OMAHA, Neb. (Oct. 21, 2015)—UNeMed president and CEO Michael Dixon, PhD, joined UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., for the most recent episode of “Under the Microscope.”
Dr. Dixon and Dr. Gold talked about the importance of technology transfer, commercialization, the process, and upcoming events for Innovation and Research Week.
Watch the entire video here:
Shane Farritor, PhD (left) and Michelle Eggen.
by Tyler Mueller, UNeMed
OMAHA, Neb. (October 19, 2015)—Professionals recounted their journeys through to their career path job and offered advice during a panel discussion before an estimated audience of 43.
For many of the speakers, the most important advice they could offer was to know what you wanted to do as early as possible and know how to take skills and make them applicable to other areas.
The panel was a part of UNeMed’s Innovation Week, which continues today with “Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School,” by Adam Ruben. To learn more about other Innovation Week events, go here.
On Monday, Shane Farritor, PhD, opened the panel discussion. He began his career as an academic in space robotics and space engineering. But it was difficult to make a living in the field. Dr. Farritor saw a bigger need for biomedical devices. When he met UNMC surgeon Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D., nearly 10 years ago, they created Virtual Incision and started collaborating on surgical robots. He know devotes half his time to managing the company.
Michelle Eggen got started as a medical writer when she saw a job posting for someone with a science background who could write. Eggen was working on her PhD but dropped out to continue working in the industry. While not recommending dropping out, Eggen said a PhD isn’t necessary to be successful.
Tyler Martin, PhD, wanted to be an infectious disease scientist after spending four months in a Zaire hospital. After working in an area with an infant mortality rate of 50 percent, he gained a new perspective on what he wanted to do with his life. He has worked for the past 20 years mainly with vaccines and gene therapy.
Tyler Martin, PhD, (left) and Lisa Bilek, PhD
Lisa Bilek, PhD, moved into industry work when she realized she said she “hated bench work.” She became a medical science liaison, where she and a group of individuals worked to form relationships with other people or groups in the same scientific area. Dr. Bilek works to answer questions on a field of study or help a researcher gather funds to develop a technology.
Austin Jelcick, PhD, worked for a small startup, dabbling into everything from vendor relations to public relations and to research and strategic sourcing as a project manager. Now as a director of business strategy, he uses his education and experience to “work as a collaborator, rather than a service provider for researchers.”
For finding a job, Dr. Bilek suggested a career coach. A career coach helped her make a resume specific to each job application, and they taught her interviewing skills and how to brand herself.
Dr. Jelcick’s advice when looking for jobs was to take the skills from working in the lab and make them relatable to the job. Dr. Jelcick also suggested investigating a company to find out who to talk about job opportunities.
Dr. Martin suggested starting out at larger companies. Larger companies have better training compared to smaller startup companies, Dr. Martin said. Smaller companies represent more risk for people with less experience in the field.
“With smaller companies like mine, I throw you in the deep end,” Dr. Martin said. “If you swim, great. If you don’t, sorry.”
Eggen said to know what you want to do as early as possible and know what’s most important. There are a lot of factors when it comes to jobs, such as title, money, and the location. Knowing early which of these is most important will definitely take you farther, Eggen said.
Austin Jelcick, PhD
Dr. Jelcick ended the discussion stressing the importance of hard work and the right attitude. While in undergrad, you simply complete your coursework with passing grades to graduate. In grad school, it’s not as easy.
“There is no longer a light at the end of the tunnel but rather a tunnel where the light is where you make it,” Dr. Jelcick.
He added: “You can be blinded by this sense of entitlement. You’ve worked so hard for so long that you deserve to have a good-paying job when you finish. The fact is, you don’t deserve anything. You deserve what you make of it.”
by Tyler Mueller, UNeMed
OMAHA, Neb. (October 19, 2015)—The ninth annual Innovation Week kicked off this morning with a meet-and-greet open house in the Durham Research Center atrium at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
UNMC students, faculty and staff were invited to meet UNeMed staff, grab a free goodie bag, snacks, drinks, and a T-shirt. Attendees could also register for the free iPad drawing during Thursday’s Innovation Awards Ceremony and Reception.
