OMAHA, Neb. (January 13, 2021)—After the third annual MidWest Drug Development Conference was postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials are planning to bring the popular event back later this year.
Planners have circled October 4-5 for the two-day conference.
“Obviously, as we begin this planning phase, it’s with a healthy dose of cautious optimism,” said Matt Boehm, PhD, the event organizer and director of licensing at UNeMed. “Hopefully, as the vaccine rollout continues, we’ll reach a point very soon when large, in-person events like this will be safe again.”
UNeMed is the conference’s primary organizer and sponsor and the technology transfer office for all Omaha campuses of the University of Nebraska.
The MidWest Drug Development Conference gained popularity for its ability to bring academic researchers, venture capital groups and pharmaceutical representatives together. The in-person meetings and networking opportunities proved to be the backbone of the conference’s success, Boehm said.
The value of the conference was in combining assets of leading Midwest universities into one event that served as a one-stop shop for major pharmaceutical and investment firms to find new treatments and cures hidden in so-called “flyover country.”
In 2019, a dozen universities presented 42 new, drug-related technologies in short, 10-minutes packages. The audience was a collection of pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, venture capital groups and other potential partners who could help further develop those new technologies.
In previous years, participating institutions included Colorado, Colorado State, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Mayo Clinic, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Chicago, Wisconsin’s WARF, and Washington University in St. Louis.
The 2019 group alone accounted for more than a combined $6.65 billion in research expenditures and 2,875 new inventions in 2017, according to the most recent data available.
All told, 111 people attended the two-day conference in 2019, including representatives from 30 companies and investment groups. About 240 one-on-one partnering meetings were scheduled over the two-day conference.
Due to the remaining uncertainty, registrations will remain closed, but those interested to learn more about the concern may subscribe for any updates as they happen. They may also reach out to conference organizers to learn more about the conference, the speakers, sponsorships opportunities, or other details.
Without question, the brightest highlight from the previous year was the 
Any regular visitor to UNeMed.com is probably familiar with the continued success and growth of Virtual Incision Corporation. In January, the company announced the successful close of its Series B+ round of financing, to the tune of $20 million. The added capitol is expected to help the surgical robotics company clear regulatory hurdles and continue its intended transformation of laparoscopic surgery.
Thanks to the pandemic and UNeMed’s resulting inability to host a live event, the Innovation Awards dropped a few spots after five straight years at the top of previous year-end lists. The virtual Awards ceremony named all 44 UNMC and UNO inventors of pandemic-related inventions as the 2020 Innovators of the Year. UNeMed also honored collaborators Joseph McMordie, MD, and Daniel Surdell, MD, for their device, “Anterior Cervical Space Spreader,” as the Most Promising New Invention of the year. UNeMed also recognized and celebrated the work of UNMC and UNO faculty, students and staff who contributed to a new invention disclosure, a licensed technology or received a United States patent during the previous fiscal year.
The awards will be held via Zoom, and will honor all UNMC and UNO faculty, students and staff who submitted a new invention, were awarded a U.S. Patent or had a technology licensed during the 2020 fiscal year. UNeMed will also name the year’s Most Promising New Invention and will announce the “Innovator of the Year.”
“When they come with a napkin, a lot more work has to be done before you get it pushed through, that’s for sure,” said panelist Mark Keffler, the CEO at Omaha Custom Manufacturing. “When we get a prototype in here, the first thing we have to do is dissect the prototype, figure out what makes it tick.”
OMAHA, Nebraska (October 28, 2020)—Innovation Week continues today with an expert panel examining the local resources available to researchers, inventors and entrepreneurs interested in developing software and web applications.
Among the panel’s recommendations included advice for academic researchers and innovators: Try not doing everything.
