CU-Boulder Technology of the Month:

Detection of Cellular Recognition Events with Fluorescent Polymer Based Amplification

UC Denver Technology of the Month:

Novel Cancer Therapeutic Approaches Targeting the Homeobox Superfamily of Genes  

Recently at the TTO

Clean Urban Energy to Develop U of Colo. Energy Efficiency Technology

Clean Urban Energy (CUE), a Chicago, IL-based company developing building efficiency software, has completed an exclusive licensing agreement with TTO granting the company the exclusive right to commercialize a software tool developed at CU's Boulder campus through a collaborative research program put in place by the University and CUE. The software, jointly created by CU-Boulder architectural engineering professor Gregor Henze and CUE, is part of a software as a service (SaaS) platform that monitors the performance and electric demand of a building's heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system in relation to its thermal mass (the mass in and of the building, such as concrete, furniture, and books). Once the software has "learned" how energy is stored and released by the building's thermal mass, it implements strategies that optimize the building's HVAC operations as a function of electricity prices, hourly temperatures, humidity, solar radiation and carbon emissions. Ultimately, CUE uses the thermal mass of these buildings as large-scale thermal energy storage for urban smart grids. This storage capacity introduces demand flexibility into electric grids, positively impacting reliability of the grids themselves. (Read the full press release.)

Phobos Energy Licenses CU Solar Photovoltaic Technology

Phobos Energy (Lafayette, CO) recently executed an exclusive license agreement with CU for photovoltaic (PV) technology developed by Robert Erickson, co-director of CU-Boulder's Colorado Power Electronics Center. Erickson's research has led to a technique for increasing the power generated by solar PV arrays when its panels are mismatched, and also provides simpler interconnection and wiring. As a result, the energy generated by the array is increased, the costs of system design and installation are reduced, and it becomes feasible to install PV arrays in new locations such as on gabled or non-planar roofs. Phobos Energy was founded by Erickson (CTO, currently on entrepreneurial leave from CU) and two Silicon Valley serial entrepreneurs, Pete Del Vecchio (CEO) and Krishna Anne (President & COO); the company has received development funding from a large industrial partner and is seeking additional funding to expand operations.

Dozens of CU Graduate Programs Earn National Ranking

Graduate programs across the CU system continue to earn national prominence based on the latest annual rankings from U.S. News & World Report. Schools and programs at the four CU campuses notch 37 mentions in the 2012 edition of Best Graduate Schools, including nine ranked in the top 10 of their fields. Rankings are based on expert opinions about program quality, as well as statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students.

Boulder Biotechs Progressing Toward Goals

A handful of area biotechnology firms (including several CU licensees) are moving full steam ahead, bucking a national trend that has seen many cash-strapped companies in the field close down for lack of funding.

BioAMPS International Receives Phase 2 Contract from Office of Naval Research to Develop New Antibiotic Class for Treatment of Gram-negative Bacteria

CU licensee BioAMPS International, a biotechnology company dedicated to developing solutions to combat bacterial resistance to conventional antibiotics, has received a Phase 2 STTR contract award from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to further develop a peptide-based antibiotic for the treatment of the gram negative bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii. The multi-phase contract, once successfully executed, will provide total funding of $1.485M over three years.

miRagen Therapeutics Receives Orphan Drug Designation for MGN-4893 for the Treatment of Polycythemia Vera

CU licensee miRagen Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by developing innovative microRNA (miRNA)-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and muscle disease, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to the company's compound MGN-4893 for the treatment of polycythemia vera, a myeloproliferative disease characterized by an overabundance of blood cells and platelets in the body.

Algal Fuel: VG Energy Study Shows Price Parity Possible with Conventional Oil

Proprietary technology owned by VG Energy (a subsidiary of CU licensee Viral Genetics) could create algal biofuel at costs competitive with current prices for conventional crude, according to a report released by the company in early March. The long sought after technique to boost algae oil production has an unlikely origin. Viral Genetics researcher Dr. Karen Newell has been developing novel techniques to disrupt tumor metabolism to prevent them from burning fat reserves, making them more susceptible to chemotherapy and radiation. This same metabolic switch appears to be the elusive lipid trigger that algal biofuel researchers have been seeking since the 1990's that forces algae to store energy as fat rather than carbohydrates or protein. When these trace chemical amendments developed by Viral Genetics to fight cancer were added to algae cultures in the lab, they were found to increase extractable lipid production by more than 300%.

