CU-Colorado Springs Technology of the Month:

Arch Biopartners Acquires Option to License Anti-Cancer Compounds from CU

Arch Biopartners Inc. announced that it has formed a new American subsidiary, Colorado Cancer Therapeutics ("CCT") with leading University of Colorado biochemists Dr. Lajos Gera and Dr. Robert Hodges. Additionally, CCT has acquired an option to enter into an exclusive license to commercialize specific pre-clinical, anti-cancer compounds invented at the University of Colorado and Emory University by Drs. Lajos Gera, Robert Hodges, Paul Bunn, John Stewart, Dan Chan, and Leland Chung and Daqing Wu. (Read the full press release.)

Boulder Firms Show Off Their Latest Technologies

A half-dozen Boulder-area companies with ties to the University of Colorado gave some sneak peeks into their up-and-coming technologies to members of the local business community in early October. The presentations at the Technology Alliance Breakfast, an event held in conjunction with the Boulder Chamber's annual Esprit Entrepreneur awards ceremony, ranged from touted ideas such as atomic layer deposition for lithium ion batteries to a clutch-less hybrid system for unmanned air vehicles, and included presentations from CU licensees ALD NanoSolutions, AmideBio, FlashBack Technologies, ION Engineering, OPX Biotechnologies and Tigon EnerTec.

Colorado BioScience Association Recognizes TTO as 2010 Partner of the Year

Omni Bio Announces First Infusion in Phase I/II Clinical Trial of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin in Recently Diagnosed Diabetic Patients

CU licensee Omni Bio Pharmaceutical, Inc. announced in October that the first patient has been infused in its FDA-cleared Phase I/II human clinical trial of Alpha-1 antitrypsin ("AAT") in recently diagnosed Type 1 diabetics at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus.

BioRelix Enters Antibacterial Collaboration with Merck

BioRelix, Inc. (a licensee of CU and Yale University) announced that it has entered into a research collaboration agreement with a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. to identify new antibacterial drug candidates. Under the agreement, BioRelix will apply its proprietary riboswitch technology platform to identify compounds with activity against a number of bacterial targets.

Better Bugs to Make Plastics

A startup that has successfully engineered bacteria to make common industrial chemicals is now using its technology to engineer organisms to make renewable fuel. CU licensee OPX Biotechnologies, based in Boulder, Colorado, says its strains of E. coli can be used to convert sugar to acrylic acid - a key component of paints, diapers, and adhesives - at lower costs than making it from petroleum.

Emerald BioStructures and SomaLogic Enter Strategic Collaboration

BioStructures, a leading provider of integrated structural biology services, and CU licensee SomaLogic, Inc., a diagnostics and biomarker discovery company, announced that they have entered into a strategic collaboration for the structure-based design of chemically modified DNA aptamers ("SOMAmers") and small molecule therapeutics, based on crystal structures of important protein targets bound to high affinity SOMAmers.

Cervical Cancer Vaccine Developed at CU Cancer Center Ready for Trials

Eyetech Announces Program to Develop Extended-Release Formulation of Macugen®

CU licensee Eyetech Inc. announced in October a program to develop an extended-release formulation of Macugen® (pegaptanib sodium injection) using microparticles technology. Macugen, a selective inhibitor of VEGF-165, is approved for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (neovascular AMD) and was developed based on aptamer technology discovered at the University of Colorado.

Russell L. Moore Named CU-Boulder Provost

University of Colorado at Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano named Russell L. Moore provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at CU-Boulder. The appointment is effective on Oct. 13, 2010; Moore has been serving as interim provost since July 1, 2010, and prior to that, was interim vice chancellor for research from May 2009 to June 30, 2010.

CU School of Medicine Faculty Members Recognized in 5280 Magazine's Top Docs List

The University of Colorado School of Medicine is home to the majority of Denver's Top Docs as selected in the annual survey by 5280 Magazine. Faculty and clinical volunteers with the University of Colorado School of Medicine accounted for 183 out of the 295 physicians named in the survey.

U.S. Senate Confirms CU Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman as Associate Director for Science

Distinguished Professor Carl Wieman of the University of Colorado at Boulder has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as associate director for science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Nobel laureate "is expected to spearhead the administration's push to improve science education, drawing upon his pioneering work at the University of Colorado, Boulder, to strengthen the undergraduate training of science and math teachers."

Colorado Cleantech Awards Celebration

October 19, Denver Marriott City Center
Colorado's cleantech community will come together to honor the creativity and dedication to our new energy economy put forth by entrepreneurs, educators, corporate innovators, volunteers and policymakers.

23rd NREL Industry Growth Forum

October 19-21, Denver Marriott City Center

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Industry Growth Forum is the premier event for innovative clean energy start-ups to maximize their exposure to receptive venture capital, corporate investors, and strategic partners.

CU New Venture Challenge: Kick-Off

October 27, CU-Boulder

Are you interested in learning more about how to start a company, networking with local business leaders, and competing for the chance to win over $25,000 in prizes? The third annual CU New Venture Challenge is your chance to do all this and more. No business background or experience is necessary, and the competition is open to any team with at least one team member carrying a University of Colorado ID card.

