Dave Allen, Assoc VP, Tech Transfer Office, BlackBox Event Jerry Donahue, Valued Business Advisor Paul Jerde, Exec. Dir., The Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Tech transfer and the Black Box 1153_ 1/30/12 - To some, tech transfer seems like a “black box” – investigators conduct research and report inventions, a percentage of the inventions are protected through the patent process, some of the protected assets are licensed, some products are developed, some are sold commercially and sometimes the University receives royalties and other economic consideration. During this session we looked into the black box to see how policies, procedures and practices at CU and the Technology Transfer office (TTO) addresses the throughput of inventions to royalties, and how various internal and external groups play a role in making this happen. Participants were better informed about technology transfer and made able to devise ways to engage in and/or advise on the process. Dr. David Allen has led the University of Colorado's technology transfer enterprise to a position of global leadership and pioneered many of the best practices academic technology transfer and technology-based economic development organizations used in proof-of-concept investing and incubation of university spinouts. In this short video excerpt David talks about the distinctiveness of the CU facility… Related Links: CU Technology Transfer Office || CU TTO Channel || TTO Blog || CU TTO Awards || Award Photos || Tech Transfer at CU|| EVENT PHOTOS || Keywords: David Allen, University of Colorado, Technology Transfer, Rick Silva, Kate
Tallman, Tom Smerdon, CU TTO, Black Box, Royalties, Proof-of-Concept Watch Video Excerpt from the CU TTO Black Box
How do I get involved, what do I do, what's this all about
1139_ 1/9/2012 -
The CU Tech Transfer Office has a tremendous reputation in the business arena and over the past number of years TTO has overcome obstacles in a difficult economic environment and made great achievements... CU Tech Transfer ranks in the top five for all universities in the country. We are with David Allen, Associate Vice President of Tech Transfer to learn about an exciting event that's coming up. Dave said, "People come to us all the time, 'how do I get involved, what do I do, what's this all about? This event provides an opportunity to get that. I don't know of many universities that offer this help. It's the one-stop-shop for us. I'd love to see all the people there, it'll be an engaging session." Dave explains the idea is that what TTO does is something that is not common. The people that we work with are obviously very experienced. But, there are a lot of people who want to understand more about Tech Transfer. As it is, people must learn this by experience. Dave uses the black box analogy. There's input - dollars, people, inventions going into the box and out the other side comes licenses and companies and development programs. What happens in there, often, is not very transparent. "Basically what we're doing is taking that box and opening it up. Let people that are broadly part of the business community understand the forces at play that hinge on the technology that comes from the university and how it goes through the process and what it looks like. Who's involved, what are the policies... out of that comes a much better understanding about us. Dave worked with Paul Nelson, a clean tech serial entrepreneur to develop an agenda. The program is three hours and will be held on the 24th of January. Look for the agenda on the Tech Transfer web site/Events. People attending will typically be business people involved in this community. And a lot of people are looking at this as an opportunity to create a company - to learn how does that all work and match up. So who should attend? Someone who may be interested in this field in general or through the Boulder Innovation Center, CU Cleantech, the Deming Entrepreneurship Center and places like that...there's more...
Related Links:
TTO Public Event: Tech Transfer at the University of Colorado ||
CU Technology Transfer Office ||
CU TTO Channel ||
TTO Blog ||
Keywords: David Allen, Technology Transfer, University of Colorado, Paul Nelson,
Boulder Innovation Center, CU Cleantech, Deming Entrepreneurship Center - bytes=9218406 LISTEN TO: Dave Allen, Associate Vice President, Tech Transfer Office, University of Colorado
About the Technology Transfer Office
The CU Technology Transfer Office pursues, protects, packages, and licenses to business the intellectual property generated from research at CU. The TTO provides assistance to faculty, staff, and students, as well as to businesses looking to license or invest in CU technology. For more information about technology transfer at CU, visit www.cu.edu/techtransfer.