MediciNova Receives Notice of Allowance for Method of Treating Drug Addiction/Dependence

CU licensee MediciNova, Inc. recently announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a pending patent application, which covers the use of Ibudilast for the treatment of drug addiction or drug dependence or withdrawal syndrome. The patent application is based upon research by Linda Watkins and colleagues at CU-Boulder, and collaborators at MediciNova. The allowed claims include a method of treating an opioid withdrawal syndrome, which is sometimes observed in patients who stop or reduce their use of opioids like morphine and oxycodone.

InDevR Receives $3M SBIR Grant

Biotechnology diagnostics company InDevR (a CU licensee) received a $3 million, three-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to work on a flu test that will be used to screen patients for a variety of flu viruses. In 2010, the company launched the ViroCyt 2100 Virus Counter testing device, which does medical testing more quickly than other tests on the market.

Fast Company: RealD One Of 10 Most Innovative Companies in Film

RealD is working with Sony, JCV, Samsung, Toshiba, Panasonic, and DirecTV to bring 3-D capabilities to the home after tripling the number of 3-D-capable cinema screens installed worldwide to 9,500. RealD provides the technology for 85% of all 3-D films; more than 30 are planned for 2011. (RealD acquired CU licensee ColorLink, which helped develop the optical filter technology underlying RealD's theater displays, in 2007.)

CU Researchers Discover Drug that Stops Progression of Parkinson's Disease in Mice

In a major breakthrough in the battle against Parkinson's disease, researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have discovered a drug that stops the progression of the degenerative illness in mice and is now being tested on humans.  Lead author Wenbo Zhou, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and senior author Curt Freed, who heads the division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology at the CU School of Medicine and a national pioneer in Parkinson's research, have found that the drug phenylbutyrate turns on a gene that can protect dopamine neurons in Parkinson's disease. The results have been published on-line in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

CU Researchers Focus on Human Cells for Spinal Cord Repair

Working together, research teams at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and University of Rochester Medical Center have made a major breakthrough in the use of human astrocytes for repairing injured spinal cords in rats. The study, published in the journal PLoS ONE, focuses on human astrocytes - the major support cells in the central nervous system - and indicates that transplantation of these cells represents a potential new avenue for the treatment of spinal cord injuries and other central nervous system disorders.

TTO Announces Temporary Licensing Associate

TTO is pleased to announce that it has hired Dan Stoddard as a temporary licensing associate in its Boulder office. Dan will help manage CU's growing portfolio of bioscience technologies by evaluating invention disclosures for patent and market potential and providing input into patent filing decisions. Dan received an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from CU-Boulder, and a J.D. from Creighton University.

18 Colorado Cancer Researchers Win Cumulative $480,000 in Pilot and Seed Funding

The University of Colorado Cancer Center has awarded  $480,000 in pilot and seed grant funding to Colorado cancer researchers. Each project was selected for funding after a competitive review by a committee of peer researchers. These grants will help researchers kick-start new research projects. Often pilot- and seed grant-funded projects go on to receive large federal and private grants based on data collected during the pilot-funded research. (Click the link above to read descriptions of the funded projects.)

5 QUESTIONS for Misha Plam, AmideBio

Current Alzheimer's treatments address symptoms of the disease, but so far no cure has been found. Professor Michael Stowell of the university's Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology Department has been working on pursuing a new class of drugs that could treat the disease in its early stages. Misha Plam, president and CEO of CU licensee AmideBio, spoke to the Camera about his company's recent agreement with CU, as well as his hopes for Stowell's research.

Do you know of a recent award, new position or transition of interest to the CU tech community? Please send information to TTOnews@cu.edu.

