to less than $50,000 during the previous 12 months would be affected under the draft guidance.

Teaching Hospitals, Universities Focus on Medical Incubators
More universities and hospitals across the U.S. are focusing on programs that support new technology development and the commercialization of that technology through incubation labs and other programs.

ThinkVillage Provides Patent Help
Having struggled numerous times with the red tape and high costs associated with patent filing firsthand, ThinkVillage founder Curtis Vock invented an easier way. Today, ThinkVillage LLC is making it easier for other inventors as well.

Roundup: University, Community, State, National and International Initiatives

• Georgia Lawmakers Propose Bioscience Investment Plan
  Led by state legislators and biotech industry leaders, the Georgia Bioeconomic Development Commission is calling for a five-year, $600M development plan to increase the strength of bioscience businesses in the Atlanta metro area.

• Mass. Governor Files $1B Biotech Bill
  Gov. Deval Patrick provided a blueprint for his proposed $1B investment in biotechnology, introducing sweeping legislation that would finance cutting-edge research, create the nation's largest stem cell bank, and provide expanded tax credits to life science companies.

• Oregon Governor Signs Innovation Plan
  Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed in late July a series of bills providing $28.2M to kick-start several industries in the state. Recipients will include the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute and the Bio-Economy and Sustainable Technologies Center.

• North Carolina Lawmakers Fund Major Research and Economic Development Initiatives
  In late July North Carolina lawmakers reached a $20.7B budget agreement for fiscal year 2007-08 that includes funding for major research initiatives, and establishes the North Carolina Biofuels Center.

External Resources

Colorado Companies Raise $284.9M in Venture Capital
Colorado-based companies lured $284.9 million in venture capital in the second quarter, more than triple what was raised in the same period last year, according to a report released July 23 by Dow Jones VentureOne and accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP. Included in this figure is the $18M raised by CU licensee ARCA Discovery, based in Denver.

Easing Friction Over Tech Transfer
The Economist called it “possibly the most inspired piece of legislation to be enacted in America over the past half-century.” In 1980, amendments to the Patent and Trademark Act of 1980 — or, as most prefer to call it, the Bayh-Dole Act — set the rules for how nonprofit institutions, universities included, have retained title to inventions resulting from federally funded research, filed patents and sold licensing rights to small businesses and corporations for over 25 years.

Global Perspectives on Effectiveness of R&D Subsidies
Policymakers and researchers in the U.S. continue to debate the effectiveness and value of providing R&D subsidies to firms in the hope of spurring technological developments and wealth generation. Three recent papers, which separately review Canadian, Catalonian (a region of Spain), and Norwegian efforts to support industrial R&D, find subsidies do influence company performance, mostly positively.

Web Site Offers Guidelines to Deal With Financial Conflicts of Interest in Research
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology opened a Web site in July, dubbed the COI Toolkit, with guidelines for researchers, universities, scientific societies, research publications, and industry to manage and disclose financial relationships that could give rise to conflicts of interest.

Biotech Industry Struggles to Recruit Talent
According to a recent National Science Foundation report, the demand for biotech workers is outpacing the rate at which U.S. universities are churning out graduates. And because academic institutions aren’t able to satisfy the industry’s demand for new Ph.D graduates, attracting and keeping workers is becoming an increasingly serious problem in the drug development process.

U.S. Angel Investors Optimistic About the Future, Report Finds
A majority of angel investment groups report that the quality and quantity of their deal flow increased last year, according to a recent national survey of angel investors. Almost 58% expect even more investments and higher quality deals throughout 2007. The Angel Group Confidence Report (PDF), conducted by the Angel Capital Association, is a first-of-its-kind overview of the U.S. angel market.

Parting Quotes