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In this issue:
Tax
incentive program boosts Oregon State research
University officials
and policy makers looking for effective state programs to fund promising
research need look no further than Oregon, where a new tax incentive scheme
is working wonders for Oregon State University's efforts to commercialize
its discoveries. Launched in October 2007, the University Venture Development
Fund, or UVDF, offers Oregon residents a 60% state tax credit for gifts
to the fund, all of which is earmarked for helping to move university
research to the marketplace. As part of the project, the state legislature
authorized eight Oregon universities including OSU to receive a total
of $14 million in tax credit-eligible gifts. Oregon State's first round
of awards under the program will provide approximately $435,000 to support
the next stages of development for six projects. "Some amazingly
innovative work is coming out of Oregon State, and this venture funding,
provided by the citizens of Oregon, will help translate new knowledge
into viable business ventures," said John Cassady, OSU vice president
for research.
An advisory committee
made up of university, research and business leaders chose the first round
of OSU projects for funding based on their commercial and technological
viability, said Brian Wall, the committee chair and OSU’s TTO director.
"Each of these projects has already made significant progress toward
the marketplace," said Wall. "These awards will help speed the
technology’s time to market, allowing faculty, students, entrepreneurs
or existing companies to take the next steps to turn research into businesses."
Funded projects include:
- A small-scale
water pasteurization system that can be used as part of a portable kidney
dialysis machine, also under development at OSU, as well as for other
medical or scientific uses that require water of high chemical and biological
purity.
- A new organic compound
that improves on existing organocatalysts used in drug development and
production. The "Hua Cat" compound, named after its inventor,
is more soluble, more easily prepared, and more environmentally friendly
than existing alternatives, eliminating the need for solvents that are
difficult to recycle.
- New wood adhesives
made from all renewable materials that eliminate the need not only for
formaldehyde in wood adhesives but also replacing petroleum-based chemicals
used adhesive processing.
- A low-cost process
for creating thin-film solar cells using ink jet printing technology.
- The "Ping
Meter," a handheld tool equipped with GPS that can determine the
chlorophyll, nitrogen and water content of plant leaves and show the
results in a color-coded map. The meter enables growers and researchers
to monitor or “ping” plant health status more precisely
than currently available equipment.
- A simple tool that
improves the quality and speed of mass spectrometer analysis.
Go to: Media
Newswire
Top
VCs,
Angels to reveal secrets to snagging investment dollars
How can you learn
the insider secrets that will get your innovations the attention they
deserve from these very choosy investors? How about a direct approach
-- ask them!
Technology Transfer
Tactics has lined up two prominent investors who specialize in university
technologies -- one a VC, the other an Angel -- to give you insight into
the nitty-gritty details of what they want -- and expect -- when being
courted for funding. Join us on Tuesday, September 30, 2008, from 1:00
p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EDT, for a unique audioconference event: VCs
and Angels Speak to TTOs: What We Want to See, And What We Don’t.
You’ll leave this presentation -- featuring Eric Nicolaides,
founder of Wildcat Venture Management, and Robert L. Morrison,
Executive Director of Tucson's Desert Angels -- armed with practical advice,
key recommendations, and specific techniques direct from the investors
themselves. Then use their guidance and specific "do's and don'ts"
to give your TTO and your researchers the very best opportunity to secure
critical commercialization funds. To register or for full program information,
CLICK
HERE.
Editor's note:
If you missed yesterday's audioconference on performance improvement strategies
for TTOs, you can still get the audiostream or CD version plus all handouts.
CLICK
HERE for full details.
Top
UC-Davis
researcher develops animal-free method to culture human embryonic stem
cells
The majority of researchers
working with human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) use animal-based materials
for culturing the cells. But because these materials are animal-based,
they have potential to transmit viruses and other pathogens to the hESCs.
A scientist at the University of California-Riverside has devised a method
of growing hESCs in the lab that uses no animal-derived materials. Noboru
Sato, an assistant professor of biochemistry, developed the new method,
which is not only cleaner and easier to use than conventional methods
but also results in hESCs whose pluripotency -- the potential to differentiate
into any of the specialized cells of the body such as neurons, cardiac
muscles, and insulin-producing cells -- is uncompromised. Currently, researchers
worldwide grow hESCs on Matrigel-coated culture plates, Matrigel being
the trade name for a gelatinous extract, taken from mouse tumor cells,
that contains extracellular matrices (ECMs) made up of special proteins.
The Matrigel coating provides the scaffolding to which the hESCs first
attach and then grow in undifferentiated colonies before differentiating
into specialized cells. Sato's lab identified a specific signaling pathway,
called Rho-Rock, which the hESCs use during colony formation and which
plays an important role in physical interactions between hESCs. When the
researchers blocked the pathway, they found, as expected, that the normal
colony formation of hESCs was considerably impaired. But surprisingly,
they also found that the hESCs maintained their pluripotency. "Until
now, it was generally assumed that the hESC colony formation was pivotal
for maintaining pluripotency," Sato said. "But we show that
pluripotency can be retained independent of close cell-cell contact."
