WashU Founder Friday is a monthly series designed to educate faculty entrepreneurs and celebrate WashU innovation.
News
Blood test for Alzheimer’s highly accurate in large, international study (Links to an external site)
When combined with genetic risk factors, test up to 93% accurate at identifying people at risk of Alzheimer’s dementia
Six innovators named National Academy of Inventors senior members
Six researchers from Washington University in St. Louis have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Richard Axelbaum, PhD, at the McKelvey School of Engineering, along with five researchers at the School of Medicine — David T. Curiel, MD, PhD; James W. Janetka, PhD; Gregory M. Lanza, MD, PhD; Robi D. […]
Cortex, WashU, SLU welcome Vir Biotechnology to region (Links to an external site)
San Francisco-based immunology research company adds to St. Louis’ growing bioscience community
Covey, Milbrandt, Moran named to National Academy of Inventors (Links to an external site)
Cortex partners with Defense Department to develop talent, technology for national security (Links to an external site)
Carter appointed vice chancellor for innovation, chief commercialization officer
Dedric Carter, vice chancellor for operations and technology transfer, has been appointed as Washington University in St. Louis’ first vice chancellor for innovation and chief commercialization officer (CCO).
Valo Health Announces the Acquisition of Courier Therapeutics
“We are enthusiastic about Courier’s proprietary cell-targeting technology because we believe it positions Valo to create a new frontier in cancer-immunotherapies,” said David Berry, Valo CEO. “This acquisition provides Valo with a unique opportunity to expand our proprietary capabilities into protein therapeutics, thereby extending our modalities and our reach while enabling us to potentially pioneer precision […]
Wugen Raises $172 Million to Advance Clinical Stage Memory NK Cell Platform, Progress Best-In-Class AML Program, and Initiate Multiple Solid Tumor Trials
Proceeds to advance clinical development of WU-NK-101 for relapsed/refractory AML, and initiate studies in solid tumor indications.
Oversubscribed Series B co-led by Abingworth and Tybourne Capital Management, and joined by Fidelity Management & Research Company and Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) as well as existing investors RiverVest Venture Partners, LYZZ Capital, and Lightchain Capital.
Wugen technology licensed from Washington University in St. Louis.
A new piece of the quantum computing puzzle (Links to an external site)
Jung-Tsung Shen at the McKelvey School of Engineering has developed a groundbreaking quantum logic gate that brings quantum computing closer to reality.
Washington University named to top patent list (Links to an external site)
A new report released by the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) and the Intellectual Property Owners Association includes Washington University in St. Louis among the top 100 universities worldwide granted U.S. patents in 2020. The organizations released the report June 15; WashU moved up nearly 20 spots in the rankings from the prior year, to […]
WashU women innovators program mentioned in Science
Read the May 7, 2021 editorial “Opening the path to biotech” by Sangeeta Bhatia, Nancy Hopkins and Susan Hockfield. “The MIT study complements other efforts in academia and the broader ecosystem. Washington University’s Equalize is a national pitch competition that pairs academic women inventors with experienced mentors to turn ideas into start-ups.”
Compound may prevent risk of form of arrhythmia from common medications (Links to an external site)
While the compound needs additional verification and testing, the researchers say there is tremendous potential for this compound or others like it and could help to convert second-line drugs into first-line drugs and return others to the market. With assistance from the Washington University Office of Technology Management, they have patented the compound, and Cui has founded a startup company, VivoCor, to continue to work on the compound and others like it as potential drug candidates.
Heme is not just for Impossible Burgers (Links to an external site)
It took an unlikely food innovation — earth-friendly vegetarian patties, made to taste and “bleed” like the familiar meaty ones — to make people aware of heme.
DiAntonio, Milbrandt honored for innovation, entrepreneurship (Links to an external site)
DiAntonio and Milbrandt co-founded a startup biotechnology company called Disarm Therapeutics with a focus on developing treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. Global pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly and Company recently acquired Disarm, with the goal of speeding development of new therapies for a variety of devastating neurological conditions caused by the deterioration of axons, the vital wiring of the nervous system.