$4 million in royalties and 11 startups 1065_ 8/22/11 - We're here to check on the temperature at the CU Tech Transfer Office with Dave Allen, Associate Vice President of Technology Transfer at the University of Colorado. We check in with Dave every year to get a sense of what their fiscal year was like. This year? "We had a solid year!" said Dave, "For us the emphasis is inventions and faculty - we had 250 inventions and that's good." About 60% of these are [bio medical] related and then the other 30% being spread out across energy and chemical materials, software outfits, electronics, those kinds of things. In the bio most of what we get are in the therapeutics really. So we have a lot of good technology to work with. We see about a thousand inventions a year and our job is to figure out what in those are patentable, feasible and commercially viable and last year we filed almost the same number of patent applications as the year before. The core of our realm is exclusive licenses - those are assets that people can build on and develop. We had 37 last year and that's comparable to other years. It's not a big secret here, the technology economy has been in the doldrums for a couple of years. And we're glad that we can put 37 technologies exclusively in the hands of companies - and the vast majority of those are Colorado companies. Another thing people are interested in are startups - we've had eleven and that tracks, last year we had nine. The other thing to raise is our royalty income - last year we had $4 million in royalties. So it's been a solid year. We are looking forward to better. And one of the things we are doing that's different, and I think a lot of people will be interested in this. I don't believe there's anyone else in the country doing this. We're starting a program called the Technologies Transfer Office Fellows program. It's a trial this year. If it works we're going to scale it up. We'll extend our reach beyond by multiplying the numbers of bright, motivated people who want to add importance to their career. It is a bold plan with great promise! There's much more.... Related Links: CU Technology Transfer Office || CU TTO Channel || TTO Blog || CU TTO Awards || Award Photos || Keywords: CU Tech Transfer Office with David Allen, University of Colorado,
Inventions, Energy, Chemical Materials, Software Outfits, Electronics, Bio Medical, Fellows Program, 8/22/11 - bytes=11280199 LISTEN to David Allen, Associate Vice President, Technology Transfer Office at CU
About the University of Colorado The University of Colorado is a premier teaching and research university with four campuses: the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Nearly 57,000 undergraduate and graduate students are pursuing academic degrees on CU campuses. CU is ranked seventh among public institutions in federal research expenditures in engineering and science by the National Science Foundation. Academic prestige is marked by the university’s four Nobel laureates, seven MacArthur “genius” Fellows, 18 alumni astronauts and 19 Rhodes Scholars. For more information, go to www.cu.edu.
Deciding they want to try their entrepreneurial feet 1156_ 1/30/12 - We're at the 10th Annual University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office Awards program at the historic Tivoli Turnhalle. This is truly a gathering of the greatest scientific minds who are creating and influencing the future. The venue is packed but early on we ran into an old friend, Jerry Donahue. When we first met Jerry back in the early days, he was running the Boulder Incubator - right through the days of Esprit Entrepreneur. Jerry tells us he's continued to do things, "It's addictive... Of late, strictly through faculty at CU, could be any campus. "Some of them over time, decide they want to try their entrepreneurial feet. Working with partners that often include guys like Dave Allen, Merc Mercure, Jerry tells us, the most fun he's having today is working with some of these little companies that they help start up. These folks have come to be really good business people as well as award winning faculty. Jerry and people like him often go on their boards, help them with the management aspect, sometime finding money, often just being a sounding board. "A delightful trip", said Jerry. Related Links: CU Technology Transfer Office || CU TTO Channel || CU TTO Awards || Award Photos || CTEK Board Member of Distinction || Keywords: Jerry Donahue, CU TTO, Colorado Technology Transfer Office, Awards, Entrepreneurs,
David Allen, Merc Mercure - bytes=4054102 Listen To: Jerry Donahue, Valued Business Advisor
Researchers working on eye disease, chronic pain and cleantech among those honored for technology commercialization.
