TECH CONNECTTurning Ideas into Opportunities
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| Monthly news & updates December 5, 2022
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| FY 2023STATISTICS
YEAR TO DATE
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| U.S. Patents
Issued
26
*includes end-user software and materials licenses along with conventional technology licenses
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Vanderbilt-Ancora partnership advances research for rare form of epilepsy
Vanderbilt researchers’ partnership with Ancora Innovation LLC, a Deerfield Management company that supports Vanderbilt University’s innovative life science research, has added an effort to develop therapeutics for a rare form of epilepsy. This is the fourth drug discovery and development program supported through the Ancora-Vanderbilt collaboration.
The program is aimed to address an infant-onset seizure disorder caused by mutations in a gene that affects neurotransmission in the brain and can result in abnormal electrical activity, such as seizures. These conditions are resistant to most current epilepsy treatments. Thus, new therapeutic approaches are desperately needed.
The goal of the latest Ancora-funded research is to build on Vanderbilt research and advance this project from early development to the identification of a clinically viable compound. The work, in conjunction with CTTC, will continue to be led by C. David Weaver, associate professor of pharmacology, chemistry, and associate director of the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, and in collaboration with Eric Delpire, professor of anesthesiology and molecular biophysics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“My lab members, collaborators and I are grateful for the opportunity afforded by the Deerfield/Ancora partnership with Vanderbilt to bring to bear the resources to develop therapies for these devastating conditions. We are also grateful for the past and continued support of the CTTC and university administration in helping to secure this funding," Dave Weaver said.
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VUMC to test whether Alzheimer’s drug can ease lupus symptoms
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Vanderbilt University Medical Center is partnering with Evergreen Therapeutics Inc. to test whether an Alzheimer’s drug, memantine, can improve cognitive symptoms associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease.
The external licensing and clinical trial agreement to “repurpose” a drug already on the market for a new use, signed last month, is a first for the Drug Repurposing Program of the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (VICTR).
Established in 2016, the Drug Repurposing Program currently is recruiting subjects for five clinical trials, including the memantine study. In July 2022, VUMC announced its intention to collaborate with a not-for-profit social impact organization, Roivant Social Ventures, to develop therapies for traditionally underserved populations and diseases.
To find new uses for drugs already on the market, the drug repurposing team identifies variants in drug-gene targets and conducts PheWAS (phenome-wide association studies) and comprehensive literature evidence synthesis.
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| INDUSTRY CALL for OPPORTUNITIES
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The deadline is January 3, 2023. Contact CTTC for more information at cameron.sargent@Vanderbilt.Edu.
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The deadline is January 23, 2023. Contact CTTC for more information at cameron.sargent@Vanderbilt.Edu.
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Sanofi is a global pharmaceutical company committed to improving access to healthcare and supporting the patients we serve throughout the continuum of care.
The Sanofi iDEA-iTECH Awards initiative is designed to innovate through collaborations, with a focus on cutting-edge digital and data tools and new technologies for R&D applications.
The goal is to:
- Identify new collaborative projects from key academic institutions and start-ups aligned with Sanofi’s strategic areas of interest
- De-risk cutting-edge science and technologies that can bring high potential value to R&D
- Build strong relationships with new partners that can lead to longer-term partnerships
Each selected Investigator will receive up to $150K USD, have a dedicated Sanofi scientific expert assigned to the project for 1-year, and gain privileged access to developing an extended collaboration.
Sanofi’s main objectives in creating the iDEA-iTECH Awards program are to rapidly start one-year projects that maximize the opportunity for continued collaborations of mutual interest. Click the link below to learn more about Sanofi’s areas of interest.
The call will be open for 6 weeks and projects must be submitted by Investigators by December 16th, 2022. Contact CTTC for information on how to submit at cttc@vanderbilt.edu.
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| Five Vanderbilt Technologies Earn Patent Protection in November
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Compositions for Inhibition of Insect Sensing
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Genetically Induced Nephron Progenitors
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Systems and Methods for Compact Optical Relay
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Mucosal Impedance Measuring Apparatus for Detecting and Measuring the Condition of Mucosa
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Hemofilter for In Vivo Blood Filtration
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Technology Spotlight:Molecular Image Fusion: Cross-Modality Modeling and Prediction Software for Molecular Imaging
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A research team at Vanderbilt University Mass Spectrometry Research Center has developed the Molecular Image Fusion software system, that by fusing spatial correspondence between histology and imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) measurements and cross-modality modeling, can predict ion distributions in tissue at spatial resolutions that exceed their acquisition resolution. The prediction resolution can even exceed the highest spatial resolution at which IMS can be physically measured. This software has been successfully tested on different IMS datasets and can be extended to other imaging modalities like MRI, PET, CT, profilometry, ion mobility spectroscopy, and different forms of microscopy.
