Dan Peer, PhD, a researcher in Tel Aviv University’s department of cell research and immunology and Center for Nano Science and Nano Technology, and Rimona Margalit, PhD, professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology, have developed a nano-sized vehicle that can deliver chemotherapeutics directly into cancer cells while avoiding interaction with healthy cells. The innovation increases the efficiency of chemotherapy while reducing side effects such as nausea and liver toxicity.

Tiny particles of chemotherapy drugs are loaded inside the nano-vehicle. When the delivery vehicle comes into contact with cancer cells, it releases the chemotherapeutic payload directly into the cell. According to Peer, the device can be used to treat many different types of cancer, including lung, blood, colon, breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and even several types of brain cancers. The technology was reported in Biomaterials.

The key to the drug delivery platform is the molecule used to create the outer coating — a sugar recognized by receptors on many types of cancer cells. “When the nano-vehicle interacts with the receptor on the cancerous cell, the receptor undergoes a structural change and the chemotherapy payload is released directly into the cancer cell,” Peer explains. Because the nano-vehicle reacts only to cancer cells, the healthy cells that surround them remain untouched. The nano-vehicle itself is fabricated from organic materials that fully decompose in the body once the payload is delivered. California-based ORUUS Pharma has licensed the technology and hopes to proceed to clinical trials in two years or less, according to Peer.

Source: EurekAlert!

Posted September 1st, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

Open Invention Network (OIN) and Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE), the TTO for Arizona State University (ASU), have launched a research program focused on developing solutions to critical security issues for mobile computing devices. As part of the relationship, OIN acquired IP from AzTE. The research program is designed to enable open source’s continued expansion into mobile technologies while providing IP for defensive purposes in an increasingly competitive market. “We expect to continue to acquire patents from universities and a variety of other secondary sources,” says OIN CEO Keith Bergelt.

A defensive patent management organization formed by IBM, NEC, Novell, Philips, Red Hat, and Sony to support Linux systems, OIN licenses technologies from its defensive patent pool on a royalty-free basis and works with universities on technology and patent acquisitions, funded research, and defensive publication programs. In this case, OIN is sponsoring the research of Gail-Joon Ahn, PhD, associate professor of computer science and engineering at ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and director of the Laboratory of Security Engineering for Future Computing (SEFCOM), to expand the collaborative’s impact in supporting Linux’s migration into mobile devices - an emerging market for the open source community. “Mobile device security has recently received considerable attention since it lacks a usable and effective method for handling user credentials,” Ahn says. “Our approach seeks a way to solve critical security issues such as identity theft, fraud, and privacy concerns related to all mobile computing devices.”

Source: Yahoo! Finance

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

Amid the daily hustle and bustle of a busy TTO, tracking and checking the accuracy of royalty payments is one activity that frequently is shunted aside or, at best, performed on an ad hoc basis. That’s a mistake, says Sidney P. Rattner, CPA, a partner in the Schaumburg, IL, office of the certified public accounting firm McGladrey & Pullen, LLP. Decades of auditing royalty streams associated with license agreements have taught Rattner that 70% to 80% of audits produce “not only a report for our client, but also a check.”

Michael F. Moore, manager of strategic accounts and compliance in the Office for Tech Commercialization at the University of Minnesota (UMinn), agrees that audit results usually work in favor of the licensor and are, at worst, cost-neutral. “We do royalty audits, but we do them on a limited basis,” Moore says, adding that the audits typically focus on licensees with the largest royalty streams. “The difficulty for us is the cash outlay.” Some TTOs respond to the challenge of optimizing royalty audits with homegrown solutions. The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) conducts royalty audits using customized checklists “derived from the specifics of the particular license and the type of technology,” explains Andrew Cohn, director of government and association relations. “We look for anomalies like wide variation in reported income for medium-size licensees, which might trigger an audit, but that has not happened for a while. For our most valuable licensees, we audit around every five to seven years.”

To help make the best use of limited resources, Rattner, who oversees his firm’s royalty audit process, has developed a checklist TTOs can use as a “diagnostic tool” to determine whether and how often to audit license agreements. The simple scoring tool helps users to assess the “risk profile” of each license and identifies factors that signal an audit may be warranted. The checklist examines factors such as the timeliness of royalty payments, supporting documentation, and complexity of the royalty calculation as well as the TTO’s level of understanding of the licensed technology, its distribution channels, and commercial uses. Responses are scored on a point system, with the total indicating the agreement’s potential exposure. A detailed article on the audit checklist, including a copy of the entire scoring system, appears in the August issue of Technology Transfer Tactics. To subscribe and access the article, CLICK HERE.

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

The China Technology Exchange has launched the “IPOS” platform as a one-stop shop to facilitate an effective channel for capital to flow into the country’s technology development sectors. The China Technology Exchange is a technology transaction service institute established by the Beijing Municipal People’s Government in partnership with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the State Intellectual Property Office.