DENVER (Jan. 17, 2012) – The University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office (TTO) hosted its annual awards, honoring several faculty researchers, two companies founded on university research, and several members of the local entrepreneurial community.
The TTO will present these awards during a banquet on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 5:30 p.m. at the historic Tivoli Turnhalle. The awards will follow a panel discussion offering faculty perspectives on the origins of university inventions.
In the last two decades, inventions by CU researchers have led to the formation of 114 new companies. Of these, 85 have operations in Colorado, seven have “gone public,” becoming publicly traded companies (either through an IPO or via a reverse merger), and 17 have been acquired by public companies. In total, companies created based on CU technology have attracted over $5.6 billion in financing.
“The University of Colorado is a primary driver for the Colorado economy in many ways – one way that is often less visible than our thousands of graduates, new buildings and faculty accolades is the commercialization of research,” said David Allen, associate vice president for technology transfer at CU. “This event recognizes excellence in the people and licensee companies that exemplify CU’s success in transforming research into real-world impact.”
The researchers and companies recognized this year represent all CU campuses, and are developing technologies ranging from novel treatments for chronic pain, eye disease and metabolic syndrome to new materials with applications in clean energy, and techniques for more efficient biofuels and solar power. This year’s award winners include:
Jeffrey L. Olson, Inventor of the Year, CU Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus. Olson, an associate professor of ophthalmology, specializes in the medical and surgical management of retinal diseases like macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinal detachment. One of his inventions, a method for preserving eyesight through the use of nanotechnology, is licensed to a CU startup currently raising Series A financing.
Linda R. Watkins, Inventor of the Year, CU-Boulder. Watkins, a distinguished professor of psychology, has developed both novel drugs and new uses of known drugs targeting various disorders with unmet medical needs, including chronic and neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis, ALS and addiction. Her inventions have led to numerous industry collaborations and licenses, as well as the formation of a new company, Xalud Therapeutics.
Richard J. Johnson, New Inventor of the Year, CU Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus. Johnson is chief of the division of renal diseases and hypertension; his research has focused on the mechanisms of renal injury and progression, including in diabetes and hypertension. Recent work has also examined the role of uric acid and fructose in obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and hypertension.
Wei Zhang, New Inventor of the Year, CU-Boulder. Zhang, an assistant professor of chemistry & biochemistry, is developing novel materials with potential applications in solar energy conversion, gas separation and storage, chemical sensing and catalysis.
Anatoliy O. Pinchuk, New Inventor of the Year, CU-Colorado Springs. Pinchuk is an assistant professor of physics and energy science; his research focuses on nano-materials for intracellular imaging and optical bio-chemical sensors.
OPX Biotechnologies, Bioscience Company of the Year. OPXBIO (Boulder, CO) is a venture-backed company making renewable bio-based chemicals and fuels that are lower cost, higher return and more sustainable than existing petroleum-based products.
Phobos Energy, Physical Sciences/Engineering/IT Company of the Year. Phobos Energy (Menlo Park, CA; Lafayette, CO) is focused on increasing energy production, decreasing costs, and opening up new applications for solar photovoltaic power production.
S. Gail Eckhardt, Business Advisor of the Year. Eckhardt is chief of the division of medical oncology at the Anschutz Medical Campus. As an advisor to TTO on drug discovery and development projects, she has been critically important in facilitating industry collaborations involving not just her lab, but labs of her CU collaborators.
Michael R. Bristow, Serial University Start-up Entrepreneur Award. Bristow, a professor of medicine (division of cardiology) at the Anschutz Medical Campus, was a founder and former chief science and medical officer of Myogen, Inc. (acquired by Gilead Sciences, Inc. in 2006). He is the President and CEO of ARCA biopharma (Broomfield, CO), a company he founded in 2003 with the goal of developing genetically targeted therapies for heart failure. In 2007 he co‐founded miRagen Therapeutics, (Boulder, CO), a company dedicated to utilizing the biologic properties of microRNAs in developing therapies for cardiovascular diseases.
