Virtual classes for securing grant funding starting in June

May 29, 2020 Comments (0) News

SHARPhub logoCHELSEA, Michigan (May 29, 2020)—Four virtual classes will go online early next week providing educational opportunities for life-science entrepreneurs.

All classes are free and open to all, but primarily aimed at entrepreneurs in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and the Dakotas.

Beginning Tuesday, June 2, the first virtual class is a mentoring program aimed at helping university researchers commercialize their innovations. Three more classes—June 15, June 22 and July 28—will guide life-science entrepreneurs through the entire grant process for successful SBIR/STTR funding.

Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs are federal research and development grant funds administered by a dozen government agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA and the Department of Defense, to name a few. Each year, the top two programs award more than $3 billion to small businesses.

SHARPhub is providing the classes at no charge as a part of its mission to coach and provide opportunities and resources that would help commercialize life-science innovations in the Midwest. SHARPhub is the technology transfer hub for the Sustainable Heartland Accelerator Regional Partnership, which is a collaboration between BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting and the five-state Midwestern region.

The first online class is the “SHARPhub MAP Program Webinar,” which runs just 30 minutes, beginning at noon on Tuesday, June 2. The MAP (Mentoring, Assessment, and Planning) program uses a combination of educational modules, tools, and mentoring to help university researchers assess the potential of their life science technology to ensure they’re on a strong development path to successfully commercializing their innovations. Participants work one-on-one with a SHARPhub mentor using their Startup School video series: “8 Steps to Commercialization of Research Technology.” To register, go to: https://bit.ly/2X8I9LW.

The next offering is “ABC of SBIR/STTR Funding.” That class is scheduled for Monday, June 15, at 8:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. This class will teach the basics of the SBIR/STTR program, including program purpose, eligibility, and sources of funding. The goal of this presentation is to help participants determine if they want to seriously pursue proposal development and provide tools to begin that process. To register, go to: https://bit.ly/2Xy2Fox.

Next is “SBIR/STTR Proposal Prep for NIH” on Monday, June 22 at 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This class will outline the differences between SBIR and STTR; review how to navigate the NIH’s SBIR website to research awarded projects; how to prepare an SBIR proposal; and how to avoid common pitfalls. To register, go to: https://bit.ly/2ZHv3qT.

Finally, the online classes will conclude with “Commercialization Planning for SBIR/STTR Proposals” on Tuesday, July 28 at 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This class will teach the essential components of an effective plan; how to find and use cost-effective market research; which supporting documents are needed; and other tips for writing a winning plan. To register, go to: https://bit.ly/36zMLxX.

Read article

Making pandemic lemonade with academic innovation

May 26, 2020 Comments (0) Blog, News

*UPDATED 7/29/20: New invention numbers updated to reflect final data for the fiscal year ending in 2020.

by Charlie Litton, UNeMed | May 26, 2020

I remember clearly the moment when I realized I’d be working from home for an extended period.

My big concern at the time—which seems preposterously silly now—was that I was about to be desperate for things to do. I needed to dream up ways to keep myself occupied for what was beginning to look like a pandemic.

I sure wasn’t going to have a lot of office work to do. That much was certain.

I went around the house, writing up a list of small projects suitable for my level of (in)competence.

I worried that it was a short list. Maybe I could take up gardening? Learn the mystic arts of the magical force that powers lights and TVs and other gizmos. Some people call electricity witchcraft, and those people are correct.

The truth is, I’ve been as busy at work as I’ve ever been…even if that work looks a lot like a modest dining room…now scattered with an ENTIRE BOX of crispy rice cereal that my kid just dumped all over the floor!

Oh, the humanity!

ANYWAY…I know why my wide-eyed home project list now lays forgotten somewhere, probably buried under a pile of poorly crayoned first-grade worksheets.

It’s the University of Nebraska’s fault. Specifically, the researchers, clinicians and all the other folks around here who have been feverishly thinking of better ways to do things amid this pandemic. We’re up to our eyeballs in new inventions, and there seems no end in sight.

Just look at the numbers: In the third fiscal quarter that ended on March 31, we had 34 new inventions, which was then the third-best quarter in our history. I will detail a few of those innovations in a minute.

But if you look at the final 13 weeks of the fiscal calendar, inventors submitted 39 new inventions. That is the second-most prolific quarter in UNMC and UNO history (The 42 new inventions in 2018’s third quarter is the most.)

But the pandemic doesn’t neatly fit into our fairly arbitrary quarterly brackets. If the pandemic were the measuring stick, then in the 13 weeks beginning with the start of lock-down in mid-March, we counted a whopping 49 new inventions.

That is an unprecedented amount of innovation at UNMC and UNO during a time when everyone is supposed to be sitting at home, power-streaming Stranger Things and baking sourdough bread.

I think it’s safe to say that this is likely the most innovative stretch of 13 weeks in Nebraska history.

In fact, in our entire history, we’ve landed 30 or more inventions in a single quarter only five other times.

So, as I update this post eight months later, I still haven’t looked anyone from our office directly in the eye for more than 130 days, but they too are apparently not lacking for things to do.

This gangbuster innovative productivity is probably the most heartening thing I can take away from our circumstances. We now know with clear-eyed certainty that the brightest bulbs in our state—physicians, academic researchers, nurses, and others—are pouring themselves into finding solutions to the single-biggest problem of our time. And I can also say with maximum confidence that the same can probably be said about every other biomedical academic and clinical institution like ours.

What we see happening in our small corner of the universe amounts to 30 new inventions—in the last five months—that are directly related to fighting the pandemic. Yet that is but a small illustration of what is happening everywhere, and we should all take heart that some of the smartest people in the world are giving COVID-19 their undivided attention.

That is just awesome—in the truest sense of the word’s primary definition.

