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Recently at TTO
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Five CU-Based Companies Receive State of Colorado Tech Commercialization Grants
Five CU licensees were recently selected to receive matching grants through Colorado's Bioscience Discovery Evaluation Grant Program (BDEG-Co). The State of Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade began the BDEG program in 2007, providing early-stage matching "seed" grants to enable the development and commercial validation of technologies that are licensed from Colorado research institutions by Colorado based start-up companies (as well as proof-of-concept grants to move promising CU biotechnologies closer to market readiness). CU-based companies slated to receive funding in this round:
Amide Bio - provides research reagents and clinical products for a diverse array of research and commercial targets. The company's proprietary technology platform, based on the work of CU-Boulder associate professor Michael Stowell, identifies critical molecular targets in finding therapies for Alzheimer's disease.
Flashback Technologies - using machine learning to enable fast, non-invasive detection of acute blood loss volume and prediction of cardiovascular collapse in emergency situations. Based on work by CU School of Medicine professor and surgeon Steven Moulton and former CU-Boulder computer science researcher Greg Grudic, the company received BDEG funding in fall of 2009, in addition to this year's grant.
OnKure - a company developing novel compounds that inhibit cancer cell growth and metastasis, based on the work of CU-Boulder professor Xuedong Liu.
Shape Ophthalmics - developing shape memory polymer (SMP)-based devices for the delivery of medication to the surface of the eye, for the treatment of eye diseases. Based on work by CU School of Medicine faculty members Malik Kahook and Naresh Mandava, and CU Denver/CU-Boulder professor Robin Shandas.
Suvica - an early-stage cancer drug discovery and development company, developing compounds that enhance the efficacy of standard cancer treatments. Based on the work of CU-Boulder professor Tin Tin Su, Suvica also received BDEG funding in spring of 2011.
"These are high-potential, Colorado-based companies that have emerged from CU research laboratories and are making their way forward into the commercial world," commented David N. Allen, CU's Associate Vice President for Technology Transfer. "We would like to thank all the legislators and others who have supported this program, which has helped these and numerous other companies become a part of the growing Colorado bioscience sector."
Four CU Cancer Center Researchers Awarded Drug Discovery Grants
The Colorado Center for Drug Discovery (C2D2) recently awarded seven Colorado researchers $216,282 in grants to advance the discovery and development of medications to treat cancer, infectious diseases and other illnesses. Four of those grants were awarded to investigators at the University of Colorado Cancer Center: Tad Koch (professor of molecular biophysics at CU-Boulder), Tin Tin Su (professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at CU-Boulder), Xuedong Liu (professor of chemistry and biochemistry at CU-Boulder) and Mair Churchill (professor of molecular biology and pharmacology at the CU School of Medicine).
New CU-Boulder Facility to Tackle Challenges Ranging from Cancer and Tissue Engineering to New Biofuels
A revolutionary research and teaching facility opening at the University of Colorado Boulder will facilitate work on a wide swath of pressing societal challenges ranging from biomedical issues like cancer, heart disease and tissue engineering to the development of new biofuels. The new Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building (officially opened in a late-April dedication ceremony) will offer opportunities for researchers and students from multiple disciplines to collaborate, said CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor and Nobel laureate Tom Cech. Cech directs the BioFrontiers Institute, which is using the facility to advance human health and welfare by exploring critical frontiers of unknown biology to further teaching, research and technology at the intersections of the life sciences, physical sciences, math, computational sciences and engineering.
Help Wanted: What Is It To Be the Nation's Leading Public University for Entrepreneurship?
What would it look like for CU-Boulder to become the leading public university for entrepreneurship? Post by Brad Bernthal, Associate Professor at the CU School of Law and Director of the Silicon Flatirons Entrepreneurship Initiative. "This is an explosive question. It forces us to think hard about what entrepreneurship is, how to define and measure it, and what the role of universities should be. Your input is welcome."
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CU Technology and Licensee Companies in the News
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MiRagen Pockets $20M to Further miRNA-Based Drugs
CU licensee miRagen Therapeutics recently completed a $20M Series B financing. The company will use the money to advance development of its miRNA-based therapeutics pipeline. (See also: MiRagen co-founder's research may lead to broader view of heart's role; MiRagen research shows weight control potential.)
Fast Company: How A Colorado Town's Med-Tech Startups Thrive On Shoestring Budgets, Stem Cells
In most cities, academic researchers have to drive across town, or even through other cities, to reach an industry incubator. In Aurora, they just walk across the street. (Features CU licensee Taiga Biotechnologies.)