Additionally, two CU researchers were inducted into the Pinnacles of Inventorship, an all-stars group recognizing continuous commitment to best practices in technology transfer: Kristi S. Anseth (Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, CU-Boulder) and Charles A. Dinarello (Professor of Medicine and Immunology, Anschutz Medical Campus).
Does it have commercial viability and commercial applications? 1155_ 1/30/12 - It's interesting to see how the different departments at CU work together. Larry interviewed Paul Jerde who has been with the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship for 15+ years, and he says he was pretty naive. "I had come to have some strong ideas about the positioning of the value of entrepreneurship education in the university setting. What I found was people lit up at the mention, something exciting about an entrepreneur, I guess. But the tendency is to very narrowly define it. To some people it means just small business. To some it means bleeding edge technology and to some it means insane risk taking. To others, it's only about startups. So, at the core of our philosophy is the belief and the positioning of the way that our faculty work, and we work with faculty and students. The value of entrepreneurship education, at the core, has fundamental value for the students in almost any particular discipline." Paul is often challenged... can you teach someone to be an entrepreneur? Can you teach someone entrepreneurship? Paul says no to the first. I don't believe, nor should you try to teach someone to be an entrepreneur. Other things cause that to come about. But you can absolutely teach the skills. And at the core of entrepreneurship education is teaching our students to answer the question when someone says, 'I have an idea, what do I do with it?' Here's what you do - 'That's an interesting idea. Does it have commercial viability? Does it have commercial applications?' Well, most people in the world don't really know. And that's what we want our students to have. They know what feasibility, analysis and market assessment is all about. They know about doing due diligence, how to go through a really rigorous and in-depth process in determining whether an idea can translatable into a commercial opportunity. The business planning part of this has to do with the integrating of different disciplines...finance, marketing, operations, strategy management, and so forth - bringing those all together. More broadly in our cross campus entrepreneurship program it's getting teams of students to work together to appreciate the ideas may come from the creative departments or from the engineers who can actually build something, or from the scientists who can actually discover something - but often times they don't know what to do with their new invention or new discovery. We try to make these 'productive collisions' of teams of students and in general find people of different expertise's come together around the idea of how do you allow an idea to flourish. There's much more... Related Links: Deming Center for Entrepreneurship || CU Technology Transfer Office || CU TTO Channel || TTO Blog || CU TTO Awards || CU TTO Award Photos || Keywords: Paul Jerde, Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, Leeds School of Business, Robert
H. & Beverly A. Deming, Entrepreneurs, Teams, Productive Collisions - bytes=6117567 Listen To: Paul Jerde, Exec. Dir., Deming Center
Interviews 2011: Dave Allen, Annual Report 2010-11 Dave Allen, Annual Report 2009-10 Michael Bristow, MD, Ph.D. CEO & Chief Science & Medical Officer of ARCA Dick Hinson, Sr. Vice President, Aurora Economic Development Council Paul Komor, Education Director, Energy Institute, University of Colorado @ Boulder Jim Linfield, Bio Frontiers Institute 11/7/2011 Dr. Timothy Rodell, GlobeImmune
Tech Transfer Award Winners and Bio Frontiers Institute 1104_ 11/7/11 -
We took a trip out to Broomfield, to meet Dave Allen, Associate VP, Tech Transfer Office, University of Colorado, where he introduced us to Jim Linfield, Managing Partner at Cooley. Jim was the recipient of the Colorado Technology Infrastructure Leadership Award 2011. Really, if you spend time around the university or in the bio or clean tech communities, you know Jim - but there's more to the story. Dave Allen said the best way he could describe the award "...is acknowledgement that Jim has his fingerprints on all the things that work really well as it relates to the technology environment/infrastructure/ecosystem creating a vibrant environment for commercialization of technology..." He goes way beyond, whether it's bio science, cleantech, Boulder Innovation Center, Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, Technology