Here’s a closer look at a handful of some of the innovations Nebraska inventors have been churning out in response to this pandemic, in no particular order (This list doesn’t even include the more than 50 drug development and ongoing research discovery projects.):

  • Intubation Shield: Placing a tube in infected patients to help them breathe has become a high-risk procedure for healthcare workers. The intubation shield is a simple, cost-effective design that can be easily cleaned, stored and moved from room-to-room, unlike other intubation boxes which are bulky and heavy.
  • Infectious aerosol capture mask and filter housing: The mask and filter housing are a great example of innovation through improvisation, the mask and filter were cobbled together largely with repurposed parts. The result is a new device for patients who need oxygen but might not be symptomatic. The Air Force tested the device for use on their flights transporting COVID-19 patients. They liked it well enough to order 4,000 units.
  • Magnetic face shield: Developed by Nebraska Medicine and UNMC emergency staff, the magnetic face shield is a clever design that makes easier (and safer) the donning and doffing of personal protective equipment for hospital staff.
  • 3D printed nasal swabs: It seems unbelievable that there are shortages of the kind of cotton swabs clinicians use to take nasal samples for various tests. It’s also remarkable that a 3D-printed version can both be safer and more comfortable for the patient.
  • UV cleaning method: UNMC researchers and Nebraska Medicine clinicians developed a process for sanitizing single-use personal protective equipment. The process enables things like masks and face shields to be used more than once, easing the strain of rising shortages during the pandemic.
  • Remdesivir trial: The first clinical trial launched in the United States to evaluate an experimental treatment for COVID-19 began at UNMC with an American who was quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that docked in Yokohama, Japan. Andre Kalil, M.D., a physician and researcher at UNMC, led the trial.
  • COVID-19 triage app: A new mobile app, 1-Check COVID, helps guide the screening of large groups of individuals concerned that they might have COVID-19 and helps first responders and other health care providers determine a person’s likelihood of carrying the disease.

Final point: There are even more on the way, and you can find them here when they become available for licensing or as products on the market.

Read article

New UNMC device captures exhaled coronavirus particles

May 18, 2020 Comments (0) News

OMAHA, Nebraska (May 13, 2020)—A new protective device that is expected to help protect healthcare workers everywhere from the novel coronavirus is now available thanks to a remarkable partnership between the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Omaha Custom Manufacturing.

The device has already drawn interest from the U.S. Air Force, which is currently studying the mask’s ability to protect flight crews that transport patients who are infected with COVID-19.

As the Air Force continues its study, the partnership will fast-track the manufacture of the device, called the Infectious Aerosol Capture Mask. It is designed to prevent infected patients from spraying or exhaling viral agents and potentially infecting others in the room.

“Omaha Custom Manufacturing has been incredible to work with,” said Tyler Scherr, Ph.D., the licensing agent at UNeMed who brokered the deal. “They’re basically doing this for us on a hope and a prayer. They saw the need and are investing to make these devices available to help protect all healthcare workers.”

Added Omaha Custom Manufacturing CEO and President, Mark Keffeler: “If there’s a way for us to help with the pandemic, we want to do it.”

Founded in 1978, Omaha Custom Manufacturing is a family owned, full-service contract manufacturing company that got its start in producing products for use in pharmacies and long-term care facilities—products that are still on the market today.

“Being able to partner with the med center is fantastic, and being able to help with the COVID-19 pandemic adds passion for the project,” said Tyler Keffeler, Vice President at Omaha Custom Manufacturing. Tyler is son to Mark and the third generation of Keffelers in the business.

Developed by the chair of UNMC’s Department of Anesthesiology, Steven Lisco, M.D., the Capture Mask is a face tent that covers the patient’s mouth and nose, and is then coupled with a viral filter and a special adaptor that connects the unit to standard vacuum supplies in most clinical settings.

Dr. Lisco—along with director of perioperative imaging, Nicholas Markin, M.D., who 3D printed the adapter—teamed with UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office at UNMC. UNeMed arranged a licensing agreement with a local company, Omaha Custom Manufacturing, which, given the urgency of the pandemic, agreed to focus resources in order to accelerate the device’s speed to market.

It will take about four weeks to set up their manufacturing process for the adapter, about half the time that is customary for injection-molded products. In the meantime, 3D-printed adapters will be sold until the injection molding process is completed, Scherr said.

“This has gone as smooth as possible,” Scherr said, “and the best part is Omaha Custom Manufacturing is right in our backyard. And not only that, but to be a local shop willing to invest their hard-earned money at a time like this, for something like this, is pretty amazing, really.”.

The Nebraska Medicine Innovation Committee has approved the device for use in its facilities, and has already deployed them in operating rooms and elsewhere in the hospital.

Hospitals risk wider contamination from COVID-19 patients when they cough or even just breathe. They produce microscopic particles that float through the air of their rooms, and potentially beyond. Even patients that have no symptoms may still unwittingly spread the virus in the same way, particularly when wearing supplemental oxygen or undergoing the procedures that insert or remove breathing tubes.

Dr. Lisco said in a recent announcement the device performed well in early tests, “catching more than 90 percent of airborne particles expelled in the mask, ultimately preventing the aerosol from entering the patient environment.”

He added: “Even when the vacuum wasn’t turned on, the mask was still 85 percent effective as a barrier.”

At this initial stage, the special adapter for the Infectious Aerosol Capture Mask is available for purchase through Omaha Custom Manufacturing at info@omahacustommfg.com or 800-228-5021. All other components are commonly accessible in most clinical settings and readily found through various medical equipment suppliers.

A future version of the technology will incorporate all components into one contiguous device, but that will not be available for purchase until a later date.

Read article

COVID-19 screening app for individuals, groups now available to Android users

May 18, 2020 Comments (0) News

by Vicky Cerino, UNMC Communications | May 18, 2020

The University of Nebraska launched a new mobile app, 1-Check COVID, to help guide the screening of large groups of individuals concerned that they might have COVID-19 and to help first responders and other health care providers determine a person’s likelihood of carrying the disease.