Innovation Week honors the hard work and accomplishments of UNMC/UNO researchers, inventors and their collaborators. Events are scheduled throughout the week, celebrating achievements and technologies.
Those interested in alternative career paths are encouraged to attend the career panel on Monday, Oct. 19, from 2-3 p.m., in the DRC Auditorium where professionals from various scientific fields will discuss their profession and how they got there. Students can also attend the Adam Ruben event on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the DRC auditorium. Ruben, author of “Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School,” will also discuss careers away from the lab.
New inventions and technologies will be on display during the iExcel Expo, giving attendees a chance to see some of the newest invention up-close. The event will be held in the Sorrell Center room 1012 on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 9-11:30 a.m. and 1-4 p.m. Demo Day will give six companies a chance to show-off their technology based on UNMC research. Demo Day will be held in Sorrell Center room 3001 on Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 4-6 p.m.
The “Mission SimPossible” event will pit two groups of medical students against one another in a test of skills, knowledge and grace under pressure in the Sorrell Center, room 3002 on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from 12-1 p.m. The winning team will be announced during the Innovation Awards on Thursday.
The Innovation Awards will bring an end to Innovation Week on Thursday, Oct. 22, in the DRC Auditorium at 4 p.m., where this year’s Innovator of the Year and Most Promising Invention will be announced. The winner of the iPad will also be announced, but that person must be present to claim the prize.
OMAHA, Neb. (Oct. 19, 2015)—UNeMed released today its 2015 Annual Report.
The report, which covers the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, details UNeMed’s key metrics, and highlights recent successes and accomplishments.
Available in both digital and printed formats, the report points to an increase in sponsored research agreements among its key improvements in the previous year. In 2015, UNeMed secured $1,106,241 in sponsored research funding, a 221 percent increase over the previous year. The 2015 tally also represents an improvement over the previous four years combined.
UNeMed’s total revenue also increased by 40 percent to $1.95 million, the fourth-best total in UNeMed’s 24-year history.
The report also lists the total number of patents, licenses, and other agreements.
Other key features of the 2015 annual report are news items and stories that detail successful innovations and events from the previous year.
To receive a free copy of the printed report, please contact UNeMed, or review and download the digital version of the 2015 annual report here:
OMAHA, Neb. (October 19, 2015)—When Innovation Week kicks off today at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, people will get an early glimpse at the future of medical education during a hands-on expo that will feature some of the most advanced training and simulation equipment in the world.
UNMC’s bold initiative called Interprofessional Experiential Center for Enduring Learning, or iEXCEL, will feature cutting edge medical training tools in simulation and 3D visualization technologies that will allow the clinicians of tomorrow to learn more at a faster pace than ever before.
“What aviation simulation did for the flight industry, iEXCEL will do for health care education,” UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., said.
UNMC employees, students, staff and the general public will have the rare opportunity to get a closer look at these technologies Tuesday, October 20 when UNeMed and the Office of the Vice Chancellor Research host the “iEXCEL Expo” all day at the Michael F. Sorrell Center at the intersection of 42nd and Emile streets.
The Expo will be held in two sessions, first at 9-11:30 a.m., then again at 1-4 p.m. Admission is free and everyone is welcome.
LINCOLN, Neb. (October 16, 2015)—University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds, PhD, joined Greg Sharpe, the “Voice of the Huskers,” for a halftime radio chat during the football broadcast of Nebraska’s heartbreaking 23-21 loss to Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.
Dr. Bounds, who joined the University as its seventh president in April, focused his remarks on the importance of public and private partnerships with the University, and how they contribute to greater innovation and growth. A big part of that growth will be fueled by the Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln, Dr. Bounds said.
“Nebraskans expect their university to conduct research that matters,” Dr. Bounds said. “To turn that research into products and technologies that help improve lives. And, to maintain a competitive economy. With Nebraska Innovation Campus, the University of Nebraska is in a strong position to do that.”
The Nebraska Innovation Campus is a massive public-private research campus in Lincoln that will bring together the talent and skills of academic and industrial experts into a single location where they can better collaborate to solve critical problems and develop innovative solutions.
