TECH CONNECT
Turning Ideas into Opportunities
Monthly news & updates


June 1, 2021
FY 2021 STATISTICS YEAR TO DATE
Licenses*/Options
225
MTAs
1,024
CDAs
59
Invention Disclosures
154
U.S. Patents Issued
67
*includes end-user software and materials licenses along with conventional technology licenses
CTTC commercialized 25 COVID-19-related discoveries, facilitated nine startups during a record-setting year
The Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization continued to play a pivotal role in translating the research findings of Vanderbilt faculty into products and companies in 2020. Amid the myriad challenges of that year, CTTC successfully evaluated, marketed, and licensed new inventions, conducted investor pitches and facilitated startup formations, executed material transfer agreements and sought issuance of patents for Vanderbilt innovations, all at levels equal to or surpassing earlier years. These activities spanned schools and disciplines across the university and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

  • Of 575 outgoing material transfer agreements facilitated by CTTC last year, 34 were for transferring materials to other institutions to support COVID-19 research. An equivalent number of incoming MTAs were executed to facilitate ongoing COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt, allowing faculty to begin translation of their research into therapeutics for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. All COVID-19-related MTAs were prioritized.

  • Of 86 licensing transactions, nine were for COVID-19-related discoveries. These licensing transactions included COVID antibody licenses to Twist Bioscience, Leinco Technologies, IDBiologics Inc. and AstraZeneca.


“As the numbers show, our faculty have been extremely productive in seeking new and innovative ways to end this pandemic and the CTTC staff have supported them every step of the way,” said Vice Provost for Research Padma Raghavan. “This is the Vanderbilt culture of working together to solve the world’s greatest challenges.”
CTTC’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) program brings experienced businesspeople to Vanderbilt to advise and assist faculty and staff as they launch startups and explore the commercialization of research. EIRs are experts in business formation and development who have been successful entrepreneurs, investors in startup companies, and/or seasoned executives from large corporations with experience in entrepreneurship. EIRs offer aspiring entrepreneurs valuable industry connections and expertise.

EIRs conduct a variety of activities in support of launching new ventures. They evaluate technologies for their appropriateness as the basis for a startup company. They develop business plans, financial models, go-to-market strategies, and the like. They advise on management teams, advisory boards, and corporate governance. They mentor Vanderbilt researchers who are exploring potential startup opportunities, and they connect these startups to investors and potential strategic partners. 

To learn more about becoming an EIR, contact us at peter.c.rousos@vanderbilt.edu.
Vanderbilt startup HeroWear releases 1-year update video

The Vanderbilt startup, HeroWear, marked its 1-year milestone by providing some exciting updates and creating a video that collected comments from consumers who have been actually using their Apex product.

Check out the video below that reflects some very positive experiences with the Apex device.
CTTC’s Brad Baird Elected to the 2021 Inteum Global User Group
Brad Baird, CTTC's Database Manager, has been elected to the 2021 Inteum Global User Committee. Inteum is the industry-leading intellectual property management software provider used by more than 400 universities, research institutions, and federal labs (from 25+ countries) for managing the bulk of their IP management operations. The purpose of the Inteum User Group Committee is to share best practices, SOP’s and desired functionality ideas with the users and the company, all for the goal of maximizing efficiency to the daily operations of each user’s site. 
Brad has served as CTTC’s Database Manager for twenty years and has led or greatly contributed to the support, security, training, and optimization of Inteum. He has been crucial in the managing and instructional use of Inteum which has led to a consistently high level of accuracy in the data and resulting reports. With his experience and knowledge of Inteum, Brad will be an asset to the global community of IP professionals as part of this Committee.
Five Vanderbilt technologies earn patent protection in May
Method for creating hyperpolarization at microtesla magnetic fields
Nanofiber-based bipolar membranes, fabricating methods and applications of same
Positive allosteric modulators of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M4
Pre-coated surfaces for imaging biomolecules
Nanostructured carbon materials and methods of making and use thereof
Technology Spotlight:

Trackerless Image-Guidance Using a Surgical Microscope
Researchers at Vanderbilt have developed a new image-guided, trackerless surgical microscope system to be used in soft tissue surgeries. The current method is to use a surgical microscope along with an image-guided system. This new design eliminates the need for a separate image guidance system; the entire guidance environment can be realized within the microscope environment.

Unique Features:
  • Ability to conduct registration and deformation correction without a tracker
  • Eliminates the need for coordination between image guidance system and microscope system.

Intellectual Property Status
Opportunities for Industry Partnership:
IN-PART is seeking next generation research projects related to Covid-19. In their second open call (details of the first can be found here), IN-PART is inviting academic researchers and research commercialization community to share with us non-confidential details of any COVID-related research, innovation or technologies.
What research is IN-PART looking for?