Prue Talbot, director of UC-Riverside's Stem Cell Center, said Sato's
discovery is "an important step forward in both understanding signal
transduction pathways in stem cells and in the development of an improved
methodology for culturing stem cells." The group is now focusing
on applying the new technique to the latest stem cell technology, "induced
pluripotent stem (iPS) cells," which are artificially derived from
adult cells without using embryos. The university's Office of Technology
Commercialization has applied for a patent on Sato's discovery and is
seeking industry partners to help develop it. Go to: ScienceDaily
Top
Stem
cell company licenses new mesenchymal cells from U of Georgia
In another stem cell
development that hints at the commercial promise being chased by companies
and universities, the University of Georgia Research Foundation inked
an exclusive worldwide license with privately held ArunA Biomedical, Inc.,
based in Athens near the UGA campus, to commercialize human mesenchymal
cells (hMSCs) developed by researchers at the school. Derived from human
embryonic stem cells, the mesenchymal cells have never before been available.
ArunA will use the technology combined with its own proprietary culturing
technology to offer academic and industrial researchers access to a highly
uniform population of human mesenchymal cells grown as adherent monolayer
cultures in multiple turn-key kit formats. The hMSC kits will provide
a physiologically relevant and genetically stable source of research material
for use in a broad range of applications, including developmental pathway
studies, disease modeling, in vitro toxicology, compound screening, and
humanized animal models, the company said in a statement. "These
unique cells provide researchers with new enabling tools that can have
a measurable impact on the advancement of drug discovery," said ArunA's
president and CEO William Sharp. The company expects to have the hMSC
kits available in the first quarter of 2009. According to Robert Nerem,
a stem cell expert at the Georgia Institute of Technology, "one of
the most important uses of human embryonic stem cells will be in the generation
of uniform populations of adult stem cells and progenitor cells. It is
thus exciting that ArunA Biomedical will be able to provide uniform cell
populations of human mesenchymal cells in kit form." Go to: The
Earth Times
Top
Canada
set to open world's first research center for commercializing molecular
imaging probes
The Centre for Probe
Development and Commercialization, the world's first commercialization
center focused on bring together business interests and researchers to
develop molecular imaging probe technology, is getting ready to open in
Hamilton, Ontario. The molecular probes the center will be helping to
develop are used in advanced medical imaging technology, particularly
in early detection of breast and prostate cancer, according to Dr. John
Valliant, the center’s newly appointed scientific director. The
facility will offer fee-based services to industrial clients as a means
of becoming self-supporting, and will also generate revenues from patent
licensing, outside investment, and creation of new spin-off companies.
In molecular imaging, doctors inject tiny quantities of probes, or biomarkers,
into a patient. The probes then travel to the disease site and produce
visual images of molecular processes, such as how quickly a tumor is shrinking
after cancer treatment. The probes can also detect small tumors long before
they are visible on an x-ray or a computed tomography (CT) scan. In addition,
molecular probes can be used to deliver targeted drug therapies and monitor
conditions such as diabetes or Alzheimer’s disease. The center hopes
to capitalize on a technology that Canada already has a leading presence
in -- the country produces 70% percent of the world’s medical isotopes,
Valliant points out. It will both create jobs for Canadians, he added,
and help reverse the "brain drain" the country has experience
in recent years. “We’re attracting Canadian-trained people
to come back to Canada from the U.S. and Europe,” says Valliant.
Go to: InnovationCanada
Top
Innovation
of the Week: Decaf coffee inspires uranium recycling technology
A new recycling plant
will soon recover uranium from the ashes of radioactive garbage to be
recycled back into nuclear fuel using an efficient, environmentally friendly
technology inspired by decaffeinated coffee. The technique may eventually
lead to recycling the most dangerous forms of radioactive waste. Developed
at the University of Idaho by chemistry professor Chien Wai, the process
uses supercritical fluids to dissolve toxic metals. When coupled with
a purifying process developed in partnership with Sydney Koegler, a university
alum and engineer with nuclear power company AREVA, enriched uranium can
be recovered from the ashes of contaminated materials. The school signed
an agreement with AREVA last week under which the company will use several
of Wai’s discoveries to extract the metals from contaminated ash.
AREVA provided research funding and will now gain rights to the university’s
share of a joint patent that further separates the enriched uranium from
the extracted metals.
A supercritical fluid
-- in this case carbon dioxide -- is any substance raised to a temperature
and pressure at which it exhibits properties of both a gas and a liquid.
