June 2010 Newsletter Now Available

Highlights from TTO's June 2010 newsletter:

Taste Connections Licenses University of Colorado Low Protein Meat Supplement
TTO and Taste Connections, LLC, a California-based company, have completed a licensing agreement allowing Taste Connections to commercialize a CU technology for low-protein meat products. A research group led by Laurie Bernstein, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the UC Denver School of Medicine, has developed a low-protein substitute for bacon, which is usually too high in protein for patients that are on amino acid restricted diets. Using the formula developed at CU, the protein composition of the bacon substitute can be reduced by up to 80% or more compared to the original meat product. These lower protein levels allow an individual to continue consuming low protein food options that add flavor and increase satiety, while still limiting the intake of the specific amino acids that cannot be broken down.

CU/NREL Collaboration Displays Cleantech Innovations
Hybrid airplanes, the newly discovered graphene material and modular photovoltaic and thermal panels were a handful of technologies featured in May as part of the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute's efforts to fuel research and commercialization in the cleantech industry. The new institute - a collaboration CU and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory - was formed last June to tackle energy issues through research, discovery, education and technology commercialization. May marked an early milestone for the joint institute when RASEI officials unveiled the results of "market assessment programs" on seven technologies. (Learn more about the MAP program.)

Entrepreneurial Education and Proof of Concept Funding Will Improve Technology Transfer, Subcommittee Hears
In June, the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Research and Science Education held a hearing to review the process of transferring knowledge and technology from academic researchers to the private sector. Specifically, the Subcommittee examined the appropriate role of the National Science Foundation (NSF), beyond their support for basic research, including support for entrepreneurial education and proof of concept activities. To highlight the success of these programs, NSF Assistant Director Thomas W. Peterson discussed the success of a company started from NSF funding called ColorLink (a CU licensee) which was later acquired by RealD and developed the technology behind the 3D effects for the blockbuster hit Avatar. (Click here to view two white papers submitted by TTO in response to a request for information from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Economic Council, asking for input on how to support the commercialization of federally-funded research and Proof of Concept Centers.)

Omni Bio Announces FDA IND Clearance for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin (AAT) Type 1 Diabetes Clinical Trial

NIH Awards $537,000 SBIR to ImmuRx for Combination Therapies

Taiga Biotechnologies Receives SBIR Grant for Improved Cancer and Infectious Disease Vaccine

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