News and Events > CU's Technology Transfer Agreements and Invention Disclosures on the Rise

CU's Technology Transfer Agreements and Invention Disclosures on the Rise

DENVER - Only a month after launching a new strategic plan, the University of Colorado's Technology Transfer Office (TTO) is reporting a rise in invention disclosures and in licensing activity.

CU's TTO recently announced three license agreements: One license agreement is with Germany-based Munich Biotechnology AG. The agreement grants the company exclusive worldwide rights to University of Colorado patent applications that describe selective toxin expression in angiogenic endothelial cells.

Ian Maxwell, Ph.D., associate professor of dermatology at UCHSC and principal investigator on the angiogenic research, has been developing toxin gene expression plasmids as potential angiogenesis inhibitors for more than three years. In this agreement Munich Biotechnology is an active collaborator in the research project.

Munich Biotechnology AG is pursuing "neovascular targeting" - a technology that allows delivery of active ingredients inside the vascular system "selectively" to newly formed blood vessel cells. This pioneering technology is used to develop products for diagnosis and therapy of solid tumors.

The second license agreement is with PowerSicel, Inc. - the university's newest start-up company. PowerSicel is co-founded by Bart J. Van Zeghbroeck, a CU Boulder professor of electrical and computer engineering, who is currently on entrepreneurial leave, and John Torvik, former vice president of new products at Astralux, Inc.

Dr. Van Zeghbroeck's research at CU Boulder centered on a semiconductor chip technology designed to accelerate wireless data systems and services by enabling higher data rates at a lower cost.

According to David N. Allen, assistant vice president of technology transfer, PowerSicel is exemplary of an entrepreneurial faculty member harnessing years of research, teaming with an accomplished business person, and together directing their talents toward creating technology which will be embedded in products that hopefully we all will be using in the not too distant future.

PowerSicel, Inc. will handle the product development of the semiconductor chip technology as well as design, manufacture, and market a family of hardware components for the next generation of wireless telecommunication infrastructure.

PowerSicel recently received venture capital funding from ITU Ventures - a firm that specializes in serving the needs of technology businesses emerging from the nation's leading research universities.

The third license agreement was signed with AKTIV-DRY, LLC, co-founded by Brian Quinn who will be president and COO and Robert Sievers who will serve as chair of the board.

Sievers' research was conducted at CU-Boulder's department of chemistry and biochemistry and was the impetus for the start-up. His research focused on the formation of fine aerosol particles with the intent of developing new methods for drug delivery by inhalation.

AKTIV-DRY plans to develop the spin-out technology to produce ultra-fine dry powders for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

The overall technology licensing operation is building momentum, Allen said. The comparison of this fiscal year to last year indicates that faculty inventors are disclosing more technology, thus providing CU the opportunity to develop more licenses and options.

CU received 121 invention disclosures and completed 26 license and option agreements for fiscal year 2001-2002 compared to 79 invention disclosures and 14 license and option agreements for fiscal year 2000-2001.

Technology transfer has become a priority at CU because when managed effectively, technology transfer has the power to significantly impact society by bringing needed knowledge and innovation to commerce where it translates into products, services and jobs, said Allen.

CU's technology transfer office pursues, protects, packages and licenses to businesses the intellectual property generated from the research enterprise. Licenses are typically granted to existing companies, however, the office also licenses to new companies created from CU intellectual property. For more information on CU's technology transfer services go to www.cu.edu/techtransfer.

The University of Colorado is a four-campus system with three general campuses in Boulder, Denver, and Colorado Springs, and a Health Sciences Center campus located in Denver and at the former Fitzsimons Army Base in Aurora. For further information, please contact Bob Nero or Michele McKinney in the CU System Office of Institutional Relations at 303-492-6206.