September 2010 Newsletter Now Available

Top stories from TTO's September newsletter:

ICVrx Licenses CU Drug Reformulation and Delivery Technology for Brain Disease Treatment
TTO and Aurora, CO-based ICVrx recently completed a license agreement allowing the company to commercialize CU technology for improved treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. Many of the most effective oral medicines for neurological diseases are toxic to the body; although these medicines are non-toxic to the brain, getting the drug into the central nervous system without causing dangerous side effects in the body is a challenge. The licensed technology is a drug reformulation technique that allows these drugs to be administered directly into the fluid around the brain via an implantable pump. This technique enables significantly lower dosages (reducing side effects and toxicity), and can also help overcome patient compliance problems.

Tigon EnerTec to Commercialize CU Hybrid Aircraft Propulsion Technology
TTO recently completed an option agreement with Tigon EnerTec Inc. for CU technology enabling efficient management of hybrid engines in aircraft. A team led by Dr. Jean Koster in the Aerospace Engineering department at the University of Colorado at Boulder have developed a method for switching between an internal combustion engine (powered by conventional fuel or biofuels) and an electric motor (powered by batteries, photovoltaic cells, fuel cells or other alternative power sources). The ability to transition seamlessly between these two motors maximizes overall efficiency and minimizes fuel consumption, while still meeting the high power needs of takeoff and climbing.

GSK Shingles Vaccine Enters Phase III Trials
In August of 2010 GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals announced the commencement of Phase III clinical trials of a herpes zoster (shingles) vaccine that was invented by Dr. Abbas Vafai, formerly of the University of Colorado Denver. The vaccine is based on a proprietary recombinant zoster protein covered by U.S. patents 6,180,369 and 5,824,319, developed in part at the University of Colorado and the University of Illinois. The phase III clinical trial will involve vaccination, at 189 sites worldwide, of over 30,000 individuals 70 years and older and measure the incidence of herpes zoster infections and post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) cases as primary endpoints. The trial is estimated to be concluded in the summer of 2014. This program represents the second herpes zoster vaccine developed at the University of Colorado to advance to Phase III; the previous program led to the registration of Zostavax® (Merck, Whitehouse Station, NJ) in 2006.

CU TTO Reports Performance Metrics for FY2009-10
TTO has released its performance metrics for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. Please follow this link to a short presentation summarizing our performance, and look for our full annual report in October 2010.

Read the full newsletter, or sign up to receive a monthly email update.