Volume 8 ~ Issue 4 ~ December 2011      

Biotechnology of the Month:

Novel Type I Diabetes Auto-Antigen: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications 

Physical Sciences Tech of the Month:

3D Control of Polymerization via Photofixation of Diels-Alder Networks 

Recently at TTO

Xeris Pharma to Develop CU Diabetes Management Drug 

Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Austin, Texas) and CU recently completed an exclusive license agreement for a jointly-developed method of treating the low blood sugar that is a common side effect of the insulin therapy used to treat many types of diabetes. Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) is a dangerous complication of insulin therapy, and can cause vomiting, seizures, or even death. Hypoglycemia can be treated by taking glucose orally, but when a hypoglycemic individual is confused or unconscious, oral glucose may not be an option. In these cases, glucagon (a hormone secreted by the pancreas, like insulin) can be given by injection to quickly raise blood glucose levels; however, glucagon is not stable when dissolved in water, so current injection methods require many extra steps for reconstitution with water before administration. The patent-pending drug reformulation technique developed by CU and Xeris (by a team of researchers led by John Carpenter, a professor at the CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and John Kinzell, CEO of Xeris) provides paste and suspension formulations of glucagon that are shelf-stable and do not require refrigeration, making them faster and more convenient to administer. (Read the full press release.)

Podcast: Colorado Technology Infrastructure and BioFrontiers Institute 

W3W3 radio interviewed Jim Linfield, Managing Partner at Cooley LLP and the recipient of TTO's Colorado Technology Infrastructure Leadership Award in 2011. Speaking about CU's newly-launched BioFrontiers Institute (an interdisciplinary center designed to advance transformational biotechnologies), Linfield said: "I think that will solidify CU's position as one of the leading institutions for interdisciplinary research in the life sciences area, covering both therapeutics and diagnostics but also bio fuels, so I think it will be a remarkable institution." Listen to the podcast, or view an archive of all TTO podcasts.

Report Examines Value, Opportunities from Gap Funding of University Technology 

Mind the Gap 2011: The University Gap Funding Report examines the role that university-driven gap funding programs play in advancing major innovations. The report begins with an updated version of the university, or early-stage, technology funding landscape. Next, the report looks in-depth at the functionality of 63 gap funding programs across 40 organizations (including CU's proof-of-concept grant program), creating a roadmap for tech transfer managers to develop gap funding programs and presenting benchmarks for policymakers to support these initiatives.

Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority Rolls Out First Phase of Strategic Refocus With Board of Directors Appointments 

In a strategic effort to refocus and strengthen its organization, the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) has completed a regimen of planning to make adjustments in the direction, roles, responsibilities and allocation of resources going forward. Joining the FRA Board are Donald M. Elliman, Jr., Executive Director of the Charles C. Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Biology and current Director and former Chair of the Children's Hospital Colorado Board of Directors; William Freytag, PhD, former Chairman and CEO of Myogen, Inc.; James C. T. Linfield, Partner-in-Charge of the Colorado office of Cooley LLP; and David Perez, President and Chief Executive Officer of CaridianBCT, becoming TerumoBCT.

CU-Boulder Professor Awarded Ireland's Top Science Prize 

University of Colorado Boulder Distinguished Professor Margaret Murnane has been awarded Ireland's top science award, the RDS Irish Times Boyle Medal for Scientific Excellence, for her pioneering work that has transformed the field of ultrafast laser and X-ray science. Murnane is a professor of physics and fellow of JILA, a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. She is a co-founder of KMLabs, a CU licensee based on technology developed in the Kapteyn-Murnane research group.

CU Denver Researcher Receives Grand Challenges Explorations Funding 

The University of Colorado Denver will receive funding through Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that enables researchers worldwide to test unorthodox ideas that address persistent health and development challenges. Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Zhiyong (Jason) Ren proposes to develop a low-cost and easy-to-operate bioelectric system that can directly convert human waste to usable electricity. If successful, the technology will provide a self-sustainable solution for communities in need of both sanitary waste disposal and energy supply.