An important part of that innovation process are the technology transfer services within the University system, Dr. Bounds said.
“That includes leaders and staff at UNeMed and NUTech Ventures—and University researchers who are working to bring their discoveries from the lab to the marketplace,” Dr. Bounds told Sharpe. “Research breakthroughs that become licensed and commercialized make an impact in improving lives around the world, and on economic development in our state.”
Dr. Bounds’ halftime interview was part of an ongoing series, the “IMG University of Nebraska President’s Halftime Show,” which airs during the halftime intermission of every Nebraska football game broadcast on Husker Sports Network affiliates.
The series continues this Saturday when the Nebraska Cornhuskers visit the Minnesota Golden Gophers for a 2:30 kickoff in Minneapolis. Dr. Bounds and Greg Sharpe are expected to discuss the University’s interest and growing role in early child development, and keeping Nebraska as one of the best places to raise a child.
A panel of professionals from different scientific career fields will discuss their paths and other options available to graduate students during a public discussion in the Durham Research Center auditorium Monday, Oct. 19, at 2-3 p.m.
Panelists will describe their career field, the path they took to get there, and offer advice. Students are encouraged to participate with questions for the panel.
Panelists include Austin Jelick, PhD, the product manager for Cyagen Bioscience in Santa Clara, Calif.; Michelle Eggen, senior medical writer at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals; Lisa Bilek, PhD, medical science liaison at Genzyme; and Tyler Martin, M.D., CEO at Adjuvance Technologies Inc.
Admission to the discussion is free and open to all.
Those interested in alternate careers in the scientific fields are also encouraged to attend “Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go To Grad School,” hosted by Adam Ruben in the DRC auditorium on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Attendees at any UNeMed-sponsored Innovation Week event will also can also register to win a new iPad. Attendees are encouraged to attend other Innovation Week events to register again to increase their chances of winning. The drawing for the iPad will be held during the UNMC Research Innovation Awards Ceremony and Reception on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 4 p.m. The winner must be present to win.
For more information on all 2015 Innovation Week events, go to https://www.unemed.com/innovation-week.
OMAHA, Neb. (October 16, 2015)—Adam Ruben, author of “Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School,” and co-host of the popular Science Channel series, “Outrageous Acts of Science,” will be on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus Tuesday at 2 p.m. as a part of UNeMed’s ninth annual Innovation and Research Week.
The event is free and open to everyone, but because space is limited, registered guests will receive the highest seating priority.
Ruben, who also pens the humor column “Experimental Error,” will speak in the Durham Research Center Auditorium about the many challenges of grad school, and the struggle to make a career in academic science fields.
Dr. Ruben said he plans to “complain about grad school and offer career alternatives (other than failure) to the shrinking academic tenure-track market, which you don’t really want anyway.”
The light-hearted talk will be followed by a book-signing and a chance to meet the author.
Ruben will also present an evening show as part of the Science Café series, “Public Perception of Science: Lessons from a Dead Sheep.”
Ruben has also been featured on the Food Network’s “Food Detectives,” the Science Channel’s “Head Rush,” the Travel Channel’s “Mysteries at the Kremlin,” the Weather Channel’s “Weather Gone Viral,” Discovery International’s “Superhuman Science,” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
Innovation Week culminates Thursday, with the ninth annual Innovation Awards Ceremony and Reception, where one guest will win a free iPad. Any UNMC personnel can register for the free iPad drawing by attending any UNeMed-sponsored Innovation Week event.
Learn more about all Innovation Week events at https://www.unemed.com/innovation-week.
by Amanda Hawley, UNeMed | October 15, 2015
During the week of October 19-23, UNMC will shine a spotlight on the extensive resources offered on campus that mobilize researchers and encourage innovation.
A series of fortunate events organized by UNeMed and UNMC’s Office of Vice Chancellor for Research will promote forward thinking through improving research design, fostering collaboration, strengthening grantsmanship, and identifying funding opportunities for research.