Launched for iOS phones, that app now is available on Google Play for anyone on Android phones.

“We’re pleased to make this resource available to Android users,” said Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). “By expanding the platform, we can continue to help our Nebraska communities and beyond navigate important symptoms of the coronavirus.”

The app, he said, helps reassure the worried well, as well as assist public safety teams responding to concerns and guide individuals who may have symptoms but are unsure what to do or how to share their concerns with others.

The iOS version already has topped more than 60,000 images and 9,800 downloads and received favorable App Store ratings and reviews.

1-Check COVID enables the users to privately answer a series of questions and assess their risk of having COVID-19. Based on the user’s input, the screening app will issue a “low-risk,” “urgent risk” or “emergent risk” assessment and guide the individual user and up to six family and friends toward possible next steps specific to their needs.

The steps range from continued monitoring of symptoms, contacting one’s health care clinic or public health department to determine whether testing is needed, or going to the nearest emergency facility and/or calling 911. The app also helps the user, if they wish, to share their COVID current risk profile with their health care professionals, employers, families and others if they desire to do so.

Although not a diagnostic tool, 1-Check COVID will provide appropriate advice based on the user’s symptoms, recent travel, geographic region (based on the ZIP code) and medical history. Developers say the screening app will enable individuals to make thoughtful decisions about when, or if, they should seek medical attention and allow them to immediately share the results only if they so choose.

The app was developed by medical and public health experts at UNMC, and computer science and computer engineering students within the Walter Scott, Jr. Scholarship program at UNO.

The team included Rod Markin, M.D., Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for business development at UNMC and director of UNeTech; the UNMC Department of Emergency Medicine’s Thang Nguyen and Wes Zeger, D.O.; and UNO’s Harnoor Singh, director of student development for the Scott Scholars Program, as well as UNO Scott Scholars Grayson Stanton, Keegan Brown and Carly Cameron.

Read article

New intubation shield protects healthcare workers from coronavirus during intubation procedures 

April 6, 2020 Comments (0) News

OMAHA, Neb. (April 7, 2020)—A new protective barrier invented at the University of Nebraska Medical Center shields and protects healthcare workers from contagions and other contaminants during intubation procedures.

Inventors Thomas Schulte, MD, and Michael Ash, MD, in collaboration with Scott Nepper at Design Plastics, Inc. in Omaha—developed the device in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were looking for a way to help offset the widespread shortages of personal protective equipment facing healthcare workers, but also a better version of intubation boxes already on the market.

“We liked the idea of the intubation box but worried the rigid construction and size would have limited us to only a few operating rooms,” said Dr. Ash, a physician who is also the vice chancellor for information technology at UNMC and executive vice president and chief transformation officer at Nebraska Medicine. “We also worried about storage after the pandemic. We came up with a lightweight, foldable solution that is easily maneuverable for our providers and easy to clean. We now have thirty Intubation Shields deployed around the hospital.”

The Intubation Shield looks like a four-sided box made of a clear, lightweight plastic. It has ports so a healthcare professional can access the patient.

Easily maneuverable and adjustable, the Intubation Shield acts as a barrier to any pathogens a patient might express as a physician installs a tube down a patient’s throat and into the lungs. The tube provides an uninterrupted air supply for patients that struggle to breathe, including those suffering the more severe symptoms of COVID-19.

“The intubation shield provides an additional layer of safety and is so easy to use we plan on using the shield on every intubation of patients we suspect may have COVID-19,” said Schulte, an anesthesiologist at Nebraska Medicine.

The box is lightweight, folds flat for easy storage and can be cleaned for multiple uses, including cleaning using UV methods.

UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska at Omaha, will ship intubation boxes to hospitals in some of the areas hardest hit by COVID-19. Michael Dixon, CEO of UNeMed said, “We are humbled to be able to play a role in helping to protect providers on the front line and grateful to our inventors for creating an easy-to-use tool that could help stop the spread.”

Orders for the devices can be placed here.

Read article

CleanCore kills bacteria without chemicals, coronavirus next on the hit list

April 6, 2020 Comments (0) News

What is aqueous ozone and how does it work. First, Ozone molecules, which are made up of three oxygen atoms. are dissolved in water. Then the extra oxygen attacks and destroys contaminants. Finallly, the extra atom disinitragaes from the ozone molecule leaving behind only simple oxygen.OMAHA, Nebraska (March 18, 2020)—Research conducted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center shows that a new, chemical-free cleaning solution eliminates at least 99.9 percent of bacteria living on nonporous solid surfaces.

The findings have led researchers and CleanCore Solutions—the Omaha-based company that manufactures the new product—to test its effect against viruses, beginning with coronavirus.

James Talmadge

James Talmadge, Ph.D.

“We never took it to the next level with viruses, but I think it has potential,” said researcher James Talmadge, Ph.D., the Director of UNMC’s Laboratory of Transplantation Immunology and a professor in the Department of Pathology and Microbiology.

“It’s encouraging,” he said, “but until you do the tests, you cannot make a statement about viruses.”

UNMC and Dr. Talmadge are finalizing a study that will test CleanCore’s formulation against the coronavirus, but it may be several more weeks, if not months, before any results might be known. Current laboratory facilities are expected to be stretched thin with priority falling to testing patients for the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV2, which is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because it was a University innovation, UNeMed secured the patent for the new formulation, and exclusively licensed the technology to CleanCore. Even though the new formulation has not yet been tested against viral agents, it has already met the rigors needed for clearance as a certified sanitizer.

“That’s not just my opinion. It fulfilled the requirement, which is a 3-log decrease,” Talmadge said. “That is sufficient to meet the sanitization requirements.”