TTO Faculty Seminar: Clinical Development, Patent Strategies & Tech Commercialization 

December 13, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora

This seminar will present a case study (based on a patented and licensed invention by Dr. Paul Bunn, Dr. Fred Hirsch and others representing a team of investigators in the CU Cancer Center) illustrating how research, patenting decisions, and clinical development potentially interact. The case study will help answer questions like: How do you know that a therapeutic concept or diagnostic concept is patentable? How can decisions made in the patenting process increase the likelihood of funding for clinical trials? How do clinical development decisions influence patent prosecution, and how do patenting decisions enable and drive commercialization and clinical development? This event is free and open to CU faculty from all campuses. Lunch will be provided - please RSVP via email or at 303-724-1039.

January 10, 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.

EPIIC Nights: Michael Robertson 

January 10, CU-Colorado Springs

The first in an ongoing series of speakers hosted by the El Pomar Institute for Innovation and Commercialization (EPIIC).

TTO Annual Awards Banquet

January 17, Tivoli Turnhalle, Denver

The 10^th annual TTO awards dinner will be held on January 17, 2012 at the historic Tivoli Turnhalle in Denver. This event celebrates people and companies demonstrating best practices in technology transfer at CU. For information about purchasing a table, please contact Lynn Pae at lynn.pae@cu.edu or 303-735-0550.

New Venture Challenge: Turning Your Idea into a Business 

January 18, CU-Boulder

This CU New Venture Challenge (NVC) public boot camp offers an intensive workshop in entrepreneurship basics that will boost your chance of developing a successful business plan. CU instructors and professional entrepreneurs will offer advice on various aspects of planning, starting, successfully pitching, and gaining funding for your new venture.

Workshop: How to Write Successful SBIR & STTR Applications 

January 19-20, Bioscience Park Center, Aurora

Optimize your chances of tapping into over a billion dollars from NIH, NSF, DOD and DOE by attending this 2.5 day workshop hosted by the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA). View info online or request an application.

Save the Date: RETool: Developing Business & Careers in the New Energy Economy 

Focused on a clean-energy future? Get ahead of the curve and take RETool: a 4-day executive education certificate program hosted by the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship and the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI) at CU-Boulder. RETool provides a deep-dive short course for individuals seeking to "retool" their skills to enter the clean energy field, as well as for businesses seeking new opportunities in cleantech. 2012 Spring sessions (may be attended individually):

Friday, January 20: Clean Energy Technologies

Friday, February 24: Clean Energy Policies

Friday, March 23: The Business of Clean Energy

Friday, April 13: Clean Energy Integration & the Future

TTO Public Event: Tech Transfer at the University of Colorado 

January 24, Location TBA

To some, tech transfer seems like a "black box" - investigators conduct research and report inventions, a percentage of the inventions are protected through the patent process, some of the protected assets are licensed, some products are developed, some are sold commercially and sometimes the University receives royalties and other economic consideration. During this session we will peer into the black box to see how policies, procedures and practices at CU and TTO address the throughput of inventions to royalties, and how various internal and external groups play a role in making this happen. Participants will become better informed about technology transfer and will devise ways to engage in and/or advise on the process. This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to Lynn Pae via email or at 303-735-0550.

CU Resources

Spotlight on the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs:

UCCS-Peak Vista Venture a Boon for Senior Services, Student Training 

UCCS is about to move forward with plans to construct a 56,000-square-foot, $17M facility to house its mental health and wellness programs, and build on its growing presence in the field of gerontology. The Academic Health Services Center will allow UCCS to consolidate its CU Aging Center, Gerontology Center and the Beth-el College of Nursing and Health Sciences wellness programs under one roof. The nonprofit CU Aging Center focuses on psychological assessments and mental health treatment for seniors, and provides clinical training for graduate students in geropsychology, while the Gerontology Center concentrates more on research and academics related to aging.