Despite 30 years of development, China’s technology market continues to face significant bottlenecks, including a lack of standardized pricing for technical achievements, a dearth of trading links, an inadequate credit system, and a shortage of commercialization incentives. The IPOS is a market-driven platform designed to advance China’s IP rights strategy by integrating service resources, including domestic and international IP data providers, law firms, accountants, consulting organizations, and training institutions. As a fourth-party platform, the IPOS is expected to provide comprehensive IP rights services to the government, business sectors, science and technology parks, research institutes, and various types of investment institutes.

Source:  People’s Daily Online

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

Deer can be a headache for homeowners and an economic disaster for tree farmers, nurseries, and foresters, yet currently available deer sprays must be reapplied after any rain. Now a Duluth scientist has developed a way for plants to absorb hot pepper concentrate through their roots and into the leaves, rendering them too spicy for deer to munch. Tom Levar, a forestry and horticulture specialist for the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Natural Resources Research Institute, developed the idea using a chemical first used to treat muscle soreness in racing horses and, later, human athletes. The benign chemical, called DMSO, absorbs quickly through animal and human skin and into the bloodstream. Levar discovered that DMSO passes through plant “skin,” as well. He then combined the chemical with several bitter and otherwise unpleasant tasting chemicals for a natural deer repellent called capsicum. The pepper concentrate doesn’t harm the plant, so “you can use it when the plant is first put in the ground or incorporate it into the soil with established plants,” Levar says, adding that the plant will even emit a peppery smell. People “don’t notice the smell as much, but the deer sure know what it is. Usually it’s one bite and they move on.”

Michigan-based Repellex, USA has licensed the technology from the university and has applied to the Environmental Protection Agency for approval to market the compound, which also prevents dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, voles, moles, and gophers from eating plants and young trees, according to Levar. In tests at an Alexandria, MN, tree farm that had suffered huge losses of young conifer trees to field mice, the repellent proved 100% effective. Company officials expect to have Repellex Systemic Animal Repellent on store shelves in March 2011. Tests indicate the repellent is effective for an entire growing season.

Source: Duluth News Tribune

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

Tomorrow, August 26th, our Distance Learning Division has lined up a panel of experts to delve into the complex issues surrounding gene-based patents in the wake of the Myriad decision. The Future of Patenting in Biomedicine: An In-Depth Look at the Effect of the Myriad Case on Gene Patenting and Genetic Diagnostics will address host of issues including:

• How to analyze diagnostic claims
• The significance of the “detecting” step with regard to novelty
• The relevance of any “mental steps” involved in patent claims
• What to expect from the Federal Circuit
• The significance of genetic methods as a subset of medical diagnostic claims
• The relationship between information per se and methods of obtaining information.

For complete information and to enroll, please CLICK HERE >>>

Plus, don’t miss these upcoming distance learning programs:

• TTOs: Fast-Track Your Innovations — Wednesday, September 15, 2010
• Get Your Student Body on the Innovation Team — Thursday, September 23, 2010
• Best Practice Mentorships and Executive-In-Residence Programs — Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Audioconferences, Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

It’s been said that football is a game of inches. If that is the case, technology may soon help determine those inches exactly. Priya Narasimhan, PhD, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and founder of YinzCam — a mobile live streaming technology for sporting events — and a team of researchers have designed a ball-tracking technology that uses sensors in the form of a small circuit board. Weighing approximately one half-ounce and placed inside the ball, the circuit board contains a microprocessor, an antenna, and a magnetic coil that allows it to be charged wirelessly. The result is a ball that can be tracked no matter where it’s located on the field.

The technology is the result of more than three years of research and testing. “We’ve readied this ball to withstand the impact of an NFL game, especially with people beating up on it,” Narasimhan says. The group also designed the technology for wide receiver gloves and football cleats. In addition to allowing officials to determine a ball’s exact location — rather than guessing — the technology could be used as a training tool. “I think there is tremendous value for coaches to use it for scouting and training purposes,” Narasimhan says. “Every single time you use it, it gives you hard data on ball location so you can tell if you’re throwing the ball in the right place or catching it the correct way. You use it and then tweak your throw, kick, or catching style off the data.”

Source: Carnegie Mellon University

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

A high-tech, low-cost, disposable water filter that fits into the neck of a water bottle and delivers clean drinking water is being commercialized by Stellenbosch University (SU). The patented technology was developed by Eugene Cloete, DSc, microbiologist and dean of the Faculty of Science, and colleagues from the department of microbiology and polymer science.

The portable, easy-to-use, environmentally friendly water filter looks like a tea bag but is filled with active carbon granules that remove harmful chemicals such as endocrine disruptors. The filter not only resembles a tea bag in shape and size but is composed of the same biodegradable material as off-the-shelf tea bags. Inside, the filter is coated with a thin film of biocides encapsulated within minute nanofibers, which destroy disease-causing microbes. Each filter can clean polluted water to the point where it is completely safe to drink, according to Cloete. The filter sachet, which is inserted into the bottleneck, is designed for a single use.