A 3-log decrease refers to a 99.9 percent reduction in the colony forming units of several bacteria, which is the government’s requirement for non-food related surfaces.

A 4-log decrease is 99.99 percent reduction, and a 5-log decrease is 99.999 percent. Government agencies require a 5-log decease to meet a designation as an approved “disinfectant.” Against Salmonella, CleanCore’s new formulation showed a 6-log decrease.

Gary Hollst

Gary Hollst

“Our current products have proven to be a safer and more sustainable way to clean,” said CleanCore President Gary Hollst, “and this added formulation, once reviewed, should get us the sanitizer claim, while keeping our core values of safety and sustainability.”

CleanCore’s newest technology is an on-demand system that creates a cleaning solution when it combines water, ozone and the active ingredient in common household vinegar, acetic acid.

“Ozonated water, or aqueous ozone, has been used rather than chlorine in swimming pools, it has been used in drinking water,” Talmadge said.

The use of ozone as an effective disinfectant for water treatment has been known for more than 100 years. CleanCore’s equipment uses an electrical process that creates ozone, which is then dissolved into softened tap water. Aqueous ozone has proven to be significantly effective at cleaning non-pourous surfaces contaminated with bacteria, including E. Coli, Salmonella, Staphycoccus, and Klebsiella.

The studies from Talmadge’s lab paired the aqueous ozone solution with other known natural disinfecting agents. The stated goal was to raise the acidity of the solution and potentially increase its effect against more dangerous microbes.

Talmadge and his team introduced several known natural disinfecting agents, including citric acid, acetic acid and propionic acid, a common food preservative that inhibits mold.

Talmadge’s experiments showed the combination of acetic acid and aqueous ozone, in the right concentrations, were highly effective against Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica and Klebsiella pneumonia, which causes a dangerous version of pneumonia that is often resistant to antibiotics.

“It is our hope that through this additional research we can be in a position to help reduce the risk of this new coronavirus and others that will potentially develop in the future,” said Lisa Roskens, Chair of the Board at CleanCore Solutions.

CleanCore Solutions focuses on providing an effective and natural aqueous ozone solution for all-purpose cleaning. Their Patented Pure Aqueous Ozone technology provides a cleaner, safer and healthier environment while also deodorizing and sanitizing multiple surfaces. Learn more at www.cleancoresol.com, or contact them at customerservice@cleancoresol.com or 877-860-3030.

Read article

UNMC/Nebraska Medicine pioneering method to reuse personal protective equipment

March 24, 2020 Comments (0) News

Nebraska Medicine has developed a safe and effective method to decontaminate single-use personal protective equipment, or PPE, so they can be used multiple times. A team led by John Lowe, Ph.D., University of Nebraska Medical Center assistant vice chancellor for inter-professional health security training and education, is using ultraviolet light towers to irradiate high numbers of masks, which were originally designed to only be used once.

Read the New York Times’ coverage here.

The strategy will allow Nebraska Medicine to greatly extend its supply of these items during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The shortage of PPE is a nationwide issue – each and every one of these items is increasingly precious,” said Mark Rupp, M.D., chief of the infectious diseases division at UNMC. “Although we were well prepared, our supplies were beginning to dwindle. We had to find a way to keep our providers and patients safe, and this will definitely help us achieve that goal.”

The decontamination of these items works like this: groups of masks are safely bagged and transported to a room inside the hospital which is equipped with two ultraviolet light towers. The PPE is hung on wires stretching the length of the room and then decontaminated when the lights are powered on. The items are then removed and returned to the original owners for reuse.

“The shortage has forced us to be innovative,” said Dr. Lowe. “While these items weren’t meant to be used more than once, this is a 100% safe way to extend their useful life. Other major hospital systems in the U.S. have also started to implement this method for the same reason we are.”

Our staff members have been provided with instructions on how to safely remove their PPE and place in bags for transport to the decontamination room.

Several community partners and concerned members of the public have offered to donate masks to help us in this time of need. We greatly appreciate these offers and are exploring all of them to continue to add to our stockpile of personal protective equipment.

Read article

Top Midwest universities line up for 2020 Drug Development conference

February 12, 2020 Comments (0) News

OMAHA, Neb. (February 11, 2020)—With eight months before the third MidWest Drug Development Conference opens its doors, 11 Universities are already lined up to participate in the two-day event.

So far, the impressive list of participating institutions are:

  • Mayo Clinic
  • Ohio State University
  • Purdue University
  • University of Colorado Anchutz Medical Campus
  • University of Iowa
  • University of Kansas
  • University of Kentucky
  • University of Missouri
  • University of Nebraska Medical Center
  • University of Oklahoma
  • WARF (Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation)

Each participating institution will highlight new therapeutics they are developing. All told, the two-day conference will feature about 40 therapeutics during 10-minute presentations. Specific details about those presentations are not yet available, but a list of previous technology presentation titles can he viewed here: https://www.mwdrugdevelopment.com/previoustechnologies/.

The 11 institutions account for a massive amount of research and innovation in the region, according to the latest data from the Association of University Technology Managers, or AUTM for short. In 2018 the participating universities spent a combined $6.05 billion in research, which led to 2,625 new inventions. The 11 schools secured 685 U.S. patents, produced 186 new products and formed 89 startup companies. They also signed 998 licensing agreements, 25 of which were worth more than $1 million each.

Additional institutions will likely join the list in the coming weeks.

Another key feature of the conference are one-on-one partnering meetings between researchers, tech transfer professionals, industry representatives, investors and other interested parties. Previous attendees have included representatives from such companies as AbbVie Ventures, Atlas Ventures, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Pfizer, to name a few.

The conference begins on Monday, Oct. 5, and concludes the following day, Tuesday, Oct. 6. It will be at the Capital District Marriott in downtown Omaha.