UCCS Flexing Its Technological Muscles

UCCS physics professor Anatoliy Glushchenko is building a bridge he hopes will lead to growth of high-tech companies in Colorado Springs. He calls the bridge the Center for Innovation in Biophysics and Energy Research, Advanced Technologies and Optical Materials, or CiBER-ATOM. It links the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the area's high-tech industry in areas of research, technology development and business growth. The CiBER-ATOM center, launched this summer, is a place where local companies can turn for research and development of new products. It gives the companies a less expensive route for R&D and gives undergraduate and graduate students the chance to work on real- world products.

UCCS Initiative Aims to Engineer Funds, Businesses, Jobs 
The engineering school at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has launched an initiative to turn research done by its faculty into marketable products and create jobs for local residents by fostering startup companies. R. "Dan" Dandapani, dean of the UCCS College of Engineering and Applied Science, started Global Engineering Ventures (GeV) in April. The initiative will help seek financial backing for startups that will turn six technologies into marketable products. Those six include national security and nanotechnology technologies, next-generation online learning and assistive technologies for handicapped people. 

Hickenlooper Launches Colorado Innovation Network to Boost Jobs, Business 

In late November, Colorado governor John Hickenlooper announced the creation of the Colorado Innovation Network (COIN), a public enterprise that seeks to increase the state's reputation for innovative industries and to boost the amount of jobs and capital going to companies in that sector.

Groups Press for Reauthorization of Small Business Research Program 

With a deadline looming, a group of more than 900 companies and advocates are calling on lawmakers to finish off a broad deal on programs meant to help small businesses play a role in federal research. After a series of short-term pacts, the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs are scheduled to run through Dec. 16. And while lawmakers in both chambers have said they want to hash out a longer deal on the programs, the two sides still have differences that need to be papered over.

Obama Administration Announces Steps to Accelerate Tech Commercialization 

A recent Presidential Memorandum directs all federal agencies with research facilities to accelerate this timeline in three key ways: it directs agencies to streamline and accelerate the process for private-public research partnerships, small business R&D grants, and university-startup collaborations; it gives agencies more flexibility to partner with industry; and it will institute more accountability by directing agencies to develop a five-year plan with concrete goals and metrics to measure progress, including keeping track of how many patents each lab is generating.

WIPO: Rise in Intellectual Property is Changing the Face of Innovation 

A World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) report highlights how intellectual property is moving from being a purely technical issue to becoming a central part of innovation policy.

Startup Summer Recruiting Early-Stage Companies to Participate 
Startup Summer, a new program from Startup Colorado, will bring hard working, passionate college-age entrepreneurs to Boulder to work as summer interns for startup companies. The program is looking for a total of 30 Boulder-based early-stage companies to participate. Startup Summer is organized and run by Tim Enwall, David Hose, and David Mangum; it is one of multiple projects being developed by Startup Colorado, an initiative to spur new company creation and entrepreneurial spirit throughout the Colorado's Front Range.

Washington Small Business Credit Initiative to Spur $300M in New Lending 

Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Washington State Department of Commerce announced that help is on the way for the state's small businesses seeking new sources of financing to grow and create jobs. Commerce was recently awarded $19.7M from the U.S. Department of Treasury to launch the Washington Small Business Credit Initiative - three new programs designed to spur investment and lending to businesses throughout the state. 

USPTO Launches Small Business Innovation Research Pilot Program 

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF), is piloting a program to provide Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awardees with comprehensive intellectual property support through the agency's small business programs and resources.

BioEntrepreneur: Shape Shifting 

Faced with limited funding and the need to find the most time- and cost-efficient route to proof of concept and relevance, how should you reorganize your company to facilitate development of your most valuable assets?

Investment Capital: The Rise of 'Angel' Investors 

"Angels have become emboldened in the last 18 months and have been funding a larger number of companies than they historically have," says Paul Kedrosky, a senior fellow of the Kauffman Foundation, based in Kansas City, Mo. "They're picking up the slack as venture capital has pulled back."

"In physiology, as in all other sciences, no discovery is useless, no curiosity misplaced or too ambitious, and we may be certain that every advance achieved in the quest of pure knowledge will sooner or later play its part in the service of man."

Ernest Henry Starling, English physiologist.

University of Colorado's Office of Technology Transfer Mission Statement