UNMC offers multifunctional research tools to help researchers expand and fortify their studies in-house. The CORE research facilities, clinical research resources, database resources, plus the McGoogan Library resources and Makerspace are invaluable assets in a researcher’s repertoire.
Throughout the week, the McGoogan Library of Medicine will host various presentations on how they can better equip researchers. On Oct. 19, learn about their provided services in systematic publication searches and UNMC reference software training. On Oct. 20 and 22, they unveil their new Grant Resource Library that will aid UNMC administrators and researchers in preparing competitive grant applications. And on Oct. 23 the library finishes the week with an Innovation Open House where you can discover the new 3D printing resources and the Digital Commons for research presentation and poster storage.
Also, numerous presentations will cover how online databases for both clinical and scientific research can optimize research study design and data collection. In addition, multiple talks on the UNMC biostatistical and biomedical informatics resources will convey more effective means of crunching numbers and displaying data, which is critical for properly communicating findings. On Oct. 23, UNMC administrators and researchers can tour of the various Core facilities on campus to familiarize themselves with the technologies that can further advance their studies.
Through the use of outside and UNMC’s advantageous resources, students and post-doctoral fellows spend years accumulating proficiencies in research tool implementation. However, when nearing the completion of their training, many of these doctorates are confounded with how or where to apply their vast knowledge.
UNeMed has organized two career development events for UNMC graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to answer the question of “What do I do after graduate school?”
On October 19, at 2 p.m. in the DRC Auditorium, a panel of various professionals with scientific research backgrounds will describe their transition from academia to an alternative career in science. Alternative career fields represented are Business Development, Medical Science Liaison, Product Development, and Medical Writing.
The following day, UNeMed presents the funny Adam Ruben, PhD, on “Surviving your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School.” Dr. Ruben, the author and co-host of the “Outrageous Acts of Science” on the Science Channel, will offer career alternatives to the shrinking academic tenure-track market. Registration for this event is required. Please visit the event website for more details.
All of UNMC’s Research and Innovation Week events are open to the public, though some may require early registration. Please visit the UNeMed or VCR website for additional event information.
Come out and join in the celebration of innovation. Enjoy the daily events and learn how you can become an innovator with UNMC’s in-house resources.
Be innovative. Be extraordinary. #IamUNMC.
OMAHA, Neb. (Oct. 15, 2015)—New startups and technologies developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center will be on display at the UNMC Technology Demo Day in the Michael F. Sorrell Center, room 3001, on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 4 p.m. as part of UNeMed’s 2015 Innovation and Research Week.
The event is free and open to all, but space is limited, so guests are encouraged to register.
Six short presentations of about 10 minutes are planned, and will examine some UNMC technologies and partnerships that are moving toward the market place.
Attendees will also have a chance to register to win a new iPad. Attendees are encouraged to attend other Innovation Week events to register again to increase their chances of winning. The drawing for the iPad will be held during the UNMC Research Innovation Awards Ceremony and Reception on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 4 p.m. The winner must be present to win.
For more information on all 2015 Innovation Week events, go to https://www.unemed.com/innovation-week.
OMAHA, Neb. (Oct. 15, 2015)—UNeMed opens 2015 Innovation and Research Week 2015 with a “Kick-Off” event, a meet-and-greet in the Durham Research Center Atrium Monday, Oct. 19, at 9-11 a.m.
Everyone is welcome to meet UNeMed staff; hear about some of the incredible UNMC innovations moving toward the marketplace; learn about the tech transfer process; or just grab a free T-shirt and a smoothie or coffee.
Attendees will also have a chance to register to win a new iPad. Attendees are encouraged to attend other Innovation Week events to register again to increase their chances of winning. The drawing for the iPad will be held during the UNMC Research Innovation Awards Ceremony and Reception on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 4 p.m. The winner must be present to win.
For more information on all 2015 Innovation Week events, go to https://www.unemed.com/innovation-week.
OMAHA, Neb. (Oct. 14, 2015)—Innovation and Research Week enters its ninth year Monday, Oct. 19, celebrating and recognizing world-class research and discovery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Hosted by UNMC’s technology transfer office, UNeMed Corporation, Innovation and Research Week begins with an open house 9 a.m. Monday at the Durham Research Center, and culminates with the UNMC Research Innovation Awards Ceremony and Reception Thursday evening, which will include a drawing for a free iPad.