Cost is $500 per ticket, but organizers will waive a limited number of registration fees for those who represent pharmaceutical and biotech companies and investment groups. Contact conference organizers to learn how to receive a waiver code. Register here: https://www.mwdrugdevelopment.com/tickets/.

A full list of participating universities—and the technologies they plan to present—will soon be announced.

Read article

Virtual Incision raises $20 million for surgical robot

January 23, 2020 Comments (0) News, Success Stories

Virtual Incision MIRA

LINCOLN, Nebraska (January 8, 2020)—Virtual Incision, a surgical robotics startup, recently closed a Series B+ round of financing worth $20 million, the company announced today.

The funds will help push Virtual Incision’s surgical robot through what might be the last regulatory hurdles before the robot can be used in human patients in the United States.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln robotics engineer Shane Farritor, Ph.D., and University of Nebraska Medical Center surgeon Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D., co-founded Virtual Incision. Their collaboration has built a surgical device that expects to take what were once open, highly invasive surgeries and transform them into minimally invasive, or laparoscopic, procedures.

Virtual incision’s initial robotic design is called the MIRA Surgical Robotic Platform. MIRA stands for “miniaturized in vivo robotic assistant.”

Weighing about two pounds, MIRA has a decided advantage over other robotic platforms, which require the dedicated space of an entire room.

Virtual Incision’s robot, however, could easily move from one room to another, even for complex procedures such as a colon resection.

Colon resections involve a surgeon using a large incision to remove a portion of a patient’s lower intestine. Such procedures often require months of recovery and rehabilitation. But when performed as a minimally invasive procedure—such as with Virtual Incision’s one-of-a-kind robot—that recovery time would be better measured in days.

“Beyond our initial device design for colon resection, Virtual Incision has begun developing a family of procedure-specific mini-robots for additional operations such as hernia repair, gallbladder removal and others, potentially enabling millions more surgical procedures each year,” Farritor said in the announcement.

Said Oleynikov: “We are focused on expanding access to minimally invasive robotic procedures and delivering this innovation to the many centers where a smaller, simpler and less costly solution is needed.”

Bluestem Capital led the funding round, along with PrairieGold Venture Partners and Genesis Innovation Group.

According to the press release, Virtual Incision plans to file for an Investigational Device Exemption with the FDA. If approved, the company can then start a “confirmatory clinical study” that will “evaluate the safety and efficacy of the MIRA platform for colon resection surgeries in patients at a number of U.S. investigational sites.”

Including the most recent raise, Virtual Incision has now attracted more than $50 million in investments since its initial founding in 2006.

Read article

Date set, registration open for 2020 MidWest Drug Development Conference

January 6, 2020 Comments (0) News

Two-day event returns on Oct. 5-6

OMAHA, Nebraska (January 6, 2020)—Due the continued success and popularity of the MidWest Drug Development Conference, the event will return for a third year and registrations are now open, planners announced today.

The conference will again span two days, featuring Midwestern university technologies, beginning on Monday, Oct. 5, and concluding the following day, Tuesday, Oct. 6. The same venue—the Capital District Marriott in downtown Omaha—will house the event.

Register here for the 2020 MidWest Drug Development conference. Cost is $500 per ticket, but a limited number of registration fees will be waved for attendees that represent pharmaceutical firms, investment groups or other parties interested in supporting early-stage therapeutics. Contact conference organizers to learn how to receive a waiver code.

The list of participating universities has not yet been released, but a mix of returning and new institutions are expected, planners said.

“We had another great turn-out, and interest seems to grow each year,” primary organizer Matt Boehm said. “We long suspected there might be a need for this type of event, and this has been demonstrated by its continued popularity among participating universities as well as pharmaceutical companies and investment groups.”

With the dates and venue set for 2020, universities and other research institutes are invited to apply for inclusion among a limited supply of coveted presentation slots. A list of participating universities will be announced soon, Boehm said.

Subscribe here to receive updates about participating schools and other important news related to the 2020 MidWest Drug Development Conference.

Last year, a dozen universities presented 42 new, drug-related technologies in short, 10-minutes packages. The audience was a collection of pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, venture capital groups and other potential partners who could help further develop those new technologies.

In previous years, participating institutions included Colorado, Colorado State, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Mayo Clinic, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, South Dakota, Wisconsin’s WARF, and Washington University in St. Louis.

Last year’s group alone accounted for more than a combined $6.65 billion in research expenditures and 2,875 new inventions in 2017, according to the most recent data available.

All told, 111 people attended the two-day conference in 2019, including representatives from 30 companies and investment groups. About 240 one-on-one partnering meetings were scheduled over the two-day conference.

Read article

Free workshop planned for SBIR/STTR funding

January 2, 2020 Comments (0) News

Royalty Distribution

OMAHA, Neb. (January 2, 2020)—The NIH and 10 other federal agencies have additional grant funding available to translate commercially viable research and innovation. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs were designed to help further academic and entrepreneurial innovation.

An up-coming workshop at UNMC’s Durham Research Center I, in room 1006, will help guide attendees on how to take advantage of those programs. The workshop primarily targets faculty, students, postdocs, clinicians and early-stage life science companies.

Divided into two parts, the two-day workshop begins on Jan. 30 with “Part 1: Proposal Prep for NIH.” The first part begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 5 p.m.

The first day will cover detailed instructions on how to produce more competitive grant proposals for the NIH’s SBIR/STTR program. It is expected to cover all the basics, plus how to meet reviewer expectations while avoiding common pitfalls.

The next day, on Jan. 31, the workshop wraps up with “Part 2: Commercialization Planning for SBIR/STTR Proposals.” The second part also begins at 8:30 a.m., but concludes at noon.

SHARPhub logoThe second day will focus on the how-to’s of evaluating a startup’s potential market, developing a strong commercialization plan and attracting SBIR/STTR funding across all agencies, including NIH.