TTO's Learning Laboratory: The Student Connection

TTO Summer Internships: Anschutz Medical Campus
TTO's Anschutz Medical Campus office (Aurora) needs qualified summer interns with an interest in new business development, emerging technologies, marketing, and intellectual property with a strong background in life sciences. Minimum requirements: Continuing CU students with at least a B.S. in the life sciences (preferably an M.S. or above). Must be able to spend at least 1 day/week in the Aurora office, but most of the work is web-based and can be done from any location Legal interns (and others with an interest in intellectual property) will conduct prior art searches for new discoveries made by CU inventors and, in some cases, work on commercial landscape analysis or assist faculty entrepreneurs in building successful startup companies. Business-focused interns may be given an assignment to work with a startup or to assist the office in matters more related to the business side of technology development. Contact: David Poticha.

TTO Summer Internships: Boulder
TTO needs qualified interns with an interest in new business development, emerging technologies, marketing, and intellectual property to develop commercialization plans for technologies. TTO MBA interns will conduct commercial feasibility analyses for new discoveries and, in certain cases, develop a go-to-market plan or licensing strategy for the discoveries. A technical undergraduate degree is strongly preferred, and a focus on Entrepreneurship is preferred as well; open to continuing MBA students only. Contact: Debra Caamano.

Engineering Intern Oier Peñagaricano Muñoa

Oier Peñagaricano Muñoa joined the TTO in March while working on a post-doctoral research project at CU's Leeds School of Business in conjunction with the University of Deusto in Spain. He will assist with technical and market analysis for several projects from the CU-Boulder College of Engineering. Oier earned his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from University of Michigan last September while taking courses in innovation and entrepreneurship and being part of several interdisciplinary projects in research commercialization. He is looking forward to being of help at the TTO and learning about the process along the way.

Science on FIRE Symposium: Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research and Education 

March 28-29, CU-Boulder

A growing number of interdisciplinary research institutions and projects are rapidly emerging across public and private organizations around the world, all seeking to advance scientific knowledge and apply it to human welfare. This new model of scientific organization does not align with traditional structures, and thus requires creative rethinking and remodeling of rewards and incentives. The FIRE Symposium will convene many of the nation's leaders in interdisciplinary science, with a primary focus on the biosciences, to define best practices to support current and future interdisciplinary research and education programs across the country.

Save the Date: BioBoulder 

March 29, Laudisio, Boulder

The Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) and Snell & Wilmer would like to invite you to join us at the first BioBoulder event of 2011! Your colleagues in the biotechnology, medical device, bio-fuels and university community will be there - make sure you're there, too.

Colorado Life Science Industry Night 

March 31, Bioscience Park Center, Aurora

At the heart of Denver bio-incubation in the lobby of Bioscience Park Center @ Fitzsimons, 3-4 local life science leaders will give 5 minute presentations followed by Q&A from the crowd. The exciting line-up will be released soon!

Boulder/Denver New Technology Meetup Group 

April 5, 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.

Entrepreneurs Unplugged: Brad Feld, Managing Director at Foundry Group
April 11, CU-Boulder
Brad has been an early stage investor and entrepreneur for over twenty years. Prior to co-founding Foundry Group, he co-founded Mobius Venture Capital and, prior to that, founded Intensity Ventures, a company that helped launch and operate software companies. Brad is also a co-founder of TechStars.  

Sustainable Opportunities Summit 

April 11-12, Marriott City Center, Denver

Now in its sixth year, the Summit is the oldest and largest business sustainability conference in the Rocky Mountain region. This year's format will offer strategies and tools for achieving measurable results from the three tracks program: Strategy Track (presentations and panels), Tools Track (interactive workshops), and Fast Track (15 minute fast, relevant, timely presentations). An Expo with over 60 exhibitors selected to reflect the theme and topics of the program sessions will accompany the program.

27th National Space Symposium 

April 11-14, The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs

The 27th National Space Symposium includes forums, panels, presentations, special dinners and luncheons, engaging programs for teachers and students, the newly expanded Boeing Exhibit Center, the Cyber 1.1 workshop, New Generation Space Leaders programs for young, up-and-coming space professionals, awards presentations, the wildly popular Space Technology Hall of Fame® dinner, and a special Industry Salutes the Space Shuttle luncheon.