This year marks the first major expansion of Innovation and Research Week to include more than a dozen new events that incorporates UNMC’s innovative educational practices and basic science research. The new events include several seminars, workshops and hands-on demonstrations.
All events are free and open to the public, but the iPad drawing is for UNMC faculty, students and staff only. They may register for the drawing by attending any UNeMed-sponsored event. Further details can be found Innovation Week.
Innovation Week will feature an entertaining presentation from Adam Ruben, PhD, author of the popular book, “Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School.” Ruben will also perform a second show in the evening, “Public Perception of Science: Lessons from a Dead Sheep,” as part of UNMC’s Science Café series.
Alternate science careers will also be explored Monday afternoon during a panel discussion featuring four successful scientists who moved away from the research bench.
For the first time Innovation Week will feature an all-day open house that will expose the most sophisticated medical training tools in the world at the new Interprofessional Experiential Center for Enduring Learning (iEXCEL).
The Sorrell Center will also produce a simulated medical scenario pitting two medical student groups against one another in a one-hour contest called “Mission SimPossible.”
On Wednesday, UNMC Technology Demo Day will enter its third year, featuring new technologies, inventions and startups that are either based on UNMC innovations, or are innovative startups working to help further UNMC research.
Innovation Week concludes on Thursday, Oct. 23, with the UNMC Research Innovation Awards Ceremony and Reception. The ceremony will recognize all the UNMC scientists over the previous year who were issued a new patent, licensed a technology, or developed a new invention. UNeMed will also present special awards for the “Most Promising New Invention of 2015” and the “2015 Innovator of the Year.”
Monday’s open house is a chance to meet UNeMed staffers, learn about the innovation process, and pick up a free T-shirt and other goodies.
by Tom O’Connor, UNMC
OMAHA, Neb. (Oct. 9, 2015)—A University of Nebraska Medical Center research team has been awarded a five-year, $8.8 million grant from the National Institute on Drugs of Abuse-National Institutes of Health for their work on HIV/AIDS treatment and eradication.
The goal of the research is to develop a long-acting antiretroviral therapy that could be taken once every six months to provide chemical viral eradication. The work, if realized, could represent a major breakthrough for HIV/AIDS patients, who currently have to take one pill each day.
Howard Gendelman, M.D., accepts the Innovator of the Year award during UNeMed’s annual Innovation Awards Ceremony on Oct. 10, 2013.
“Pill fatigue, co-morbid diseases, substance abuse and drug toxicities can affect drug compliance,” said Howard Gendelman, M.D., the principal investigator on the grant. Dr. Gendelman is professor and chair of the UNMC Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience.
Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has revolutionized HIV treatment, he said. Drugs are combined that attack the virus at different stages of its reproductive cycle. ART doesn’t cure HIV, but it stops it from spreading.
The goal of ART is to get the viral load in the blood stream so low that tests can’t even detect it. HIV is still there, but there’s not enough of it to cause symptoms – as long as patients keep taking their medications.
“Dr. Gendelman continues to drive the science to improve ART therapy,” said Jennifer Larsen, M.D., vice chancellor for research. “This most recent grant is a testament to both his previous work and his vision of where the science should be going. I share his excitement that the research holds great promise for creating better therapies for patients.”
Working with two major pharmaceutical companies, the UNMC scientists have packaged antiretrovirals into targeted nanoparticles, which can improve drug biodistribution and target sites where the virus hides.
A prime directive for the work is to bring the drug to sites where the virus hides and to combine ART with other medicines that work to destroy whatever virus remains in the body.
“It’s a sort of seek and destroy mission for the research,” said Dr. Gendelman, who noted that preliminary test results in animal models have been promising.
He said the long-term goal of the research is to enable a new product. Under development is a nanomedicine good manufacturing facility, on the UNMC campus, which would develop formulations for phase I clinical testing.