Shingles Vaccine is Safe, According to New Study
The herpes zoster vaccine, also known as the shingles vaccine (Zostavax), is generally safe and well tolerated according to a Vaccine Safety Datalink study of 193,083 adults published online in the Journal of Internal Medicine. The herpes zoster vaccine was licensed in 2006 (after being co-developed by Merck and the University of Colorado) but few people have been vaccinated, national data shows.
BioRelix Gets More Antibiotics Money
Antibiotics developer BioRelix, a CU licensee, received a $269,160 follow-on investment from Connecticut Innovations Inc. (CII) for continued research. The company is developing antibiotics using a new riboswitch-based drug discovery platform.
Edison's Revenge: The Rise of DC Power
The spread of electric vehicles could make DC even more important: electric cars charge on direct current and require substantial amounts of power. Dragan Maksimovic, an expert in power electronics at the University of Colorado in Boulder, estimates that solar-powered vehicle chargers his group is developing should cut power losses from 10 percent of what the panels produce to just 2 percent.
New Harvesting Approach Developed at CU Denver Boosts Energy Output from Bacteria
A team of scientists from University of Colorado Denver led by Zhiyong (Jason) Ren of the civil engineering department has developed a novel energy system that increases the amount of energy harvested from microbial fuel cells (MFCs) by more than 70 times. The new approach also greatly improves energy efficiency. MFCs are emerging as a way to use bacteria to directly harvest electricity from biodegradable materials, such as wastewater or marine sediments.
Intersil's LCoS Pico Projector System Shrinks Size while Cutting Costs
Seeing the potential for pico projectors several years ago, Micron purchased CU licensee Displaytech, one of the original developers of liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) display technology, which Micron has combined with high-brightness LEDs to make its qHD optical engine. Intersil has taken the qHD engine and combined it with its new ISL97901, a fully-integrated buck/boost RGGB (red, green, green, blue) LED driver customized for pico projector display applications. This one-two punch of an optical engine and driver IC, called the Pico-qHD, fits onto a 1.7 in. x by 2 in. pc board which Intersil claims is the the world's lowest cost pico projector system, and is the industry's smallest production-ready LED LCoS pico projector solution.
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| People | |
CU Names Patrick O'Rourke VP, University Counsel and Secretary
The University of Colorado named Patrick O'Rourke as the university system's chief legal officer and secretary to the Board of Regents, effective June 1. O'Rourke, 41, now serves as managing senior associate university counsel, overseeing CU's litigation efforts in state and federal court for the university's four campuses. He replaces Dan Wilkerson, who is retiring.
CU-Boulder Physics Researchers Honored
Two faculty members from CU-Boulder's physics department recently received prestigious honors: Assistant Professor Paul Romatschke will receive a five-year, $750,000 grant as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Early Career Research Program created to bolster the nation's scientific workforce with top young researchers; and Professor John Wahr has been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a top honor recognizing scientists and engineers for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
CU School of Medicine Professor Elected to Prestigious National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences has announced the election of its newest members; among them is CU School of Medicine's Professor Kurt Beam (department of physiology & biophysics). Beam's nomination and election to the Physiology and Pharmacology sub section of the NAS places him among 52 fellow members, of whom six are Nobel Laureates.
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.
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| Upcoming Events | |
CREED Entrepreneur Class: Patenting 101
May 24, CREED, Golden
This class, hosted by the Colorado Center for Renewable Energy Economic Development (CREED), is for entrepreneurs, startup and early stage cleantech company managers, as well as any inventor or investor who wants to know the fundamentals of patenting, including the US Patent and Trademark Office new rules.
Boulder/Denver New Technology Meetup
June 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.
11th Annual Bard Center for Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition and Luncheon
June 13, Four Seasons Hotel, Denver
The primary purpose of the competition is to provide early stage ventures with an opportunity to test their ideas and receive meaningful feedback on their business plans. The finalists will present their plans in front of a panel of judges and audience of business leaders and fellow entrepreneurs from 8:30 until noon; following the presentations an awards ceremony will be held where the awards for best business plans will be presented.
To have your event featured here, please send an email to TTOnews@cu.edu.
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| CU Resources | |
New Economic Impact Study: CU Pumped $5.3B into Colorado's Economy in 2011
In the most comprehensive research yet conducted on what the University of Colorado means to the state's economy, analysts show an economic impact of $5.3B for Colorado in 2011. "CU is a substantial, stable economic driver for Colorado that not only produces a highly educated workforce, but also creates jobs and companies in our state," said CU President Bruce D. Benson. "Our faculty researchers also bring hundreds of millions to Colorado, which has significant ripple effects in key sectors of Colorado's economy."