Registration for the workshop is free, and attendees may attend one or both days. More information and registration details are on the event website: https://www.sharpideahub.com/event/ne0120/

Becky Aistrup

Becky Aistrup

Becky Aistrup, MBA, a managing partner at BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting (BBCetc) will present the workshop.

Aistrup is a regular speaker at national conferences and often reviews proposals for NSF, DOE, and USDA. She also holds SBIR/STTR-related training for BBCetc, offering specialized expertise in the DoD, NIH, NASA, and DHS programs. Her professional background includes more than 30 years of experience in the medical, biotech, advanced materials and electronics industries.

BBCetc’s SHARPhub program sponsors the workshop. Created in 2018, the Sustainable Heartland Accelerator Regional Partnership (SHARP) Hub helps fast-track early-stage life science technologies into startup companies to develop commercial products and services. The SHARPhub was made possible by an STTR grant from the NIH to advance research and development toward commercialization in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and the Dakotas.

UNMC and its technology transfer office, UNeMed, are among SHARPhub’s sponsors. UNeMed is also the technology transfer and commercialization office for UNO.

Read article

The year in review: Highlights from 2019

December 16, 2019 Comments (0) Blog

It’s time again to look back at the last calendar year, review highlights and reflect on some of the more important stories, developments and most popular posts from 2019.

1. Innovation Week

Benson Edagwa, Ph.D., (left) chats with colleagues during the 2019 Innovation Awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17. Later in the evening, Dr. Edagwa was named the 2019 Emerging Inventor.

Innovation Week continues its reign as the most well-traveled sector of the UNeMed website. Innovation Week is an annual showcase for all UNMC and UNO innovations and their inventive faculty, students and staff. As is growing custom, the story announcing the major award winners was among the most popular individual news stories of the year. The awards highlighted researchers Benson Edagwa, Ph.D., and Corey Hopkins, Ph.D., with top honors.

Dr. Edagwa was the 2019 Emerging Inventor of the year for his innovations in the development of long-acting antiretroviral therapies. He was an inventor on 11 new inventions submitted in the last five years, and was a key member of the team that created “LASER ART,” which is short for Long-Acting Slow Effective Release Antiretroviral Therapy. (See below.)

Dr. Hopkins took home the Most Promising New Invention Award for his work on a novel series of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4B) specific inhibitors. The inhibitors show immense promise in treating inflammatory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and central nervous system diseases that include addiction, schizophrenia and neurodegenerative diseases.

Finally, UNeTech presented inventor Jason Johanning, M.D., and his startup company, FutureAssure, with the “Startup of the Year” award. Dr. Johanning built FutureAssure around a device he invented as way to accurately measure a patient’s risk in surgery.

Scott Mulder (left) and Quinn Nelson during the 2019 Tech Transfer Boot Camp.

2. Boot Camp 2019

UNeMed offered its fourth Technology Transfer Boot Camp this summer, which presented an exclusive opportunity for students to learn more about what it takes to successfully commercialize a new invention.

3. Product Pipeline

In April 2018, UNeMed’s product pipeline was a new feature, and has been a popular landing spot ever since. The pipeline highlights selected technologies and where they fit in the development cycle, whether they’re still in the prototype phase, clinical trials or as a product currently available in the marketplace.

Ron Allen

4. Ron Allen, 73

Just days into 2019 we lost one of our favorite people, Ron Allen. As Joe Runge put it in his touching tribute: “Ron’s accomplishments, which could fill three full lives, were not just a bullet list on a resume. They were the results of a life lived in that generous and open state of mind. I am grateful to have met him and for all I learned about the FDA and design controls. I hope that his generosity and excitement will stay with me longest.”

5. UNMC research hints toward HIV cure, breaks internet

When UNMC researcher Howard Gendelman, M.D., announced that an HIV cure wasn’t just possible, but likely, the news exploded across the internet and airwaves for the better part of two days. There’s still an awful lot that needs to happen before we see this new treatment in the clinic, but as far as we know, this is the first time that science showed that an HIV cure was anything more than a pipedream.

6. UNeMed featured in halftime radio show

Susan Fritz, the interim president of the University of Nebraska, sat down with UNeMed President and CEO Michael Dixon during the halftime radio show of Nebraska’s football contest with the Wisconsin Badgers.

7. MidWest Drug Development Conference

The MidWest Drug Development Conference, organized and orchestrated by Matt Boehm, entered its second year. It was unquestioningly another success, and because of that—you heard it here first—there will be a third.

8. UNeTech lands $750,000 matching federal grant

UNeTech, a University institute designed to identify and nurture promising startup companies, landed a major grant award for a project they are calling the Omaha Medical Technology Pipeline. UNeTech will work with UNMC, UNO, Metro Community College, the Nebraska Business Development Center and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce to help establish high-growth, high-tech biomedical industry in the region.

9. Andersen lands national honor: Golden Stopwatch award

UNeMed contract specialist Jeff Andersen meets with guests during the 2016 UNMC Technology Demonstration Day on Oct. 5.

Our most recent news item turned out to be among our most popular, and deservedly so. Contracts Specialist Jeff Andersen was singled out with the Golden Stopwatch Award for his rapid turnaround times in processing material transfer agreements. Andersen was one of 37 tech transfer professionals around the world to receive the award, which was presented by Addgene, an international plasmid repository based in Massachusetts.

10. UNeMed releases 2019 annual report

In something of a surprise, the announcement of the 2019 annual report rounds out our top 10. The report featured a comic book inspired theme, and detailed all of UNeMed’s accomplishments and core metrics from the previous fiscal year.

Classics
Several posts from previous years remain popular and relevant:
1. The importance of technology transfer
2. How to determine who is an inventor on a patent: Unraveling inventorship vs. authorship
3. Veins and arteries are just pipes, right?
4. Technology transfer 101: Defining research commercialization
5. Five important aspects of copyrights that you should know

Read article

Andersen lands national honor: Golden Stopwatch Award

December 5, 2019 Comments (0) News

UNeMed contracts specialist Jeff Andersen meets with guests during the 2016 UNMC Technology Demonstration Day.

UNeMed contracts specialist Jeff Andersen meets with guests during the 2016 UNMC Technology Demonstration Day.

OMAHA, Nebraska (Dec. 5, 2019)—UNeMed contracts specialist Jeff Andersen earned national recognition recently with a Golden Stopwatch Award.

“It’s an area that doesn’t often get much attention, but Jeff Andersen has quietly become one of the best contracting managers in the nation,” UNeMed president and CEO Michael Dixon said. “His customer service and turn-around time on MTAs (material transfer agreements) and CDAs (confidential disclosure agreements) is outstanding.”

Presented by Addgene, the Golden Stopwatch Award recognizes technology transfer professionals for “outstanding” turnaround times in processing MTAs. Addgene is a major international plasmid repository based in Watertown, Massachusetts.

This is Addgene’s first year presenting the awards. In all, 37 tech transfer agents around the world received the honor.

“The best thing about receiving the award is that it is a reflection of our great team here at UNeMed,” Andersen said. “My colleagues here are a true asset – I couldn’t do it without them. The open lines of communication and the spirit of teamwork here at the office allow us to keep things on track and provide high quality service to our university, its faculty and its staff, which, at the end of the day, is our ultimate goal”

An MTA is a legal contract commonly prepared, reviewed and processed by tech transfer and commercialization offices, such as UNeMed. MTAs document the transfer of tangible research materials between institutions. These tangible research materials are usually biological materials, such as plasmids, cell lines, mice strains, or human tissue, but may also include non-biological materials as well.

MTAs allow scientists to obtain these essential research materials from other institutions, but they set forth parameters under which the research materials may be used. Ideally, MTA parameters protect the interests of both parties, while ensuring adherence to applicable institutional and legal requirements. Parameters may include terms related to confidentiality obligations, duration of use, the type of use, ownership of intellectual property arising from the use, publication of results, warranty, liability, or compliance with applicable laws.

On average, Andersen and UNeMed field about 358 MTAs each year. Since Andersen joined UNeMed in January 2015, UNeMed has processed about 1,458 MTAs.

In the fiscal year ending in 2019, UNeMed processed 344 MTA requests. The company record is 390, set in 2017.

Read article

MidWest Drug Development Conference hits the mark again

November 18, 2019 Comments (0) News

OMAHA, Nebraska (November 18, 2019)—The second MidWest Drug Development conference held last month was another resounding success.

The conference featured 42 technology presentations from 18 Midwestern universities, and 30 different companies and investor groups. An estimated 240 one-on-one partnering meetings were held during the two-day event, opening the door to additional opportunities for each participating university.

“I know we got a lot of value out of the conference, and I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from just about everyone I talked to,” said Matt Boehm, the event coordinator and director of licensing for UNeMed, the technology transfer and commercialization office for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. UNeMed is also the primary sponsor and host of the event.

Boehm added that he sat in on 17 one-on-one partnering meetings during the event, resulting in ongoing conversations that may yet lead to further development.

“That’s exactly what we want this conference to do,” UNeMed president and CEO Michael Dixon said. “New therapies, treatments and cures are the kind of things that can grow out of those deeper conversations. And, honestly, I think there’s a huge blind spot for the innovation that happens in the Midwest, and we really want this conference to help change that. Not just for us in Nebraska, but for all our friends in the region.”

Meet new partners, unearth hidden gems at the Midwest Drug Development Conference in Omaha, Nebraska, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, 2019. Seventeen major Midwest medical research institutions with their best and brightest technologies will be in one place, including Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Mayo Clinic, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas State, Purdue, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Toledo and Wisconsin (WARF). Those institutions accounted for (according to 2017 AUTM data): $6.65 billion in research 2,815 new inventions 950 licensing agreements 768 U.S. patents 153 new products 117 startups formed 25 blockbusters (licensing agreements worth $1 million or more)

All told, an estimated 111 people attended the conference. About half were researchers, inventors and other University representatives. The remainder were largely representatives of pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies or venture capital groups.

Among the represented pharmaceutical companies were Pfizer, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Boehringer Ingelheim and Otsuka. Among the represented venture capital firms were Atlas Ventures, Abbvie Ventures, Rivervest Ventures and 5AM  Ventures.

The mix of attendees created an ideal environment for University innovators to meet and build new relationships with industry, according to comments provided by conference goers who participated in a post-event survey.

“This is the single most important partnering event to cover academic institutions across the Midwest,” said an industry representative who attended the event.

Attendees from the university side were equally positive about the event.

“We have entered into early licensing negotiations will nearly all of the connections made at MWDDC,” said one University representative. “The opportunity to share portfolios and initiate conversations has been very valuable, leading to on-going discussions on a number of technologies.”

Another University representative added: “To a person, the industry people I talked with—both in one-on-one meetings and in casual conversations—stated that they valued the chance to meet in one place; the number of tech transfer offices; and to see the number, variety, and breadth of technologies to which they were exposed.”

The participating universities and research institutions were Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Mayo Clinic, Missouri, Missouri-Kansas City, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, South Dakota, Toledo and Wisconsin.

Organizers are looking at hosting the 2020 MidWest Drug Development Conference again next October, and will finalize plans in the coming months.

 

  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference
  • 2019 MidWest Drug Development Conference

Read article

UNeMed will be featured in halftime radio show

November 15, 2019 Comments (0) News

Michael DixonLINCOLN, Nebraska (Nov. 15, 2019)—UNeMed President and CEO, Michael Dixon, Ph.D., will be the featured guest during the University of Nebraska President’s Halftime Show of the Cornhuskers’ football game with the No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday.