Boulder/Denver New Technology Meetup Group

November 2, CU- Boulder
This ongoing event provides a forum for technologists and entrepreneurs to showcase the new (especially web-based) technology developing in Boulder/Denver tech community. Five companies have five minutes each to demonstrate their new technology, followed by five minutes for Q&A from the audience.

CU New Venture Challenge: Pitch Night

November 3, CU-Boulder

The pitch night event is an opportunity to present your ideas and search for partners to join you in the CU New Venture Challenge. For more info, please contact Elizabeth Hartman.

ReTool: Session III - Renewable Transportation Energy

Colorado Green Tech Meetup

November 11, CU-Boulder

An ongoing event to support eco-entrepreneurs and others people involved and/or interested in green tech: energy generation, transportation, construction, and efficiency technologies. Businesses and researchers present new technologies, and attendees may announce business news, job openings, fundings, etc.

Entrepreneurs Unplugged: Nathan Seidle, CEO of SparkFun Inc.

November 15, CU-Boulder

Silicon Flatirons, ATLAS, and ITP present Nathan Seidle as our featured entrepreneur with moderator Brad Feld.

CPIA Annual Meeting 2010
November 17, CU-Boulder

The annual meeting is your opportunity to learn about current photonics and optics research conducted at ALL Colorado research universities.  Professors from each institution will briefly outline their academic program, highlight exemplary research areas, and discuss industry collaboration.

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

New Colorado Cleantech Action Plan Identifies Combination of Innovation in Wind, Solar, Smart Grid

The Colorado Cleantech Action Plan (PDF), released today at a State Capitol news conference, identifies Colorado's cleantech assets and provides detailed, implementable actions that must be taken in order to maintain growth in Colorado's cleantech industry. The Colorado Cleantech Industry Association (CCIA) commissioned Navigant Consulting earlier this year to conduct the study.

Gov. Ritter Names Venture Capital Investment Roundtable

In September Colorado Governor Bill Ritter named 21 Coloradans (including TTO head David Allen) to a new Venture Capital Investment Advisory Committee to help attract financial support for several targeted and innovative Colorado industries, including aerospace, bioscience, clean energy and information communication technology.

Tweaking Technology Transfer

The system by which American universities make the fruits of federally funded research available to the public is fundamentally working -- but it could use some fixing up, the National Research Council said in a report released in mid-October. The report, "Managing University Intellectual Property in the Public Interest," resulted from a two-year review by a panel of university leaders, researchers, corporate representatives, and others convened by the NRC.

SBA Announces 'Innovative Improvements Supporting Innovative Entrepreneurs'

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program will undergo a series of improvements in the coming months to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the overall program. Together, these improvements will represent a new and improved SBIR, "SBIR 2.0"

The Entrepreneurial University

What is an entrepreneurial university, and how does it address the world's biggest problems? It's a question that Holden Thorp  and Buck Goldstein have been asked regularly the last few months in the run-up to the recent publication of their book, Engines of Innovation: The Entrepreneurial University in the 21st Century.

Frank Talk on U.S. Energy Innovation

MIT alumnus Steven E. Koonin, Department of Energy Undersecretary for Science, says economics, not technology, is the driver.

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

 Business Leaders for Michigan Partners with Universities to Push Innovation

A year after offering a plan to turn around Michigan's economy, Business Leaders for Michigan now seeks to spur and better commercialize innovation by partnering with the state's top three research universities. The partnership with the University Research Corridor, know as Accelerate Michigan, will seek to "champion" innovation and entrepreneurship and increase capital available to young companies.

New Fund Launched at U of Rochester to Aid Technology Commercialization

The University of Rochester has unveiled a new program to foster the continued development of promising new technologies. The Technology Development Fund will award grants to scientists in an effort to help advance a technology closer to the stage where it can be transferred to the market.

U-Utah's Accelerator to Boost Medical Start-ups

The University of Utah has teamed with its University Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative to open a facility to help start-up companies. The new Accelerator, which functions like a business incubator, is geared toward supporting medical technology start-ups by providing suitable office and laboratory space, supplies, and equipment for a modest rental fee.

Sanofi, Harvard Partner in Hunt for New Blockbusters
Sanofi-Aventis - which has been trumpeting its intention to partner up with academics and biotech companies rather than rely entirely on its own in-house research - and the Ivy League institution announced a research pact in October with a special focus on biomedical R&D projects involving cancer, diabetes and inflammation.

Brookings Explores Cluster-Based Frameworks for Economic Development

Regional innovation clusters can be a useful framework in understanding the high-tech economy, but only if local leaders recognize the limits of cluster-based strategies, according to a recent study ("How Regional Innovation Clusters Can Foster the Next Economy")  by the Brookings Institution.

A Tough Time for Cleantech Start-ups

"Entrepreneurs love what they do and obsess over it. It is a predisposition; a path that has already been laid for you. It is a character trait, a labor of love, a zeal that cannot be trained, a condition that cannot be treated, an illness that cannot be caught."

Jeffrey Stibel, entrepreneur and author, in the Harvard business Review blog.