“Because of the success of Dr. Gendelman’s research team, we have established a nanomedicine pre-production plant and by next spring will have a GMP nanoproduction facility operational,” said Deb Thomas, interim vice chancellor for business and finance. “Knowing this team as I do, it’s just the start where the best is yet to come.”
Dr. Gendelman’s research team has exceeded $20 million in active funding largely focused on nanomedicines. Since 2010, the combined research efforts of the research team have led to 10 other grants totaling more than $12 million.
The research brings together a highly integrative, cross-disciplinary team of scientists, including researchers at the Scripps Research Institute. The UNMC team members include:
College of Pharmacy
College of Medicine – Department of Radiology
College of Medicine – Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
“It has been a pleasure collaborating with Howard in the early days where we worked together to establish the feasibility of targeting nanoparticle antiretroviral injectables. I find it simply amazing to see how far he has taken it toward a practical treatment for overcoming treatment compliance. It is very gratifying as well to see that this opinion is shared by the NIH.”
Barrett Rabinow, PhD, Baxter Distinguished Scientist, medication delivery, global R&D, Baxter Healthcare Corporation
“Howard is a good friend and an excellent scientist. He is inquisitive and works hard. He has become expert in the area of nanoformulated therapies. He has leveraged this knowledge toward HIV to accept the therapeutic challenge of producing long acting, cell targeted antiretrovirals. Howard understands HIV and its effects on the immune system, and he applies his knowledge practically to answer important scientific questions. He’s quite a remarkable person and scientist.”
John McCall, PhD, president and founder of PharMac LLC
“The work of Dr. Gendelman’s group has the potential to revolutionize the treatment and prevention of HIV infection. Howie has always been one of the country’s most innovative thinkers in HIV pathogenesis and treatment, and this award will provide stable support to continue his research. The environment at UNMC is ideal for supporting development of the type of long-acting, injectable drugs this group is proposing.”
Charles W. Flexner, M.D., professor of medicine, pharmacology and molecular sciences, Johns Hopkins University
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Sept. 28, 2015) — A surgical robot developed in collaboration between UNMC surgeon Dmitry Oleynikov, M.D., and UNL engineering Professor Shane Farritor, PhD, was recently named a prestigious Game Changer award-winner by the Robotics Business Review.
The annual Game Changer Awards were officially announced in San Jose, Calif., on Sept. 24, during RoboBusiness, one of the largest international robotics conferences in the United States.
Oleynikov’s and Farritor’s award-winning robot is the foundation of a University of Nebraska startup company, Virtual Incision, which recently raised more than $11 million in equity financing.
Dr. Oleynikov, a professor of surgery at UNMC, and Dr. Farritor, a professor of engineering at UNL, developed a surgical robot that could turn highly invasive surgeries into laparoscopic procedures. The current focus is perfecting the robot’s ability for colon resection, a complicated surgical procedure that removes a damaged or diseased section of a patient’s colon. It’s a treatment for patients with lower gastrointestinal diseases such as diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, or colon cancer.
Current practice for a colon resection requires a large incision, 8- to 12-inches, and up to six weeks of recovery time. Virtual Incision’s robot can accomplish this using minimally invasive techniques and operates entirely inside the patient’s abdomen. The robot provides high-resolution video from an on-board camera while the surgeon operates the robot using a sophisticated set of controls.
Designed to utilize existing tools and techniques familiar to surgeons, Virtual Incision’s robot will not require a dedicated operating room or specialized infrastructure, and, because of its much smaller size, is expected to be significantly less expensive than existing robotic alternatives for laparoscopic surgery. Because of these technological advances, the system could also enable minimally invasive approaches to other procedures that today are performed using open surgery.
“We are very excited to be among the group selected for the Game Changer Award,” Dr. Farritor said. “If you look at this group of winners, and at past recipients, it is an amazing honor to be included in this list.”
Entries were judged by a panel of Robotics Business Review and Robotics Trends editors as well as by distinguished experts from the International Journal of Advanced Robotics Systems (IJARS).
In 2014 the University of Nebraska system honored Drs. Oleynikov and Farritor with its prestigious Innovation, Development and Engagement Award.
