WORLDiscoveries Annual Report 2007-08 : Page 1
INDUSTRY LIAISON 2008 Activity Report Western and Lawson join forces to build Tech Transfer capability WORLDiscoveries™, the technology transfer consortium formed by London's research institu- tions, seeks to dramatically increase its return on investment to the researchers and the commu- nity through licensing and the creation of spin-off companies. This joint venture between The University of Western Ontario, including Robarts Research Institute, and Lawson Health Research Institute capitalizes on research strengths related to medical and health-related sciences, energy and the environment, and new materials. The Lon- don region is recognized as a national leader in these key areas, and the city has identified them as opportunities for growth. “By encouraging greater collaboration within specific sectors of importance, WORLDiscover- ies™ will help London leverage existing strengths into increased innovation and job creation,” says Ted Hewitt, Western’s Vice-President (Research & International Relations). ment by turning research and development into practical applications and products that can be commercialized through industry. nearly $5 million in licensing income annually. WORLDiscoveries™ will be rolling out over the next year. Technology transfer initiatives play a significant role in job creation and economic develop- The city’s three existing technology transfer offices attract Covington Capital returns $628,000 to Western’s Industry Liaison Office An eight year partnership between Covington Capital and Western’s Industry Liaison Office under the Community Small Business Investment Fund (CSBIF) has netted a return to Western of $628,000. The Industry Liaison office vetted hundreds of business plans to select the very few that became The University of Western Ontario Internet Ventures Fund Inc. From these few, one company in particular, PlateSpin grew from a small enterprise with just over 10 employees to a company with a global presence. The return is the result of one of the most successful exits in the venture capital marketplace over the past twelve months as PlateSpin was recently acquired by Novell, Inc. These funds will be used to continue to build and strengthen bridges between the private sector and research now underway, and to pave the way for improved health and pros- perity around the world. Polymers Invented at Western Become Key Interface for Stent-Delivered Therapy Together with Nanocopoeia, a company located in St. Paul, MN, Western announced a new, exclusive, worldwide license during Bio 2008 at San Diego’s Convention Centre in June. This agreement is for the use of arborescent polyisobutylene-based block copolymers (arbIBS). The arbIBS family of polymers was developed by a team at the Faculty of Engineering, led by Judit E. Puskas, Ph.D. Dr. Puskas held the Bayer/NSERC Industrial Research Chair between 1998 and 2003 at The University of Western Ontario. She is currently a professor of polymer science at The University of Akron in Ohio. The arbIBS polymers, which were licensed to Nanocopoeia for all biomedical uses, have shown great promise when used with their proprietary ElectroNanosprayTM process. So far the technol- ogy has been applied to a prototype drug-eluting mouse stent model. Given the potential of both the stability of this polymer system and its use in the mouse stent model, it could be key for use in next-generation stent-delivered therapies.
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