CU-Boulder Showcases Latest Cleantech Innovations
In April, the University of Colorado and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory unveiled six innovations that officials hope could be game-changers in the clean technology industry. Technologies such as a wind energy radar and a solar wafer screening machine were highlighted during the CU Cleantech Incubation Open House, an event hosted by CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, its Technology Transfer Office and the newly launched CU Cleantech, a program aimed at promoting and commercializing the school's clean and renewable energy inventions.
CID4 Announces On-Campus 'Office Hours'
The Colorado Institute for Drug, Device and Diagnostic Development (CID4) will host two events in early June to announce their new oHours program, designed to provide one-on-one guidance to researchers, grad students/postdocs, entrepreneurs and others who are commercializing university-developed biotechnologies. These kickoff luncheons will be held on June 4 (Fitzsimons Bioscience Park Building) and June 7 (Caruthers Biotechnology Building). To learn more about the office hours program, contact CID4.
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| Innovation in the News | |
Bennet Secures Key Provisions in Bipartisan FDA Reauthorization Draft Bill
Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet secured several key provisions aimed at improving drug safety, bringing breakthrough treatments to patients more quickly, advancing medical device innovations and preventing critical drug shortages in the bipartisan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reauthorization draft bill unveiled in April.
NIH, Companies Aim to Teach Old Drugs New Tricks
Three pharmaceutical giants are unlocking their freezers to see if government-funded scientists can reinvent some of their old drugs. Lots of experimental drugs prove safe in human testing but fail to help the disease their manufacturer hoped to target. The National Institutes of Health says those drugs might fight other diseases if only more scientists could test them.
Life Sciences Venture Capital Funding Falls 22% in Q1 2012
Venture capital funding in the Life Sciences sector, which includes the Biotechnology and Medical Device industries, decreased 22% during the first quarter of 2012 from the prior quarter, according to a new PwC US report, "Mixed Momentum," that includes data from the PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree(TM) Report, based on data from Thomson Reuters. Medical Device venture funding accelerated during first quarter, while Biotechnology investment slowed.
Institutional Limited Partners Must Accept Blame for Poor Long-Term Returns from Venture Capital, Says New Kauffman Report
A new report (PDF) from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation describes how most institutional investors, including larger state pension funds, endowments and foundations, may be shortchanged by their investments in venture capital funds. Over the past decade, public stock markets have outperformed the average venture capital fund and for 15 years, VC funds have failed to return to investors the significant amounts of cash invested, despite high-profile successes. The authors call upon institutional investment committees to require deeper due diligence of VC investments and more rigorous data analysis of VC portfolio performance relative to the public markets.
Cleantech Fellows Institute Calls on Business Executives to Develop Clean Technology Start-ups
The Colorado Cleantech Industry Association (CCIA) recently announced the creation of the Cleantech Fellows Institute (CFI), an intensive, 17-week executive training program to create near-term venture backable companies in cleantech. The fellows program is the first of its kind with a national focus.
CSU Ventures, Innovation Center Launch Tech Commercialization Deal
Colorado State University's technology-transfer arm, CSU Ventures, and the Innovation Center of the Rockies announced in May that they have entered into a commercialization partnership designed to accelerate the creation of new businesses based on CSU faculty research. The Innovation Center of the Rockies, previously the Boulder Innovation Center, already has been working with the University of Colorado and Colorado School of Mines technology transfer offices, as well as across the country in conjunction with the Clean Energy Alliance.
Roundup: University, Community, State, National and International Initiatives
National Bioeconomy Blueprint Released
In April, the Obama Administration announced its commitment to strengthening bioscience research as a major driver of American innovation and economic growth. The National Bioeconomy Blueprint outlines steps that agencies will take to drive the bioeconomy-economic activity powered by research and innovation in the biosciences-and details ongoing efforts across the Federal government to realize this goal.
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| Parting Quote | |
"Creative people don't follow the crowds; they seek out the blank spots on the map. Creative people wander through faraway and forgotten traditions and then integrate marginal perspectives back to the mainstream. Instead of being fastest around the tracks everybody knows, creative people move adaptively through wildernesses nobody knows."
U.S. journalist and opinion columnist David Brooks, in America needs creators, not just competitors.
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