UNeMed Welcomes New Licensing Specialist

May 11, 2009 Comments Off on UNeMed Welcomes New Licensing Specialist News

OMAHA, Neb. (May 11, 2009)—UNeMed, the technology transfer arm for UNMC, welcomes licensing specialist Jason Nickla, JD, LL.M, to its staff. Nickla will focus on new technologies developed at UNMC.

“We are very pleased to have Jason join our team. His extensive knowledge of technology transfer and patent law will be a tremendous asset to UNeMed and UNMC”, said Michael Dixon, VP and Chief Operating Officer of UNeMed.

Nickla, a registered patent attorney, will work with faculty to receive, evaluate, protect, market and license their new discoveries. In addition, Nickla’s focus will be to increase the visibility of UNeMed by, Nickla, a registered patent attorney, will work with faculty to receive, evaluate, protect, market and license new inventions. In addition, Nickla will be a resource for entrepreneurial faculty who are interested in forming a new company for commercialization of their research activities.

Dixon adds, “Jason will play a key role in our office as a liaison with both UNMC faculty and industry to help oversee the transition of research discoveries into commercial products”.

Nickla will be the faculty members’ primary contact for the College of Nursing, College of Dentistry, School of Allied Health and the following departments in the College of Medicine: Cardiology, Pulmonary & Critical Care, Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery & Rehab, Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Anesthesiology, Geriatrics, Nephrology, Pediatrics, and Continuing Education. In addition, Jason will assist our Lincoln campus with their inventions.

UNeMed receives 60 to 70 New Invention Notifications (NINs) annually and licenses many of these inventions to companies worldwide for commercial development. In addition to commercializing new technologies, UNeMed offers assistance to entrepreneurial faculty interested in starting new companies.

Nickla earned his J.D. and his B.S. in Biology from Creighton University and his LL.M. in International Intellectual Property Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and has over six years of experience in technology transfer, patent prosecution, patentability searches and patent litigation matters.

Originally from Nebraska, Nickla earned his J.D., a B.S. in Biology from Creighton University and his LL.M. in International Intellectual Property Law from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Chicago, IL. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in the state of Illinois.

While in Chicago, Nickla worked for Beem Patent Law Firm, drafting patent applications and advising clients on patentability, licensing, and patent litigation matters. Nickla later joined Cardinal Intellectual Property, an Illinois patent search start-up company, to help develop their services for conducting patentability, invalidity, and freedom-to-operate searches for corporate and law firm clients. In addition, he conducted searches and drafted patentability opinions on behalf of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Nickla is an active member of many organizations including American Bar Association (ABA), American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA), Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), the Licensing Executives Society (LES) and the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI).

Nickla lives in Omaha with his wife Mindy. They welcomed their first child on June 8 2009. Jason Nickla can be reached at 559-8983 or jnickla@unmc.edu

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UNeMed celebrates sale of license, creates new jobs for Nebraska

May 8, 2009 Comments Off on UNeMed celebrates sale of license, creates new jobs for Nebraska News, Success Stories

The creation of new jobs in these difficult times was cause for a celebration at a recent ceremonial ribbon-cutting in Plattsmouth that involved UNMC.

Vireo Resources, which began operations in January, will process and package human nutritional products and  animal health care products.  Technology for the products was developed at UNMC.

UNeMed, the marketing and licensing arm for UNMC, issued a license to Vireo, which commercialized the medical center technology and established Vireo Resources in Plattsmouth.

“I’m delighted the work of UNMC faculty has led to products being manufactured in Nebraska by Nebraskans,” said James Linder, M.D., CEO of UNeMed and associate vice chancellor for research at UNMC.  “The university can make important contributions to economic development through the commercialization of new inventions and technology.”

UNeMed licensed the technology for the product — StayActiv – in 2007 to Vireo Systems, Inc., of Madison, Tenn., Vireo Resources’ parent company, which makes raw materials for creams and powders to manufacture products for retail distribution and sale.

The technology behind StayActiv was invented in the late 1990s by a UNMC research team led by Jonathan Vennerstrom, Ph.D., and Donald Miller, Ph.D.  The team included Sam Augustine, Pharm.D., Tom McDonald, Ph.D., Jon Wagner, Pharm.D., and Dennis Robinson, Ph.D.

StayActiv, sold as a capsule or cream, is advertised as a product that provides fast pain relief and also promotes repair of muscles, joints and tissue.

“It is the only product on the market that targets inflammation and lactic acid — the two main sources of pain,” said Mark Faulkner, owner of Vireo Systems, Inc. “It promotes relief from the release of prostaglandins and supports a reduction in the buildup of lactic acid.

“It has been shown to be as effective as ibuprofen in relieving inflammation.” A similar product made by Vireo, called RejuvenatePlus, also is a technology developed by UNMC. It is marketed for animals and provides joint and muscle relief in aging pets.

UNeMed licensed the technology under its new initiative that waives and/or defers licensing fees and other upfront costs for new or expanding Nebraska businesses.

