TECH CONNECTTurning Ideas into Opportunities
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Monthly news & updates March 6, 2023
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| FY 2023STATISTICS
YEAR TO DATE
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| U.S. Patents Issued
39
*includes end-user software and materials licenses along with conventional technology licenses
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Vanderbilt and Deerfield Management celebrate Ancora Innovationa collaboration for accelerating drug discovery, potential life-changing therapeutics
Vanderbilt’s Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization within the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation hosted the visit. With the guidance and support of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Development Alan Bentley and Manager of Corporate Alliances Margaret Read, Deerfield representatives met with faculty and university leadership, including Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs C. Cybele Raver and Vice Provost for Research and Innovation Padma Raghavan. They discussed ongoing projects and potential future collaborations and attended a celebratory reception in the Langford Auditorium lobby with attendees from across the university and Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“Our collaboration with Deerfield has already advanced multiple faculty-led projects with strong potential for helping patients in need,” Raghavan said. “Deerfield and Vanderbilt have become trusted partners in this vital endeavor, and we know that the best is yet to come.”
In 2018, Deerfield launched Ancora Innovation, LLC, a company wholly owned by Deerfield affiliates to support Vanderbilt’s innovative life-science research with the goal of accelerating the discovery and development of new therapeutics to combat life-altering illnesses. Since then, four Vanderbilt faculty-led projects have been accepted into Ancora with funding and expert resources from Deerfield, including projects to develop novel treatments for dystonia and other movement disorders, opioid use disorders, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and a rare form of epilepsy.
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Applications open for ASPIRE postdoctoral research fellowship to support path to entrepreneurship
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Current biomedical sciences Ph.D. students, postdocs affiliated with the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center postdocs interested in transitioning from research to entrepreneurship are invited to apply for the next ASPIRE to Innovate Postdoctoral Fellowship, which begins July 1, 2023, through the Office of Biomedical Research Education and Training (BRET).
The fellowship is designed to enable the commercialization of technologies discovered at Vanderbilt University while teaching biomedical Ph.D. scientists how to transform a technology into a company.
The person selected will be appointed as a postdoctoral fellow within BRET and work with a technology selected by the office. This year BRET has identified two potential technologies for the fellow to pursue:
- Generation of dynamic profiles to model pharmacodynamics in cell culture
- Development of small molecules that inhibit the evolution of antibiotic resistance
The one-year appointment, which includes salary and benefits, can be extended to a second year provided good progress is made toward the program’s commercialization objectives.
The deadline for applications is March 27, 2023.
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Endotheia receives distinguished FDA breakthrough device designation for minimally invasive surgical tool
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A company co-founded by Robert J. Webster III, Richard A. Schroeder Professor of Mechanical Engineering and associate professor of medicine and urology at Vanderbilt University, has received a breakthrough device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that could open the door for new diagnostic and therapeutic applications of flexible endoscopy.
The designation given to EndoTheia, Inc., a Nashville, Tennessee based medical device company, will streamline the regulatory process, enabling the company to rapidly bring its solution to doctors and patients. Such designations are granted to novel medical devices that have the potential to provide more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions.
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Nashville Biosciences and Illumina announce sequencing agreement with Amgen
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Nashville Biosciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and Illumina Inc., a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, announced an agreement with Amgen in January 2023, a global biopharmaceutical company, to whole-genome sequence approximately 35,000 DNA samples.
The sample cohort is primarily made up of DNA from African Americans, who are currently underrepresented in research for the clinical applications of genomics, including drug target discovery. This cohort will be the largest data set of genomes of its kind to date.
Sequencing this set of samples is the first in Illumina and Nashville Biosciences’ Alliance for Genomic Discovery (AGD), a multiyear agreement to accelerate therapeutic development through large-scale genomics and establish a preeminent clinico-genomic data set.
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Eight Vanderbilt Technologies Earn Patent Protection in February
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Methods and Compositions for Treating Alcoholic Liver Disease
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Removal of Homogeneous Catalysts from NMR/MRI Agents Hyperpolarized via SABRE or PHIP
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Deep Brain Stimulation in Early Stage Parkinson's
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Neuro-Electro-Magnetic Oscillations
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Energy Harvesting Devices and Methods of Making and Use Thereof
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Methods and Apparatus for Intraoperative Assessment of Parathyroid Gland Vascularity Using Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging and Applications of Same
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Polycarbonate Containing Compounds and Methods Related Thereto
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11,592,286
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Systems and Methods for Non-Destructive Evaluation of Optical Material Properties and Surfaces
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Technology Spotlight:A Method to Obtain Uniform Radio Frequency Fields in the Body for High Field MRI
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Researchers at Vanderbilt have created a new approach to produce uniform radio frequency (RF) fields in the body during high field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Existing high field MRI machines create non-uniform RF fields that lead to non-uniform sensitivity in the generated images, also referred to as “hot” and “cold” spots. These local variations interfere with the tissue contrast of the images that radiologists depend upon to make accurate diagnoses. By generating uniform RF fields in the body, this technology provides the benefits of high field MRI without the non-uniform RF fields.
Technology and IP Status:
A U.S. Patent has been issued.