UNMC researcher Sam Sanderson, PhD, checks the results of a recent quality control test at his Omaha lab. His startup company, Prommune, has scheduled a test for a new H1N1 vaccine on pigs in Aug. 2015. (Photo: Charles Litton)
by Charles Litton, UNeMed
Omaha, Neb. (August 24, 2015)—A swine flu H1N1 vaccine developed at the University of Nebraska Medical Center will enter a definitive round of testing in the coming weeks, and researchers hope to establish its ability to ward off the virus in pigs.
Made possible by a licensing deal brokered through UNMC’s technology transfer office, UNeMed Corporation, the study will evaluate the vaccine on 30-40 pigs.
If tests yield results as expected, Prommune, Inc. could begin offering an H1N1 vaccine to hog farmers as early as the end of the year—although full approval from the USDA would likely take another three or four years.
Ultimately, an H1N1 vaccine as potentially effective as Prommune’s could dramatically diminish the virus as a global threat to the world’s pig population, and could even lead to more effective vaccines for similar diseases in birds and perhaps humans.
Prommune, a company founded on the research of UNMC’s Sam Sanderson, PhD, is building a vaccine that could protect pigs from H1N1. A test in Aug. 2015 is expected to prove the vaccine’s effectiveness, and could lead to other vaccines in other animals and perhaps even humans. (Photo: Charles Litton)
Prommune, Inc. was built around the research of Sam Sanderson, PhD, who founded the company in 2002. Sanderson is currently a research associate professor of pharmaceutical science in UNMC’s College of Pharmacy. Sanderson’s technology essentially helps activate and direct the immune system into a more targeted and efficient attack against invading pathogens.
The technology, an immune stimulating peptide called EP67, is a “platform technology” that is so versatile it can be tweaked and modified to work against a number of ailments and in a wide variety of animals. In addition to the H1N1 vaccine, EP67 could have applications against different varieties of the avian flu virus, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and other infectious agents.
But long before Prommune can develop anything for human use, researchers still need to compile years of data—beginning with the planned trials in coming weeks, said Prommune’s interim CEO Sam Al-Murrani, PhD
Al-Murrani
Al-Murrani joined Prommune in March, after first meeting Sanderson at an animal health investment forum in Kansas City back in 2013. Al-Murrani, who has a background in animal health and holds a doctorate in immunology and biochemistry, said a platform technology like EP67 would intrigue investors and strategic partners. Several recent initial public offerings in the animal health sector didn’t compare well to Prommune’s innovative technology, he said.
“I think Prommune today—today—has more product and market potential than any of those companies,” he said.
Al-Murrani is the chief executive officer of Babylon BioConsulting, a firm based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which specializes in bringing early-stage technologies to biomedical markets.
Since signing on with Prommune in March, Al-Murrani has helped Prommune build a corporate structure, negotiated the licensing deal with UNeMed and established a strategic alliance with a nationally renowned animal testing facility that helped open the door to the upcoming trial.
———
About Prommune Inc.: Prommune is a research and development company that has created a unique and patented means to safely and effectively awaken the body’s own natural immune defenses without inflammatory side-effects. Such immune activation is possible through the use of novel immune stimulatory peptides, which are derived from a naturally-occurring protein component of the immune system. The use of these host-derived immune stimulatory peptides provides a broad therapeutic platform enabling the treatment of normal and antibiotic-resistant infections and the rapid generation a huge variety of new vaccines for human and veterinary medicine.
About Babylon BioConsulting: Babylon BioConsulting LLC is a full service human and animal health consulting firm. We specialize in startup, pre-revenue and early stage valuation of animal health, biotechnology and drug development companies. Babylon services include investor outreach, due diligence, market research and business development, intangible asset valuation and management and executive interim management services. Additionally, we perform human and animal health product development and scientific consulting services. Our interest and passion is to leverage our extensive experience and network of professionals within the human and animal health fields to help businesses accomplish their goals more efficiently, cost-effectively and in a timely manner.
NR-6-R cells
UNeMed T-shirt (circa 2012)
$18.00 – $20.00
Nanofiber sponges for hemostasis