Businesses must demonstrate committed management, a sound business plan that increases the payroll in Nebraska, and sufficient capital to execute the business plan. The initiative, called AdvanceNebraska is designed to promote economic growth in Nebraska and create new jobs.

Participants in the ceremony included Dr. Linder, Faulkner, Gov. Dave Heineman, Plattsmouth Mayor Paul Lambert and Richard Baier, director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

“The state’s biomedical industry is taking a significant step forward with (this) groundbreaking,” Heineman said. “We are positioned to attract even more biomedical companies, with the added bonus of being able to offer development-ready technologies formulated right here at our exceptional university medical center.”

Faulkner said he’s particularly grateful to the Department of Economic Development for working with him for more than two years to find the right place.

“Without their assistance, locating this plant in Nebraska wouldn’t have happened,” he said. “This has been a great cooperative effort between UNMC, the state’s department of economic development and the city of Plattsmouth.”

UNMC researchers and Vireo have worked together for more than seven years on various projects, some of which have been marketed and patents are pending for several new products. Since 2002, Vireo has worked with UNMC and major universities to develop, study and prove the safety and effectiveness of StayActiv and other products, Faulkner said.

Vireo Resources also offers manufacturing and packaging services to other companies.

UNeMed, which was incorporated in 1991 to commercialize new technology developed at UNMC, is wholly-owned by the University of Nebraska.

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Dr. Dixon named president of UNeMed

April 28, 2009 Comments Off on Dr. Dixon named president of UNeMed News

OMAHA, Neb. (April 28, 2009)—UNeMed Corporation, the for-profit technology transfer arm for UNMC, will have a new president as of May 1. Michael Dixon, Ph.D., director of the intellectual property office, was named last week to the position by the UNeMed Board, chaired by Don Leuenberger, vice chancellor of business and finance. James Linder, M.D., current president and CEO of UNeMed, was then named CEO.

“Michael brings to the position a unique understanding of both science and intellectual property,” Dr. Linder said. “He’s become nationally recognized in key groups, such as the Association for University Technology Managers and the Licensing Executive Society.”

Dr. Dixon, 33, has successfully mixed science and business since he received his doctorate degree in molecular biology from the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center in 2003. At that time, he became the faculty liaison/technology transfer associate in the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), becoming director in 2006.

In that year, IPO and UNeMed merged and Dr. Dixon remained director of the office until he was named vice president and chief operating officer of UNeMed in January 2008.

“In the past few years he has earned the respect of faculty at UNMC and has established strong internship and postdoctoral programs at UNeMed,” Dr. Linder said. “He has built educational relationships with Creighton University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha and has developed a close working relationship with the Office of Technology Development at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.”

As CEO, Dr. Linder will be involved in, business development outreach to external partners and venture capital development. Dr. Dixon said he is proud of the significant increase in technology transfer activity on campus.

“In the past three years, we’ve seen more than a 50 percent increase in licenses and inventions going through UNeMed,” he said. “Our staff has been able to keep up with the pace and increase our efficiency to become a valuable resource for the campus.”

Moving UNMC technologies from the bench to the marketplace to help people is rewarding for Dr. Dixon.

“I want to continue to build on the successes of Dr. Linder, who developed the commercial side to UNeMed, and Tom McDonald, Ph.D., who led UNeMed before him as one of first entrepreneurs on campus,” he said.

One of his long-term goals is to bring in as much research money to UNMC as the tobacco settlement provides — $5 million to$6 million a year.

UNeMed now generates more than $1 million in revenues — the bulk of which is from the Leveen probe, a non-surgical tumor ablation device that was invented in the early 1990s and licensed in the late ’90s. It has become the gold standard for nonsurgical tumor ablation treatment.

Dr. Dixon points to other technologies that will help build the research revenue stream:

  • StayActiv, sold as a capsule or cream, provides fast pain relief and also promotes repair of muscles, joints and tissue. It is the only product on the market that targets inflammation and lactic acid — the two main sources of pain. It was licensed to Vireo Systems, Inc., and has subsequently spawned the birth of a new company in Plattsmouth, Neb., Vireo Resources, which processes and packages nutritional products. The technology behind StayActiv was invented in the late 1990s by a UNMC research team led by Jonathan Vennerstrom, Ph.D., and Donald Miller, Ph.D. The team included Sam Augustine, Pharm.D., Tom McDonald, Ph.D., Jon Wagner, Pharm.D., and Dennis Robinson, Ph.D.
  • Addrenex contracted with UNeMed to rapidly acquire new drug candidates by tapping into UNMC’s considerable scientific expertise and its pre-existing library of alpha-2 adrenergic compounds. The library and associated intellectual property was gifted to UNMC by Proctor and Gamble in 2002. Two of the compounds have been tested in clinical trials involving 700 patients with either nasal congestion or migraine headache. If successful, the value of potential sales from these products could exceed $2 billion.

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