The research/technology can be anything directly or indirectly addressing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 & treatment of COVID-19. This includes diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, drug delivery and infection prevention. Especially researchers studying long-term COVID, next-generation vaccines and therapeutics, ways to measure and predict long-term immunity, as well as the impacts on society, psychology and the environment, and preparing for the next pandemic.
If you are interested in submitting to IN-PART, please reach out to CTTC@vanderbilt.edu
for more information.
Weekly Interactions
Below is a sampling of the interactions that have taken place in our office and with our staff over the last month.
ATTENDED
  • Attended webinar by ITIF "The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Ending the COVID-19 Pandemic"

  • Attended World Vaccine Congress Washington Conference

  • Attended an online OSA/NCATS Tech Transfer Metrics Workshop to hear about technology transfer metrics and ways of measuring efficiencies beyond traditional metrics

  • Attended an online webinar by the Technology Transfer Society with a presentation by Jeffrey Kaplan, head of the Veterans Administration Technology Transfer department, on Tech Transfer at the VA and their determination of rights process

  • Attended webinar series on the Trajectory of Telehealth

  • Attended AUTM Focus Group: Strategic Planning

  • Attended webinar “Financing the Deal: Deal-Making Trends and Strategies for Health Care Companies”

  • Attended the Day of Wond'ry 2021

  • Attended Nashville Healthcare Council Member Speed Networking event

  • Attended The Wond’ry May Innovation Open Mic

  • Attended webinar “Corporate Governance: Fundamentals, Recent Developments, and Confidentiality Considerations”

  • Attended Nashville Private Directors Association Networking event

  • Attended Nashville Entrepreneur Center Member Networking

  • Attended webinar "Risk Management Considerations for Emerging Companies: Is Your Business Covered?"

  • Attended Zavikon/Vanderbilt Driving Simulator Meeting

  • Attended "Governance of Innovation in Portfolios, Programs, and Projects" Webinar
EXECUTED
  • Extended the option term for a chemical engineering technology with Scale Holdings. LLC

  • Executed an option agreement with a small biotech company for small molecule inhibitors of cancer metabolism developed by Charles Manning, formerly of VUIIS

  • Entered into an end-user license for Daniel Fabbri’s “Tool for Automatic Data Curation from Unstructured Text” software with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
MARKETED


  • Held a call with the client feedback program of one of CTTC’s approved law firms as part of their routine check-in on service

  • Held an introductory call with an investor group interested in the microbiome to discuss possible areas of collaboration

  • Held a call with Vanderbilt’s liaison at a major international pharmaceutical company regarding an upcoming Request For Applications and their typical areas of interest



  • Held a call with an electronic medical records company to discuss licensing of QPA content developed by Seth Scholer in the Department of Pediatrics

  • Marketed a series of peptide therapeutics developed by Joyce Cheung-Flynn and Colleen Brophy to a biotech venture group focusing on early-stage technologies

  • Met with an exclusive licensee to discuss business development activities, clinical trial progress, and IP strategy

  • Met with a company focusing on identifying, incubating, and accelerating novel technologies in the oncology, neurodegenerative, and rare disease space to discuss potential licensing opportunities

  • Met with the first trainee of the inaugural ASPIRE to Innovate Postdoctoral Fellowship program to discuss projects, program overview, and goals

  • Marketed OrcoGuard technology to a local animal health company


  • Engaged with two early-stage venture investors/technology incubators interested in partnership opportunities with Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center therapeutic technologies



  • Marketed several technologies to local personalized pharmaceutical company
PARTICIPATED
  • Gave presentation in partnership with MIT and University of Toledo technology transfer office to the Polish Association of Center for Technology Transfer (PACTT) on “United States University Tech Transfer Practices”

  • Gave a presentation to the VUMC Office of Contracts Management on an overview of CTTC and our workflow for reviewing IP terms in research contracts

  • Participated in the "special sections" portion of the most recent Responsible Conduct of Research session for graduate students

  • Hosted a webinar by Derek Stettner from the law firm of Michael Best and Friedrich on the recent supreme court ruling vis-à-vis the Oracle v. Google copyright infringement lawsuit

  • Participated in AbSeek Bio pitch to Alabama PE firm

  • Hosted meeting with VC firm supporting STEM Ph.D. entrepreneurs


  • Participated in pitch for entry of a new company, OrcoGuard, into a national accelerator program

  • CTTC welcomed its summer cohort of interns who will be working with licensing officers on myriad projects to help protect and commercialize Vanderbilt technologies
Technology Pipelines

The pipeline highlights a listing of fully human antibodies by target disease, availability by field, and stage of development. Links to scientific publications are also included.
View our updated Medical Device Pipeline.

The catalogue highlights medical device technologies currently in the pipeline for commercialization at Vanderbilt University. This Pipeline has more than 100 technologies in 12 categories from 40 research groups.

The catalog has more than 60 small molecule therapeutics, 35 biologics and 7 biomarkers that are currently in Vanderbilt's pipeline.