Bai lab develops stable, efficient, anode-free sodium battery (Links to an external site)
The Washington University in St. Louis lab of Peng Bai, assistant professor in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering, has developed a stable sodium ion battery that is highly efficient, will be less expensive to make and is significantly smaller than a traditional lithium ion battery due to the elimination of a once-necessary feature.
Universities offer best practices for fast start-up license packages (Links to an external site)
WashU’s quick start licensing program was developed five years ago, also because the tech transfer staff was spending way too much time discussing licensing terms with start-ups, she says.
Arch Oncology Secures $105 Million Series C Financing (Links to an external site)
“Arch Oncology’s highly differentiated approach to the development of anti-CD47 agents is a promising development in the immuno-oncology space,” said John McKearn, Ph.D., Managing Director, RiverVest Venture Partners and Chairman of the Board of Arch Oncology. “We look forward to continuing to support the Company as it develops and advances its robust pipeline of promising drug candidates, including a broad clinical program for AO-176.”
Stroke-recovery device using brain-computer interface receives FDA market authorization (Links to an external site)
Innovative multidisciplinary research at Washington University led to development of ‘breakthrough’ device
SentiAR raises $5.1 million for holographic cardiac ablation guidance system (Links to an external site)
Technology allows electrophysiologists to visualize cardiac anatomy in hands-free, real-time 3D
Bharat Biotech’s Intranasal vaccine Phase 1 trials commence (Links to an external site)
The Phase 1 human clinical trials of Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Bharat Biotech’s intranasal Covid-19 vaccine, codenamed BBV154, have commenced at some of the selected sites that include Hyderabad and Nagpur.
Invitation: WashU Celebration of Inventors 2021
Join the WashU Office of Technology Management for this annual event honoring: 2020 Patent Awards New Faculty Startups — Caeli Vascular, Capella Imaging, Coordinate Medical Systems, DeepSight Technology, HSpeQ, Integro Theranostics & Percayai National Academy of Inventors Fellows & Senior Member — Randall Bateman, Richard Cote, Michael Diamond & Scott Hultgren Thursday, April 15, 20214:30 […]
Wugen Announces Exclusive License Agreement for their Memory Natural Killer (NK) Cell-based Therapy Program with Washington University in St. Louis (Links to an external site)
Wugen Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel, universal allogeneic cellular therapies, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Washington University in St. Louis, one of the world’s leading research institutions, for the development of Wugen’s Memory Natural Killer (NK) Cell program.
C2N Diagnostics has brought its Alzheimer’s blood test to market. Now it wants to expand in St. Louis and beyond. (Links to an external site)
St. Louis-based C2N Diagnostics has developed what it says is the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. Now it has plans to take the technology global.
Cote named a National Academy of Inventors senior member (Links to an external site)
Pathologist Richard J. Cote, MD, the Edward Mallinckrodt Professor and head of the Department of Pathology & Immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been elected a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). A cancer specialist, Cote has developed tools for analyzing tumor cells and predicting disease progression and response to therapy.
No more needles? (Links to an external site)
Nearly pain-free microneedle patch can test for antibodies and more in the fluid between cells
Encodia closes $75M Series C Financing led by Northpond Ventures and Deerfield Management (Links to an external site)
Encodia is a WashU faculty startup. The company is developing revolutionary tools for large-scale protein analysis to enable breakthrough insights into biology and the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease.
Acute itching in eczema patients linked to environmental allergens (Links to an external site)
The discovery that acute itching in eczema is linked to exposure to allergens may help them avoid things that make them itch intensely, including animals, dust, mold or certain foods.
