Science and Enterprise

Month: October 2010

  • Survey: University Startups, Products Keep Pace in 2009

    The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), the association of institutional technology transfer professionals, released yesterday its 2009 licensing survey, showing the volume of startups and new products last year about the same as in 2008, but the number of new patents filed in the U.S. dropping. AUTM’s survey says personnel at universities, research institutes,…

  • Global Semiconductor Sales Rise in August

    The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reports today that worldwide semiconductor sales in August 2010 rose 1.8 percent to $25.7 billion, from $25.2 billion in July.  Sales rose in all regions, with chip sales in Japan registering the largest increase of 4.1 percent followed by the sales in the Americas that rose 2 percent. Compared to…

  • Postdocs: Commercialization Important, But for Others

    Post-doctoral researchers in the Washington, D.C. area recognize the importance of commercializing research, where scientific results can benefit the local economy, but most postdocs surveyed have little interest in running their own business once their research fellowship ends. That’s the finding of a study published in the current issue of the International Journal of Knowledge-Based…

  • FDA Okays Myelodysplastic Syndromes Trial Protocol

    Onconova Therapeutics Inc., a biotech company in Newtown, Pennsylvania, says it has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for the design of a Phase 3 clinical trial for the company’s drug Estybon. The drug is a monotherapy for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), diseases affecting…

  • N.C. State Patents Computer Chip Materials Technology

    Researchers from North Carolina State University in Raleigh have patented technology that the developers say can change the global energy and communications infrastructure. The researchers, led by Jay Narayan, professor of materials science and engineering and co-holder of the patent, have developed the means to integrate gallium nitride (GaN) sensors and devices directly into silicon-based…

  • Safer Catalysts Developed for Power Plant Pollutants

    A research team at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has developed catalysts that convert the harmful nitrogen oxides emitted from coal- and gas-fired power plants to nitrogen and water vapor. Unlike current methods, the catalysts developed with nanotechnology do not use ammonia or need high temperatures to work. Charles Lyman, professor of materials science and…

  • Stanford Univ. Licenses IVF Technology

    Auxogyn Inc., a medical technology company in Menlo Park, California  says it acquired an exclusive license from Stanford University to develop products that can help improve the effectiveness of in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. Auxogyn specializes in technologies for women’s reproductive health. A new paper describing the technology licensed from Stanford demonstrates that a human…

  • FDA Fast-Tracks Antibody for Inhalational Anthrax Treatment

    Emergent BioSolutions Inc. in Rockville, Maryland says that its program for developing AVP-21D9, an antibody for the treatment of inhalational anthrax, has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Anthrax commonly affects hoofed animals such as sheep and goats, but also humans who come into contact with the infected…

  • VC Mergers/Acquisitions Rebound, IPOs Drop in Q3 2010

    The number and value of U.S. disclosed venture capital (VC) exit deals in the third quarter of 2010 showed a mixed pattern compared to the second quarter of 2010, with more mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of VC-backed properties, but somewhat fewer initial public offerings (IPOs) of company stock. Exit deals — either M&As or IPOs…

  • Panel: Make Cigarettes Non-Addictive

    The passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act  in 2009 gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products, and a panel of eight health policy experts recommends that FDA use that authority to mandate the reduction of nicotine levels in cigarettes to non-addictive levels. The panel published…