When supercritical, the substance can move directly into a solid like
a gas and yet dissolve compounds like a liquid. Supercritical carbon dioxide
has directly dissolved and removed caffeine from whole coffee beans for
decades, Wai noted. When the carbon dioxide’s pressure is returned
to normal, it becomes a gas and evaporates, leaving behind only the extracted
metals. No solvents are required, no acids are applied, and no organic
waste is left behind. “That’s why decaffeinated coffee tastes
so good,” said Wai. Because the technology is so simple, cost-effective
and environmentally friendly, AREVA is eager to test its first full-scale
use on 32 tons of incinerator ash at a nuclear fuel fabrication plant
in Richland, WA. During normal operation at the plant, common items including
filters, rags, paper wipes, and gloves become contaminated with uranium.
The waste is burned to reduce its volume and increase its uranium content,
making it easier to recover the uranium. Nearly 10% of the ash’s
weight is usable enriched uranium, worth about $900 dollars per pound
on today’s market. That means about $5 million dollars is currently
sitting in the garbage waiting to be recovered, Wai said. “This
process has been extremely collaborative -- it’s one of those [deals]
that you just love,” said Gene Merrell, the university’s chief
technology transfer officer and assistant vice president for research.
“It’s going to be a great deal that will benefit the University
of Idaho, AREVA and the entire world.” Go to: 123
Idaho
Top
U.S. Supreme
Court decision on patent exhaustion worries TTOs
The June U.S. Supreme
Court decision centering on the doctrine of "patent exhaustion"
is sending ripples of concern through university TTOs that are worried
about its potential impact on their approach to licensing IP. In Quanta
Computers, Inc. versus LG Electronics, Inc., the high court cited
the patent exhaustion doctrine in ruling that LG could not control the
downstream use of technology that it had licensed to Intel. That technology
was used in Intel chips that were later sold to Quanta and other computer
manufacturers. The decision means that LG cannot seek royalty payments
from Quanta or other computer makers that purchased components produced
by Intel under its licensing agreement with LG. The decision reversed
an earlier ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Early analysis suggests that while the decision will not necessitate a
major overhaul in TTO deal-making, most experts agree that it underscores
the need for strategic thinking -- both in determining who you license
your innovations to, and in delineating the specific terms. “As
a result of the Quanta case I think it is going to be much more
difficult, if possible at all, for licensors to structure their licenses
in a way that is going to allow them to derive revenues at multiple points
in the stream of commerce,” said Joel Lutzker, a partner in the
New York City-based law firm Sheppard Mullin. “[TTOs] are going
to have to be much more careful about maximizing who they license to [initially]
… and they’ve got to set up their royalty programs in a way
so as to derive the full value of the technology from that single license”
rather than planning for additional downstream revenue. Post-Quanta,
he says, deal terms need to be crafted knowing that, in all likelihood,
that first license will represent the only revenue source for the product.
“I think it is going to impact who you license to, what the royalty
rates are going to be, and it may also impact the structure of the license
agreement,” Lutzker predicts. The full article, including detailed
analysis and reaction from TTO directors, appears in the August issue
of Technology
Transfer Tactics. For subscription information, CLICK
HERE.
Top
Nanotubes deliver
high-potency punch to tumors in mice
Applying nanotechnology
to drug delivery is one of the most active areas of biomedical research,
using submicron-sized structures as Trojan Horses to carry drugs more
directly and powerfully to target sites, particularly to cancerous tissues,
with less destruction to healthy surrounding tissues. Researchers at Stanford
University have produced the latest advance using single-walled carbon
nanotubes as delivery vehicles. The new method, described in the August
15 issue of Cancer Research, enabled researchers to get up to 10 times
as much of the chemo drug paclitaxel (marketed under the trade name Taxol)
into mouse tumor cells compared with standard injections. Thus smaller
doses can be administered to achieve more effective treatment. The method
promises to also greatly reduce side effects since there is less "spillage"
of the toxic drug to healthy tissues. In their study, the Stanford scientists
compared standard injections with nanotube delivery in mice who had been
previously implanted with breast cancer cells. After 22 days of treatment,
tumors in the mice treated with the nanotubes were on average less than
half the size of those in mice treated with conventionally delivered Taxol.
Go to: Stanford
University
Top
LES holding
intensive tech transfer seminar
The Licensing Executives
Society (LES) is holding an intensive two-day course, "The Technology
Transfer Seminar -- Essentials of Licensing," September 14th and
15th in San Diego. According to LES, the session is designed for new or
less experienced staff, and will answer key questions including:
- When should I
apply for a patent versus seeking trade secret protection?
- How do I identify,
evaluate, value and license technologies?
- What are the material
terms of a license agreement?
- How should I structure
financial terms and considerations in a license?
- What special considerations
affect transactions between universities and industries?
- What are the key
legal issues I need to understand to be more effective in licensing
in the constantly changing legal environment?
- How do I run my
licensing group as an effective business and integrate it within my
corporation or university?
The cost is $1,195
for LES members, $1,550 for non-members. For complete information, go
to: The Licensing Executives Society.
Submit Your
News, Too: If your group has news of interest to the tech transfer
community, submit it for consideration for publication in Tech Transfer
E-News. Email to E-NewsEditor@technologytransfertactics.com
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