2020 Patents Awarded to WashU
Patent awardees will be honored at the annual WashU Celebration of Inventors on April 15, 2021 via Zoom. Inventor Patent Jiwon Song 3D-Printed Scaffold Device for Cell Transplantation Jeffrey Millman 3D-Printed Scaffold Device for Cell Transplantation Sasa Mutic Acceptance, Commissioning, and Ongoing Benchmarking of a Linear Accelerator (LINAC) Using an Electronic Portal Imaging Device (EPID) […]
Combo of blood tests could offer more accurate Alzheimer’s diagnostics, researchers say (Links to an external site)
Drs. Randall Bateman and David Holtzman, founders of C2N and neurology professors at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, recently explained their amyloid blood test to Fox News.
Bateman, Diamond, Hultgren named to National Academy of Inventors (Links to an external site)
Neurologist Randall J. Bateman, MD, virologist and immunologist Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, and microbiologist Scott Hultgren, PhD – all faculty members at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis – have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.
Novel form of Alzheimer’s protein found in spinal fluid indicates stage of the disease (Links to an external site)
A novel form of an Alzheimer’s protein found in the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord indicates what stage of the disease a person is in, and tracks with tangles of tau protein in the brain, according to a study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Tau tangles […]
St. Louis-based Precision Virologics and India’s Biotech leader Bharat Biotech obtain rights to intranasal COVID-19 vaccine technology (Links to an external site)
Biotech startup Precision Virologics, which develops adenovirus-based vaccines in St. Louis, and Bharat Biotech, a manufacturing giant of vaccines, jointly obtained rights from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis for a novel chimp-adenovirus vaccine for COVID-19. Precision Virologics has optioned rights for USA, Europe, and Japan. Bharat has obtained a license for all other markets.
Washington University develops COVID-19 saliva test (Links to an external site)
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has developed a saliva-based test for COVID-19 that is faster and easier than the swab tests currently in use. The test could help simplify and expand the availability of COVID-19 diagnostic testing across broad populations.
Equalize — 2020 and Beyond (Links to an external site)
With this article, we wanted to articulate the need and history of Equalize 2020, the experiences of those involved, and our thoughts on where to take this effort next.
New WashU Faculty Startups
New Faculty Startups (FY July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020) Caeli VascularCapella ImagingCoordinate Medical SystemsDeepSight TechnologyHSpeQIntegro TheranosticsPercayai The new startups will be introduced at the annual WashU Celebration of Inventors on April 15, 2021 via Zoom.
Celebrating the newest National Academy of Inventors fellows
source.wustl.edu Washington University in St. Louis this year celebrates two new fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors. The distinction recognizes their prolific and innovative work and their contributions, which have had tangible, positive impacts on society. The two new honorees are Jerome R. Cox Jr., […]
Equalize 2020 announced — a pitch competition & symposium (Links to an external site)
Equalize 2020 is a pitch competition and symposium designed to take national action around the disparity of women academic inventors forming university startups.
2019 WIT Symposium: Supporting WashU women innovators
More than 160 people — scientists, inventors, venture capitalists, startup CEOs, media and networking pros, and others — attended the Office of Technology Management’s Women in Innovation & Technology (WIT) Symposium Feb. 26. The annual event is aimed at closing the gender gap in invention disclosure and commercialization at Washington University in St. Louis. The […]
Boime, Covey named National Academy of Inventors senior members
Developmental biologists recognized for successes in developing therapeutics Developmental biologists Irving Boime, PhD, and Douglas Covey, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). They are being recognized for their success in patents, licensing and commercialization, and for producing “technologies that have brought, or […]
WashU celebrates faculty inventors
Over the past three years, Washington University faculty patent filings through the Office of Technology Management (OTM) increased by more than 60 percent and 20 startups have been formed to license Washington University intellectual property. In 2017, 92 faculty inventors received an issued patent and, for the first time in the history of the office, it received […]
Gender parity in tech transfer
The theme of International Women’s Day this past March may have been “gender parity,” but at the rate things are going, women won’t file as many patents as men in a single calendar year until nearly 2100, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. But thanks to research from Washington University in St. Louis, published June 18 in Technology […]