Transfer Advisory Board, and more. I don't think they'd be what they are without Jim, so that was basically the acknowledgement." Dave points out that Jim plays a major role in two other significant areas. He played an instrumental role in the attraction of Tom Cech back to the university about two, three years ago. He's one of the leaders in the Bio Frontiers Advisory Board and he is one of the three people on the FRA Board at Anschutz Medical Campus - both provide interesting challenges and great opportunities. Larry asked Jim for what was on the horizon. In the Bio Science area there is the Bio Frontiers Institute which will be the center of activity for the university interdisciplinary studies and Tom Cech is the head of that, the building should be completed in February on the east campus in Boulder. Jim said, "I think that will solidify CU's position as one of the leading institutions for interdisciplinary research in the life sciences area, covering both therapeutics and diagnostics but also bio fuels, so I think it will be a remarkable institution." ...Listen for much more... Related Links:
Cooley LLP ||
CU Technology Transfer Office ||
CU TTO Channel ||
TTO Blog ||
CU TTO Awards ||
Award Photos ||
Keywords: Jim Linfield, Cooley, David Allen, CU Technology Transfer Office, CU TTO,
Bio Frontiers Institute, Bio Science, Cleantech, Boulder Innovation Center, Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, Fitzsimmons
Redevelopment Authority Listen to: Jim Linfield, Managing Partner, Cooley and Dave Allen, Associate VP, Tech Transfer Office, University of Colorado
1153_ 1/30/12 - To some, tech transfer seems like a “black box” – investigators conduct research and report inventions, a percentage of the inventions are protected through the patent process, some of the protected assets are licensed, some products are developed, some are sold commercially and sometimes the University receives royalties and other economic consideration. During this session we looked into the black box to see how policies, procedures and practices at CU and the Technology Transfer office (TTO) addresses the throughput of inventions to royalties, and how various internal and external groups play a role in making this happen. Participants were better informed about technology transfer and made able to devise ways to engage in and/or advise on the process. Dr. David Allen has led the University of Colorado's technology transfer enterprise to a position of global leadership and pioneered many of the best practices academic technology transfer and technology-based economic development organizations used in proof-of-concept investing and incubation of university spinouts. In this short video excerpt David talks about the distinctiveness of the CU facility…
1104_ 11/7/11 -
We took a trip out to Broomfield, to meet Dave Allen, Associate VP, Tech Transfer Office, University of Colorado, where he introduced us to Jim Linfield, Managing Partner at Cooley. Jim was the recipient of the Colorado Technology Infrastructure Leadership Award 2011. Really, if you spend time around the university or in the bio or clean tech communities, you know Jim - but there's more to the story. Dave Allen said the best way he could describe the award "...is acknowledgement that Jim has his fingerprints on all the things that work really well as it relates to the technology environment/infrastructure/ecosystem creating a vibrant environment for commercialization of technology..." He goes way beyond, whether it's bio science, cleantech, Boulder Innovation Center, Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, Technology Transfer Advisory Board, and more. I don't think they'd be what they are without Jim, so that was basically the acknowledgement." Dave points out that Jim plays a major role in two other significant areas. He played an instrumental role in the attraction of Tom Cech back to the university about two, three years ago. He's one of the leaders in the Bio Frontiers Advisory Board and he is one of the three people on the FRA Board at Anschutz Medical Campus - both provide interesting challenges and great opportunities. Larry asked Jim for what was on the horizon. In the Bio Science area there is the Bio Frontiers Institute which will be the center of activity for the university interdisciplinary studies and Tom Cech is the head of that, the building should be completed in February on the east campus in Boulder. Jim said, "I think that will solidify CU's position as one of the leading institutions for interdisciplinary research in the life sciences area, covering both therapeutics and diagnostics but also bio fuels, so I think it will be a remarkable institution." ...Listen for much more...