Technology and IP Status:Provisional patent application filed in 2012.
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Below is a sampling of the interactions that have taken place in our office and with our staff over the last month.
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- Attended a presentation on “Unpacking the CHIPS Act” presented by Meunier, Carlin, and Curfman, LLC, and discussed its implications on our commercialization activities
- Attended a talk on Measuring and Maximizing Research Innovation Impact presented by researchers from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management
- Attended the Nashville Area Chamber’s Partnership 2030 economic development meeting
- Attended the Life Science Policy & Advocacy Update Conference
- Attended meeting at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center with Steve Case
- Attended board meeting of the Greater Nashville Technology Council Foundation
- Attended the ASPIRE to Innovate Fellowship Faculty Information Session
- Attended a board meeting for Meru Biotechnologies
- Attended Live Webinar: Scaling University Start-Ups at Warp Speed: Launch a HyperAccelerator Program
- Attended Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers annual conference
- Attended meeting of the Organization of Worldwide Innovation Studios
- Attended a presentation titled “Better Together: The Evusheld Story” given by Mark Esser, Vice President and Head of Microbial Sciences, Biopharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca
- Attended webinar by a pharmaceutical company regarding interest areas for future research collaborations with Vanderbilt University faculty
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- Executed an inter-institutional agreement with Duke, Southern Illinois, and the University of California at Berkeley to consolidate rights to SABRE-related magnetic resonance imaging technologies
- Executed an exclusive license agreement with I24 Supply Company, a faculty startup led by Kevin Galloway, for a technology to assist soldiers with the rapid deployment and removal of camouflage netting in the field
- Executed a Confidentiality Agreement with a medical technology company interested in technologies for organ support and transplantation being developed by Chetan Pasrija from the Department of Cardiac Surgery
- Executed research collaboration and licensing agreements with a pharmaceutical company interested in partnering with Steve Fesik from the Department of Biochemistry for the development of protein degrader molecules
- Executed a non-exclusive Material License with a preclinical pharmaceutical company for a mouse strain developed by Jennifer Kearney and Mark Magnuson from the School of Medicine
- Executed a CDA with a pharmaceutical company to discuss therapeutic antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 developed by James Crowe, Robert Carnahan, and Ivelin Georgiev in the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center
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- Announced the open solicitation for the Sanofi iDEA-iTech Awards pre-proposals, due by December 16th
- Held a call with tech transfer representatives from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pennsylvania to discuss a jointly-owned technology created in part by Roger Dmochowski in the Department of Urology
- Held a call with a representative from Viking Global to discuss technologies and startups that may fit within Viking’s investment framework
- Met with a healthcare technology company regarding artificial intelligence and data science opportunities
- Met with an investor at Fortress Investment Group
- Met with an investor group at Global Bio Access
- Met with ID8 and Overlin Ventures
- Discussed a potential startup company involving a medical photography app
- Met with an investor group at Ridgeline Ventures
- Met with an investor who had an interest in investing in early-stage companies and hiring students with an AI background
- Discussed a potential startup company with faculty members regarding a myocardial infarction adjudication algorithm
- Met with Seth Scholer from the Department of Pediatrics, creator of the Play Nicely program, to explore the development of a new version of the multi-media software program and to discuss commercialization interest from two healthcare IT entities
- Met with Colin Walsh from the Department of Biomedical Informatics, to discuss a predictive analytics software program for predicting opioid-related overdose and commercialization interest from state agencies
- Held a call with an early-stage food biotechnology company to initiate commercialization discussions for a technology developed by Carl Johnson and colleagues from the Department of Biological Sciences
- Held a call with a biopharmaceutical company interested in rare disease therapeutics and potential collaborations with Vanderbilt investigators
- Held a call with a biotechnology company to discuss licensing a technology developed by Matthew Wilson in the Department of Medicine
- Held a call with a pharmaceutical company developing the anti-cancer compounds developed by Steve Fesik from the Department of Biochemistry
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- Participated in the Info Session, "How to Get Into A Startup Accelerator "with Techstars Chicago
- Hosted a meeting with the CTTC Entrepreneurs-in-Residence
- Presented a seminar on Intellectual Property and its Relevance to Educational Materials, organized by the Office of Student Engagement and Well-Being at Peabody College
- Presented a seminar on the new CTTC Venture Studio to the Vanderbilt Innovation Ambassadors to educate them on new venture support programs from CTTC
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View our updated Vanderbilt Vaccine Center Antibody Pipeline.
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.
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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.
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