CSIA Presents: Women in Technology - Speed Mentoring 

April 12, Denver Art Museum, Denver

Women in Technology -Speed Mentoring is an opportunity to sit down with women tech executives and ask them questions about how they got to the leadership position they are in now, what challenges did they face and how they overcame them, what would they do differently, and anything else you want to ask.  Mentors are across industries and their companies range from large to small, and startups to large corporations.

Global New Energy Summit 

April 17-19, The Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs

The 3rd annual summit will attract leaders from across industry, finance, government and science; agenda topics include emerging innovation across the new energy spectrum, updates on smart grid deployments and transmission policy, international public policy and finance leadership, and impacts of large energy users on market pull for new technologies.

2011 Silicon Flatirons Annual Mile High Tech Entrepreneurship Conference: Going International 

April 22, CU-Boulder

2011 Silicon Flatirons Annual Mile High Tech Entrepreneurship Conference, Going International, will focus upon international-oriented issues facing a high-growth technology companies. Panels will focus on software-oriented high tech entrepreneurial activity in Europe, Brazil, China, and India; how offensive and defensive international considerations are germane to an emerging company's early planning; international opportunities that a business in the Front Range may use to help develop a product or take advantage of non-core services.

RETool: Session IV - The Promise of Energy Efficiency 

April 22, CU-Boulder

An intensive, four-day certificate program offered by the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at CU-Boulder that provides an in-depth look at renewable energy technologies and policies. Participants may take all four courses to earn a RETool Renewable Energy Certificate, or may take courses individually.

CBSA Scientific Series: Personalized Medicine 

April 28, Scientific Education and Research Institute, Thornton

Hosted by the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA), this program offers expertise in the field of personalize medicine with presentations by Larry Gold of CU licensee SomaLogic, David Brunel of Biodesix and Fred Mitchell of Beacon Biotechnology.

Boulder Innovation Center joins Clean Energy Alliance

The Boulder Innovation Center (a TTO partner organization) recently joined the Clean Energy Alliance, a national association of clean energy business incubators founded by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. By joining the CEA, the Boulder Innovation Center will be part of a nationwide network of incubator organizations that share best practices and techniques.

U.S. Senate Passes Sweeping Overhaul of Patent System

In early March the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill (Patent Reform Act of 2011, S. 23)  that would make major changes in how patents are awarded, bringing the United States closer to the "first to file" standard commonly used in the rest of the world. If enacted, the changes could pressure researchers to publish new findings more quickly than they would otherwise, in order to preserve their intellectual-property rights.

SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Update

On March 9, the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee reviewed the "SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011" (S.493), which would reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs for the next eight years. Both programs are currently set to expire on May 31. The bill has the support of a wide variety of organizations, including: the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Small Business Technology Coalition, the National Small Business Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Venture Capital Association, local technology groups, and various universities. Assuming this Act passes the Senate, it would then go to the House, which did not pass it in the last Congress.

U.S. Startup Activity Remains Steady 

According to the "Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity," a leading indicator of new business creation in the United States, 0.34% of American adults created a business per month in 2010-or 565,000 new businesses. That rate remained consistent with 2009 and represents the highest level of entrepreneurship over the past decade and a half.

In Angel Investing Risks Abound, But So Do Tax Breaks 

In the past year, the number of investing groups catering to angel investors has jumped by 13%, to 340, according to the Angel Capital Education Foundation, an education and research group. Many of the groups make the process easier by allowing investors to share the work of researching particular investments.

'Startup' Visas Could Boost U.S. Entrepreneurship 

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) have introduced the

"An inventor is simply a person who doesn't take his education too seriously. You see, from the time a person is six years old until he graduates from college he has to take three or four examinations a year. If he flunks once, he is out. But an inventor is almost always failing. He tries and fails maybe a thousand times. It he succeeds once then he's in. These two things are diametrically opposite. We often say that the biggest job we have is to teach a newly hired employee how to fail intelligently. We have to train him to experiment over and over and to keep on trying and failing until he learns what will work."

Charles F. Kettering, American inventor, engineer and businessman