office vice provost starting up - tufts tech...

tufts university | tufts medical center

Starting UpTechnology Licensing and

Industry Collaboration

techtransfer.tufts.edu

office of the vice provost

2 | www.techtransfer.tufts.edu

Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration

In 2007, the Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration (OTL&IC) published its first edition of Starting Up to celebrate the translation of Tufts innovationsto the marketplace. In this second edition, we report in depth on the progress of four Tufts start-ups and present snapshots of other technology transfer activities.

The mission of our office is to facilitate technology transfer for the public good. The OTL&IC helps create start-up companies by working with faculty to identify public and private funding to advance their discoveries. We have helped researchers tap into venture networks that provide not only funding potential but also mentoring for first-time inventor founders. As a result, we’ve been able to maintain an active technology transfer culture at Tufts, even during a time when investment has been difficult to obtain.

It takes passion and vision to bring academic discoveries to the marketplace. The OTL&IC is privileged to work with Tufts inventors, their technologies, and our licensees as they transform early-stage discoveries into market-ready products. These products range from an improved method for prenatal care to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and from the next generation in disease diagnostics to a treatment for debilitating kidney damage. In making their dream a reality, the young companies have one thing in common—through every stage of development they must navigate an increasingly competitive intellectual property and financial landscape. We applaud their efforts as we share their stories.

Like discovery, technology transfer is a dynamic process. We hope that the real progress of Tufts start-up companies will inspire you to think about translating early-stage discoveries into products that could have an impact on our daily lives. We look forward to working with you to enable the many possibilities that can be envisioned from innovation at Tufts.

April 2011


Technology• Drug development platform to create a class of drugs with a novel mechanism of action

Why It Matters• 30 to 40% of current drugs target G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), including drugs for cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and metabolic disorders

• GPCRs are cell-membrane molecules involved in many essential processes

• Anchor GPCR drugs (called pepducins) can treat diseases that cannot be treated with traditional extracellular GPCR drugs

• Anchor can produce faster-to-market drugs due to its unique drug development process

Inventors• Athan Kuliopulos and Lidija Covic, Tufts Medical Center

Milestones• Partnered with large pharmaceutical companies to develop specific GPCR pepducin drugs

• Successfully produced pepducin drugs for over 15 different GPCRs

What’s Next• Develop a GPCR modulator for a stem cell receptor that attracts other stem cells when stimulated, for use in regenerative medicine to improve healing

• Expand preclinical validation programs

• Partner with pharmaceutical companies for clinical trials and marketing

Funding• $18M Series A financing from HealthCare Ventures, Novartis BioVentures, and TVM Capital; additional $3M from Novartis Option Fund

• $10M Series B financing with all investors participating

Because our technology is based on the sequence of amino acids of the target GPCR, we can go directly to designing the molecules for creating a drug, a much faster process than the screening process used by other GPCR companies. –Frederick Jones, President and CEO, Anchor

Anchor TherapeuticsAn Inside-the-Cell Therapeutic Solutionwww.anchortx.com


IGAN Biosciences

We are making significant progress towards developing a treatment that we expect will not only arrest IgA nephropathy—but may even reverse it.–Andrew Plaut

Technology• A novel IgA protease for the treatment of IgA nephropathy (IgAN), a kidney disease affecting 2 million people worldwide, mainly in patients with Asian background

Why It Matters• IgA is a protein that helps the body fight infections, but in IgAN an abnormal form of IgA1 accumulates in the kidney, causing damage

• There is no cure for IgAN, as current treatments have limited effectiveness. This illness may begin in children and adolescents. Approximately 25 to 50% of those affected will develop kidney failure

• IgA protease is a bacterial enzyme that specifically breaks down human IgA1 so it can be cleared from the kidney

Inventors • Andrew Plaut, Tufts Medical Center, and Jiazhou Qiu, formerly of Tufts Medical Center, now at IGAN Biosciences

Milestones• Patents have been issued to Tufts Medical Center in U.S., Europe, China; patents pending in Japan and Korea

• Pending partnership with a pharmaceutical firm

• Refinement of animal models of IgAN to validate the concept and to carry out pre-clinical studies

• Modifications of IgA protease to reduce potential for immune reaction while retaining full therapeutic activity

What’s Next• Continue preclinical testing

• Develop and test drug candidates for clinical trials

• Market drug to people in need worldwide

Funding• Friends and family investors

• Fast-Track Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from National Institutes of Health

To Eliminate an Incurable Kidney Diseasewww.iganbio.com


MindChild Medical Inc.

The electrodes in the belt pick up a very low-noise signal and our proprietary algorithms extract the fetal signal from competing signals to give healthcare providers the information they need to provide mother and baby with the best care. –Jay Ward, Executive Vice President, MindChild

Technology• Non-invasive fetal heart monitor

Why It Matters• The fetal heartbeat tells physicians if the fetus is doing well or is in distress, but current monitoring technology is invasive, sometimes requiring that electrodes be attached to the fetus’ scalp

• MindChild’s technology can monitor fetal electrocardiograph (ECG) signals with sensitive electrodes embedded in a belt placed around the mother’s abdomen—a totally non-invasive technology—and it can be used anytime during the third trimester

• Earlier, easier fetal ECG monitoring means better care for women and their babies and fewer unnecessary C-sections

Founders• Adam Wolfberg, Tufts Medical Center

• Gari Clifford, formerly at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, now at University of Oxford

• Jim Robertson and Jay Ward of E-TROLZ, a leader in biomedical computing platforms

Milestones• In a unified license agreement, MindChild obtained rights to intellectual property from Tufts Medical Center, MIT, E-TROLZ, and two French research institutes

• Successfully completed proof-of-concept studies

• