The technology, dubbed “ALAN” (for Aptamer-Linked Au Nanoparticles), has shown promise as an agent for radio-sensitizing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast, as well as for the treatment of many forms of cancer.Ìę

In exchange for the technology, UofL will receive cash payments on the achievement of certain milestones and royalties on future sales, as well as potential equity in the company. Qualigen also has a sponsored research agreement with UofL for further development.Ìę

“We have very high hopes that working together, with the strengths that we have at Qualigen and what UofL has here with the research center, that we can do something good going forward,” said Michael Poirier, the company’s president and CEO.

UofL’s Dr. Paula Bates, who developed the base technology, said this drug is more targeted than many currently available cancer treatments. Those treatments may also harm healthy, non-cancerous tissue.

“The key is that the ALAN technology can kill cancer cells, but not normal cells,” said Bates, a professor of medicine.

The aptamer itself has been previously tested in more than 100 patients and has had no evidence of severe side effects. At least seven of those patients either saw their cancers disappear or shrink substantially.Ìę

In the new ALAN technology, the aptamer is attached to gold, which should make it more durable and active than the original formulation. The new ALAN formulation is expected to enter clinical trials by 2020.

Bates worked with a team of researchers from the UofL School of Medicine and J.B. Speed School of Engineering on development. That team included Drs. Kyung Kang, Tariq Malik and Marty O’Toole.

“Together, we came up with a technology that has a lot of promise,” said O’Toole, an assistant professor of bioengineering. “It’s rewarding to know our work could really help people.”

The technology was developed with support from the university’s robust innovation programs, including the and , a National Institutes of Health Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH), as well as a Kentucky Commercialization Fund grant.Ìę

The UofL protected the intellectual property and helped develop the commercial partnership with Qualigen.

“We are excited to work with Qualigen on the product development of our nanoparticle-based drug to fight cancer,” said Dr. Allen Morris, the office’s director. “This is more than just a license — it’s a collaboration.”

The team took down four other teams in the 5 Across finals, each with five minutes to pitch their big idea. That earned Pascal , plus the $500 earned for winning a preliminary round in February.

Pascal Tags is led by engineering student Brandon Young, and recent grad Haley Pfeiffer. The company is based on a that can help track inventory, which Young invented with UofL’s Dr. Thad Druffel.

“This prize money will help us get our pilot programs started faster and really accelerate our growth,” Pfeiffer said. “The competition also allowed us to gain some great connections and tell more people about our innovation.”Ìę

She said Pascal hopes to begin its first pilot programs within the next three to six months. The team also is working to better understand their customers, and continuing its research and development.

The team worked with UofL to protect and commercialize the technology, and participated in UofL’s entrepreneurship training and theÌęNSF Ìę(I-Corps) site programÌęfor translational research.Ìę

Since then, they’ve gone on to and Young competed .Ìę

Pfeiffer also has recently been accepted into theÌęÌęat UofL, aimed at helping women and underrepresented entrepreneurs submit more competitive applications for SBIR and STTR grant funding.

“We are so excited to see the community supporting and believing in Pascal Tags,” Pfeiffer said. “We can’t wait to see what the future holds.”Ìę

The startup, Pascal Tags, was founded byÌęJ.B. Speed School of Engineering student, Brandon Young, and recent College of Business graduate, Haley Pfeiffer. Young will pitch the company’sÌę at the competition in November at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Alexandria, Virginia.ÌęÌę

“For Pascal Tags, I think the opportunity is potentially once in a life time,” Young said. “It is very humbling being the first representative from the state of Kentucky and the University of Louisville.”

He and other collegiate finalists will presentÌętheir inventions to a panel of judges that includes National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees and USPTO officials and showcase their work at the Collegiate Inventors Competition Expo.

“We will get to present and discuss our technology with very distinguished individuals from the Hall of Fame, compete against other great innovators, and reach an audience most innovators do not have the chance to in college,” Young said.

Pascal Tags, a , has developed smart tags thatÌęhelp track inventory.ÌęYoung invented the technology with his faculty mentor, Dr. Thad Druffel of the UofL Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research.Ìę

The team worked with the UofL to protect and commercialize their intellectual property.ÌęPascal Tags also participated in UofL’s entrepreneurship training and theÌęÌęsite programÌęfor translational research.Ìę

“This is great honor and opportunity for Brandon and the University,” Druffel said. “With a good idea and a lot of hard work, Brandon has definitely earned his place among the top collegiate innovators.”Ìę

The milk exosome-drug delivery tool, invented by UofL’s Dr. Ramesh Gupta and his team members – Dr. Radha Munagala, Dr. Farrukh Aqil and Jeyaprakash Jeyabalan –Ìęcould improve how humans absorb drugs meant to treat disease and relieve pain. Now, two companies – PureTech Health and Roche – are working to advance the technology and get it to market.

“This field is emerging, it’s so new,” said Gupta, a professor of pharmacology and toxicologyÌęand endowed chair of oncological research at the UofL School of Medicine, James Graham Brown Cancer Center. “We want to take this to tens of millions of people.”

Gupta said many drugs are taken orally, but they may not be fully absorbed once they get to the stomach.

This technology could improve the absorption rate by loading the drugs into milk-derived nanoparticles tiny enough to easily move through tissue and cross the blood-brain barrier. Gupta ensures drugs are delivered to the right part of the body (or the right “zipcode,” as he puts it) by “decorating” the nanoparticles with antibodies or folic acid or some other ligand.

This is a platform technology, Gupta said, meaning it could have numerous applications. Just as a computer can run many programs, the milk exosomes can be used to deliver many drugs and treat many diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or cancer.

“This technology has the potential to help a lot of people,” said Dr. Holly Clark, deputy director of UofL’s Office of Technology Transfer (OTT). “That’s our goal — we want to get the groundbreaking research happening in our labs to market, where it can help people.”

Gupta initially founded a startup company, 3P Biotechnologies, and licensed the technology from the OTT. The office worked closely withÌę3P Biotechnologies on a commercialization strategy involving a sublicense to clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, PureTech Health, in Boston.

Now, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., a Swiss pharmaceutical giant,Ìęhas signed an agreement with PureTech to use the technology for the oral administration of Roche’s antisense oligonucleotide platform.

PureTech is working with Gupta to develop drug delivery applications of the exosome technology, and 3P Biotechnologies is exploring additional applications as far ranging as veterinary medicines, nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, as well as bulk production of exosomes.

“Universities are doing a lot of great work. They’re the birthplace of a lot of these ideas, and move them forward,” said PureTech senior associate, Dr. Rishab Shyam. “We look forward to building this relationship and taking this technology forward.”

That was the subject ofÌęthe U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s 2018ÌęChina IP Road Show, a recent day-long conference heldÌęat the University of Louisville.Ìę

The event featured speakers from specialized backgrounds — law, academia, industry, government — whoÌęwalked attendees through the process of securing,defending and commercializing intellectual property in China.

“Each program seeks to impart information to U.S. innovators and entrepreneurs on protecting their intellectual property while also maximizing its commercial value,” said Conrad Wong,ÌęAttorney-Advisor for theÌęChina Team at the USPTO’sÌęOffice of Policy and International Affairs.Ìę

The USPTO worked with with Ìę(OTT) to organize the event, which was held in the downtown Clinical and Translational Research Building. OTT helpsÌęprotect and commercialize the research done in labs all over campus.

“UofL has a rich history of innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship,” saidÌęthe office’s director, Dr. Allen Morris, who also spoke at the event. “We are continuing to grow in these efforts.”

UofL has a support system and training turning research into commercializable intellectual property. And, Morris said, UofL is the only university to have a “Superfecta” of , which aim to get innovations developed on-campus to market.

The USPTO has been running its China IP Road Show since 2001 in cities around the U.S. This fiscal year, the office plans to hit 10 cities, both large and small markets.

Wong said they chose to bring the road show to LouisvilleÌębecause ofÌęthe area’s commercial ties it has to China and the number of successful enterprises here. The city, for example, is home to GE Appliances, which has been part of of .ÌęÌę

“The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is very grateful to the University of Louisville for helping make this China IP Road Show one of our most successful this year,” Wong said. “The University’s personnel were extremely helpful in planning and supporting the program.”

Before the competition, held last week at the Speed Art Museum on UofL’s Belknap campus, new president Dr. Neeli Bendapudi moderated a fireside chat between Case, co-founder of America Online, and Bill Ready, chief operating officer of PayPal.

They talked entrepreneurship and innovation before the judges heard from seven Louisville startup companies and chose one — Inscope — for an investment from the .

Many of the presenting companies had a connection to UofL. Five went through training programs such as LaunchIt or RevIt offered by the UofL Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship, and/or received a startup grant to grow their business here. Some, like FreshFry and Mailhaven, are led by UofL alumni.

For Inscope, the connections are deep.

“This was born at the business school — room 222, with Dr. Van Clouse,” said CEO Maggie Galloway, who pitched at the Rise of the Rest event. “Now we’ve got a product on the market that could save lives.”

Galloway co-founded the company, which produces a suction laryngoscope device for clearing patient airways, as part of a student team in the Entrepreneurship MBA program at the College of Business.

There, they worked with Clouse, chair of entrepreneurship and director of the Forcht Center. The Inscope team built up the company, and won after after for their business plan and pitch.

“I am very proud of Incsope’s continuing success,” Clouse said. “In addition to launching a high performance new venture, the team continues to give generously of their time to the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

The UofL Office of Technology Transfer worked with the company on commercialization and provided advice on the patenting process. Inscope just recently , the Inscope Direct, and is now finishing up a new product that incorporates video.

And they’re still winning pitch contests — like Rise of the Rest.

“We are absolutely overwhelmed for Inscope; it’s a fantastic achievement and they’ve worked so hard,” said Dr. Holly Clark, deputy director of OTT. “The team and technology started with a great idea to address a critical medical need. With the team’s skill, determination, and dedication, they’ll continue to go far.”

The “Rise of the Rest” seed fund is backed by Revolution, an investment firm led by Case. The fund invests in early-stage companies located outside of major startup hubs, like New York City or San Francisco.

Louisville was the last stop of the 2018 Rise of the Rest tour, after Dallas, Memphis, Birmingham and Chattanooga. There’s a video on the Louisville leg of the tour .Ìę

The companies, and , were favorites in audience voting, respectively placing first (34 percent) and second (32 percent). Innovative Therapeutix also won the shark-judged competition.

“This win is huge for us,” said Michael Detmer, Innovative Therapeutix co-founder and UofL adjunct professor of music therapy. “We are in a very exciting but daunting phase of our startup.”

Innovative Therapeutix produces LullaFeed, a musical baby bottle to help reinforce infant feeding. DesiCorp has a to extend its shelf-life, which could have many applications, including in the military or humanitarian aid.

Detmer’s partner, Rebekah Gossom, is a Norton Healthcare speech-language pathologist. Their backgrounds — music and medicine — were perfect for creating the product, but they had less experience in entrepreneurship and commercialization.

For that, both teams worked with the UofL (EVPRI), which has offices to help researchers translate their ideas from lab to the marketplace.

The teams, for example, worked with the EVPRI’s for advice, help securing the intellectual property and connections to funding and training opportunities.

“Our goal is to help our inventors to turn their ideas into real products, and sometimes, turn them into real entrepreneurs,” said OTT director, Dr. Allen Morris. “It’s a proud moment when you see them fully come into that, as these teams have.”

The teams also participated in other programs, including the site program at UofL; , a local businessÌęaccelerator and UofL partner; and with , an NIH-backed program that helps researchers commercialize healthcare-related technologies.

“Both of these teams are great illustrations of how the University ofÌęLouisville ecosystem nurtures budding entrepreneurs and helps them toÌędevelop products that will positively impact human health,” said ExCITE program director, Dr. Paula Bates.

She said ExCITE now works with 19 projects from diverse disciplines across campus. ExCITE projects are led by students, faculty and staff from a range of departments and backgrounds, including medicine and music.

“Seeing what was once our silly clipart drawing of the device go through multiple iterations in the lab and then end up in our hands was one of the most rewarding moments,” Detmer said.

Detmer said Innovative Therapeutix is planning to launch the product in early 2019. Right now, they’re beta testing the bottles with real parents, talking to manufacturers, and trying to raise additional funding.

Through collaboration with colleagues around campus, that research resulted in a modeling software for manufacturers to help them optimize and improve efficiency.

It also resulted in 3DSIM, a startup he and his UofL co-inventors founded to commercialize the technology. That company was just acquired by engineering simulation company, ANSYS Inc.

“For me, it’s great to have had the opportunity to continue what I’ve been doing in academia and help industry leverage additive manufacturing technology,” said Stucker, now with ANSYS as director of additive manufacturing. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the University of Louisville.”

While building the software and getting it to market, Stucker and his co-inventors, Drs. Deepankar Pal and Nachiket Patil, worked with many service centers and offices at UofL, including within the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation (EVPRI). The Office of Technology Transfer, for example, helped protect the intellectual property.

“It was some leading-edge technology in an upcoming field,” said Matthew Hawthorne, the technology’s licensing officer and UofL’s Director of Industry Engagement. “These were ideal inventors with an ideal product.”

Working together, they set up an agreement to license the invention to 3DSIM, with Dr. Stucker at the helm as CEO. The company continued to work with their UofL colleagues to develop the software products and test them at the UofL Rapid Prototyping Center, which works with researchers and industry on additive manufacturing projects.

“We use their (3DSIM’s) software, and they leverage our years of experience in additive manufacturing,” said Tim Gornet, the center’s manager of operations. “We always prefer partnerships and collaborations. Our familiarity with them made it easy.”

After years of development, Pittsburg-based ANSYS Inc. discovered 3DSIM and bought it in late 2017. Since the acquisition, the former 3DSIM team has been integrated with ANSYS development, which has recently released the tools as part of its simulation software suite. And today, ANSYS is continuing its partnership with UofL and is discussing new collaborations.

Dr. Robert Keynton, interim EVPRI, said 3DSIM’s development — drawing on many resources and experts around campus — is an example of the collaborative, entrepreneurial spirit at UofL.

“In research and innovation, we accomplish a lot more when we work together,” he said. “And in this case, it’s especially rewarding to see that these inventors have had so much success, and that their collaboration with UofL continues.”