Category: Intellectual property
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University Spin-Off Begins Trial of Stem Cell ALS Treatment
A technology developed at Tel Aviv University in Israel and licensed to a spin-off company invokes the potential of bone-marrow stem cells as treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. A clinical trial, now in Israel and later in the U.S., to test the discovery is recruiting participants. The technology…
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Long Term Effects Found in Simple Family Planning Method
Women who used a simple method for family planning were found to continue using the method for two years after the first year of adoption. The research team from Georgetown University Medical Center and Population Reference Bureau in Washington, D.C. published their findings online in the Journal of Family Planning & Reproductive Health Care (paid…
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Superbug Therapy Based on University Research in Development
MGB Biopharma, a biotechnology company in Glascow, U.K., is developing a new antibiotic treatment for resistant infections including MRSA and Clostridium Difficile (C. Diff.) bugs. The company licensed the discoveries from labs at University of Strathclyde, also in Scotland, that they are developing into oral and IV -administered drugs. C. Diff. is a bacterium that…
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University Licenses Cancer Drug Screening Technology
A technology developed at University of Colorado in Boulder to screen drug compounds for potential cancer treatments has been licensed by the university to a Boulder start-up company. Suvica Inc. will develop the patented drug discovery technology into a marketable product. The drug discovery processes licensed to Suvica use a genetically modified Drosophila fruit fly…
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America Invents Act Signed Into Law
President Obama signed into law today the America Invents Act at a high school in Alexandria, Virginia, not far from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The bill that passed the Senate earlier this month and House of Representatives in June, changes patent procedures to recognize parties who are first to file their applications, a procedure…
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Smartphone Advance Can Improve Efficiency, Extend Battery
Researchers at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have devised a more efficient “idle mode” for smartphones and Wi-Fi devices that reduces power use and can extend battery life. Computer science and engineering professor Kang Shin and doctoral student Xinyu Zhang will present their discovery, still in proof-of-concept stage, next week at the ACM International…
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Sanofi Division, Max Planck to Partner on Retinal Research
Max Planck Society in Germany and Fovea Pharmaceuticals in Paris have agreed to a research and licensing agreement on therapies for restoring vision to patients with diseases affecting the retina. Fovea is the ophthalmology division of the French drug company Sanofi-Aventis. Fovea’s team plans to work with the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt…
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Student Engineers/Entrepreneurs Develop Child Safety Device
Two engineering students at Michigan Technological University in Houghton are taking to market a device they built to keep children from unbuckling their seat belts. Collin Veele and Alex Cotton say they have secured a provisional patent and trademark, and now their Buckle Blocker is ready for the marketplace. The Buckle Blocker, which would typically…
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Companies Need Better Mix of Business, Patent Strategies
Science and engineering companies often develop innovations based on multiple discoveries, which calls for better integration of their patent and business strategies, according to study by three intellectual property analysts. The paper by Deepak Somaya at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana college of business (pictured left), with David Teece of University of California at…
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U.S. Patent No. 8 Million Signed, Reform Bill Action Urged
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) held a ceremonial signing today of the eight millionth U.S. patent awarded in the agency’s history. The USPTO’s director and acting Secretary of Commerce used the occasion to urge the Senate to complete its work on patent reform legislation. USPTO issued patent no. 8 million on 16 August…