The game kickoffs in Lincoln at 11 a.m., and the radio broadcast will be carried on the Husker IMG Sports Network, which can be heard in Omaha on 590 AM. A list of additional IMG affiliates can be found here.

Interim President Susan Fritz, Ph.D., is expected to explore entrepreneurship and innovation at the University during a five-minute interview with Dr. Dixon and host Greg Sharpe, the Voice of the Huskers.

The show will look at the various tools the University provides for entrepreneurs throughout the state, and examine the value of innovations developed at the University, and how they might impact not just Nebraskans, but people everywhere.

*UPDATE (Nov. 18, 2019): Listen to the full interview here. (https://nebraska.edu/-/media/projects/unca/audio/president-fritz/president-halftime-interview–wisconsin-11162019.mp3?la=en)

 

Read article

Edagwa, Hopkins, Johanning headline top awards

October 18, 2019 Comments (1) Innovation Week, News

Benson Edagwa, Ph.D., (left) chats with colleagues during the 2019 Innovation Awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17. Later in the evening, Dr. Edagwa was named the 2019 Emerging Inventor.

OMAHA, Neb. (October 18, 2019)—Innovation Week concluded last night with the 2019 Research Innovation Awards Banquet.

UNMC researchers Benson Edagwa, Ph.D., and Corey Hopkins, Ph.D., were presented the top honors and highlighted the 13th installment of UNeMed’s awards program. Vascular surgeon and Professor Jason Johanning, M.D., was also singled out with a special award.

Sponsored and hosted by UNeMed, the awards program specifically recognizes UNMC and UNO innovators and their work, conferring awards to those who have disclosed a new invention, were issued a United States patent, or had their technology licensed for further commercial development.

The awards ceremony honored a new innovation from Dr. Hopkins as the Most Promising New Invention, and Dr. Edagwa was named the Emerging Inventor. Dr. Johnanning’s FutureAssure was named UNeTech’s Startup of the Year.

From left are Chancellor Jeffrey Gold, M.D., Corey Hopkins, Ph.D., and UNeMed President and CEO, Michal Dixon, Ph.D. Dr. Hopkins’ PDE4B Selective Inhibitors was named UNeMed’s Most Promising New Invention of the year during the 2019 Innovation Awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Dr. Hopkins is developing a novel series of inhibitors that hold promise as treatments for several inflammatory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and inflammatory bowel disease. His inhibitors, which target phosphodiesterase 4 or PDE4, also show promise in central nervous system diseases like schizophrenia, neurodegenerative diseases and even drug addiction.

Dr. Edagwa was the 2019 Emerging Inventor in recognition of his contributions to innovations in the development of long-acting antiretroviral therapies.

From left are Chancellor Jeffrey Gold, M.D., Benson Edagwa, Ph.D., and UNeMed President and CEO, Michal Dixon, Ph.D. Dr. Edagwa was named UNeMed’s Emerging Inventor of the year during the 2019 Innovation Awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Since he joined UNMC in 2012, Dr. Edagwa has been an inventor on 11 inventions, including three in the last year. He is also a listed inventor on 11 pending patent applications. Most of his work centers on improvements to treating HIV and Hepatitis B, and is a key inventor of LASER ART (long acting slow effective antiretroviral therapy). LASER ART shows great promise as a treatment that could be given to HIV patients once every six months or even just once a year. LASER ART was also a key component in a recent study led by Howard Gendelman, M.D., that appeared to eradicate HIV from mice—a scientific first.

From left are Chancellor Jeffrey Gold, M.D., Jason Johanning, M.D., and UNeMed President and CEO, Michal Dixon, Ph.D. Dr. Johanning’s startup company, FutureAssure, was named UNeTech’s Startup of the Year during the 2019 Innovation Awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17..

Dr. Johanning created his startup, FutureAssure, on the foundation of a device he invented that will help measure a patient’s risk in surgery. The device gives medical teams objective measures to assess that risk and eventually improve outcomes and surgical safety.

The evening also featured a keynote speaker, noted chemist Dennis Liotta, Ph.D. He is the Executive Director for the Emory Institute for Drug Development at Emory University, and helped transform HIV/AIDS from a death sentence into a chronic but manageable infection.

It is estimated that about 90 percent of all HIV-infected patients in the United States have taken one of the two drugs he invented.

Dennis Liotta, Ph.D., delievered a noon presentation to an estimated 140 on Thursday, Oct. 17, as a part of Innovation Week 2019. He also delevered the keynote address during the Innovation Awards banquet later that evening.

Dr. Liotta talked about his long road toward a blockbuster drug development that spanned more than 15 years, but ultimately resulted in a $525 million in royalties to Emory University in 2005.

“This looks like the bottom line. This looks like the end of the story, but it’s not,” Dr. Liotta said.

The money only lasts so long, and it’s important to have the infrastructure of support so that large-impact developments can happen more often, he said.

Earlier in the day, at noon, Dr. Liotta hosted a well-attended seminar entitled: “Novel Therapeutics for Treating Viral Diseases, Cancer and Inflammatory Disorder.” The presentation was a scientific look at his more current work, including an algorithmic system called FRESH. It uses machine learning to help discover more promising new drug candidates.

The awards banquet later that evening was the culmination of Innovation Week, an annual celebration that promotes and recognizes innovation and research at UNMC and UNO.

Innovation Week began Monday with a Kick-Off event, and then on Tuesday UNeTech, the University’s startup incubator, hosted an open house. On Wednesday, Nebraska Bio sponsored its popular annual event, a luncheon and panel discussion that celebrates women in STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Learn more about Innovation Week and UNeMed at https://unemed.com/innovation-week.

2019 Innovation Awards Program by UNeMed Corporation on Scribd

Read article