News and Events > News Release

Contact:         Lindsay Polak
                      Technology Transfer Office
                      University of Colorado
                      (303) 735-5518
                      lindsay.polak@cu.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 17, 2008 (Aurora, CO) The University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office (TTO) has executed an exclusive license agreement with Sierra Neuropharmaceuticals, Inc., a startup biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of small molecule therapeutic products to treat diseases of the brain for the medically refractory patient. It is well known that many of the most effective oral medicines for brain diseases are toxic to the body (and not to the brain); and additionally many patients do not adhere to the prescribed dosing regimen. The technology licensed by Sierra bypasses these issues by using reformulations of orally administered medications for placement into an implantable pump which is administered into the fluid around the brain for diseases including epilepsy, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and major depression. The development of the CU technology was supported in part through a proof-of-concept grant from TTO, and a Bioscience Discovery Grant from the State of Colorado and TTO. 

 About the Technology Transfer Office
The CU Technology Transfer Office pursues, protects, packages, and licenses to business the intellectual property generated from research at CU. The TTO provides assistance to faculty, staff, and students, as well as to businesses looking to license or invest in CU technology. For more information about technology transfer at CU, visit www.cu.edu/techtransfer.

About the University of Colorado
The University of Colorado is a three-campus system with campuses in Boulder and Colorado Springs, and a Denver campus located in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.  CU is a premier teaching and research university, ranked sixth among public institutions in federal research expenditures by the National Science Foundation. Academic prestige is marked by CU’s four Nobel laureates, seven Mac Arthur “genius” Fellows, 17 astronauts, 19 Rhodes Scholars and CU-Boulder’s ranking of 11th best public university in the world in The Economist. For further information, please visit www.cu.edu.