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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 an AUTM webinar: Medical Devices - Patent Law and the FDA Regulatory Process
- Attended the kick-off meeting of the Novartis Global Scholar’s Program for Brent Ferrell and Alexander Bick of the Department of Medicine
- Attended a webinar discussing implementation of a proposed term sheet starting point for early stage life sciences companies developed collaboratively between leaders in academic tech transfer, law firms, and leading venture capitalists
- Attended the Q1 Ancora Joint Steering Committee meeting to get an update on the status of existing programs and latest developments at Ancora
- Attended the Nashville Business Journal’s Growth of Nashville: How Electric Vehicles Will Shape Our Future event
- Attended 2023 Scipreneur information session
- Attended TennSMART Smart Mobility Challenge information session
- Attended VISE seminars led by Joshua Gafford of Vanderbilt University startup EndoTheia and new Vanderbilt faculty member Daniel Moyer from the Department of Computer Science
- Attended the Annual User Group meeting of Inteum, IP management software used at CTTC
- Attended the annual AUTM meeting to continue learning best practices and discuss new commercialization efforts
- Attended “Arrived Webinar” with CEO, Ryan Frazier, and VP of Investments, Cameron Wu
- Attended a panel discussion hosted by the Nashville Healthcare Council on Wall Street’s View on Prospects for the Health Care Industry
- Attended a panel discussion hosted by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center on Healthcare Venture Studio Models
- Attended VU AI Faculty Coalition Gathering
- Attended ”Partnership and Persistence” forum with DataTribe, Atlanta Tech Village, Tech Squares and Hunt Club
- Attended a webinar hosted by University-Industry Demonstration Partnerships (UIDP) on Shifting Corporate Engagement Models
- Attended board meeting conducted by a portfolio company, HeroWear LLC
- Attended board meeting conducted by a portfolio company, nPhase, Inc.
- Attended a webinar: VC & TTO Term Sheet for Early-Stage Life Science Startups (AUTM)
- Attended the NSF I-Corps Mid-South Hub Summit hosted by the Wond’ry
- Attended a webinar on Funding and Equity for University Startups
- Attended the 2023 Awards program hosted by the Greater Nashville Technology Council
- Attended several investor meetings at the the AUTM Annual Conference
- Attended AUTM Annual conference and met with various pharma companies including J&J, Pfizer, BioMarin and AZ for potential collaborations
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- Executed a non-exclusive license with a biomechanics company for a wearable sensor technology to measure muscle loading developed by Karl Zelik from the Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Executed a Non-Disclosure Agreement with a large speciality chemical company to discuss interest in bioresorbable polymers developed by Scott Guelcher from the Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Executed a Non-Disclsure Agreement with a medical device company to discuss a pediatric cardiac device developed by Tom Doyle, Dana Janssen, and George Nicholson from Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Commercialized a new VUe-Innovations software tool called PIRAMID developed by Jamey Young from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as part of the MFA Software Suite
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- Met with an investor relations firm regarding their interest in research programs or IP portfolios at Vanderbilt in need of investment
- Met with a broadband holding company and several engineering faculty members to learn more about a variety of engineering research programs related to renewable energy, cyber-physical systems, and optimization of transit systems and power grids, among other topics
- Held a data science/artificial intelligence brainstorming session with a construction company to explore how new technologies in this area could assist in their business
- Met with medical technology staffing company to discuss partnership opportunities
- Met with new Corporate Partnerships team to discuss the strategy for expanding Vanderbilt’s network and how we can work together to increase industry engagement
- Met with Audrey Bowden to discuss IP commercialization through a startup company for imaging technology
- Met with Jon Schoenecker to discuss the commercialization of an orthopedic surgery digital education tool
- Met with a representative from CancerTools.org to discuss licensing opportunities for Vanderbilt research tool
- Held licensing discussions with a medium-sized medical imaging company for commercializing a medical phantom technology developed by Adam Yock from the Department of Radiation Oncology
- Held preliminary collaboration discussions with local wheelchair safety systems company, LUCI
- Met with faculty to discuss potential Ancora proposal submissions
- Held IP discussions with a small company interested in distributing research tool inventions
- Met with Hunt Club Founder about startup ecosystem development
- Continued negotiations of an exclusive license with a biotech company for the microbiome technology developed by Fang Yan from the Department of Pediatrics, Medicine and Cell and Developmental Biology
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- Presented several lectures on intellectual property, technology transfer, and relevant policy to undergraduate and graduate students across campus
- Conducted Ancora Project Team meetings
- Hosted monthly Ancora business meetings with CTTC and Deerfield
- Hosted in-person Ancora Quarterly Joint Steering Committee Meeting
- Hosted Deerfield Vanderbilt Leadership Summit meetings and reception
- Participated in TennSMART Event planning meetings
- Participated as a guest lecturer on Vanderbilt’s innovation ecosystem for an interdisciplinary graduate course
- Led Inside Startups Coffee Break, a virtual panel with founders, operators and investors
- Participated in an AUTM panel discussion on The Changing Tech Transfer Landscape for the Operations Professional
- Participated in an AUTM panel discussion on National Venture Capital Association template documents
- Hosted the CTTC Entrepreneurship Advisory Council Meeting which evaluated a startup proposed by Lisa Lancaster
- Hosted the 2023 Tennessee Tech Transfer and Cluster Economic Development Council
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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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