The sachet combines years of fundamental research on water purification, nanotechnology, and food microbiology in a practical way, aiming to provide easy access to clean drinking water for vulnerable communities living near polluted water streams. “The ‘tea bag’ filter represents decentralized, point-of-use technology,” Cloete says. “It can assist in meeting the needs of people who live or travel in remote areas or people whose regular water supply is not treated to potable standards. As it is impossible to build purification infrastructure at every polluted stream, we have to take the solution to the people.” Cloete and colleagues also plan to commercialize the filter into a product that can be used by outdoor enthusiasts for hiking or camping trips.

Source:  Engineering News

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

2Market Information Inc., publisher of Tech Transfer E-News, has just introduced The Technology Transfer Marketing and Outreach Audio Library, a collection of 11 programs with 16 hours of IP marketing success strategies. As a package it’s available for less than $65 per program — nearly $1,500 off the cost of these programs when purchased individually. It’s designed to allow TTOs and other IP marketing organizations to dramatically expand staff development efforts — and internal marketing expertise — with minimal budget impact and without the time and cost of travel. Here are the individual programs included in the library:

1. TTOs: Use Social Media Effectively to Market Your Innovations
2. The Perfect Elevator Pitch: Sell Your IP in 3 Minutes or Less!
3. Tech Transfer Marketing on a Shoestring: Guerilla Tactics in a Budget-cut World
4. Performing Market Research Studies: Testing the Waters to De-Risk Your IP Investments
5. Best Practices for Marketing University and Federal Lab Technologies
6. Shifting Your TTO from Market Push to Market Pull: Finding the White Space
7. Selling University IP in Cyberspace: Best Practices in Web-based Marketing
8. Great Ideas for Improving Faculty Outreach and Enhancing Researcher-TTO Relations
9. Marketing Your Innovations: Best Practices for Tech Transfer Professionals
10. Shrink Wrap Your University’s Technologies for Industry
11. Become Industry-Friendly: Transform Your TTO into a Licensee Magnet

For complete details on all programs and to order, CLICK HERE >>>

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Audioconferences, Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

Axiogenesis AG of Cologne, Germany, and iPS Academia Japan, Inc., in Kyoto have executed a nonexclusive agreement allowing Axiogenesis worldwide access to the portfolio of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology for iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and other cell types pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, professor in the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) at the University of Kyoto. Axiogenesis AG is a pioneer of murine embryonic stem cell (ESC) technology and a developer of stem cell-derived products. Its production technology enables the commercialization of pure stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells. The technology is designed to reduce the time and cost of drug development by weeding out toxic or ineffective candidates early in the drug development process.

The first human iPS-derived cardiomyocyte product to be launched from the new collaboration is an electrophysiological compound profiling service that uses cardiomyocytes on micro electrode array (MEA) analysis. Axiogenesis is the first European company to receive the iPSC technology-related patent license from iPS Academia Japan, Inc., which manages the patents and other IP related to iPSC technologies for Kyoto University.

Source: Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

Intel and Nokia will establish their first collaborative research laboratory — the Intel and Nokia Joint Innovation Center — in the Center for Internet Excellence (CIE) at Finland’s University of Oulu. Initially, about two dozen local researchers will work at the laboratory for three-year assignments. The lab will focus on creating new internet user experiences that leverage the processing and graphics power of mobile devices, beginning with the use of graphical 3D technology to create immersive mobile interfaces.

The Oulu region hosts a strong 3D internet development community, which has created technologies such as the open-source virtual reality platform realXtend. The CIE will provide hosting and operational management for the Intel/Nokia center, with both companies providing research and technology expertise and support. In addition to financing from the companies, additional funding was provided by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation.

Source: BusinessWire

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

A compact microscope invented at Rice University is proving its potential to improve global health. In a paper published online in PLoS ONE, Rice alumnus Andrew Miller and coauthors demonstrate that his portable, battery-operated fluorescence microscope, which costs just $240, stacks up nicely in diagnosing tuberculosis against devices that retail for as much as $40,000. Miller and colleagues at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI) analyzed samples from 19 patients suspected of having TB. Their instrument, called the Global Focus microscope, performed just as well as the lab’s reference-standard fluorescence microscope. The team reported similar findings in 98.4% of tested samples.

Miller created the 2.5-pound microscope as his senior design project, working with faculty in Rice 360˚: Institute for Global Health Technologies. The goal was to make an inexpensive, portable, and highly capable microscope that could be used in clinics in developing countries that have limited access to lab equipment and may lack electricity. The microscope was built with off-the-shelf parts encased in a rugged plastic shell. Light to power the 1,000-times magnification microscope comes from a top-mounted LED flashlight. Miller and Rice have contracted with a medical device consultant, 3rd Stone Design, to produce 20 microscopes for field testing.

Source: Science Daily

Posted August 25th, 2010 under Tech Transfer. [ Comments: none ]

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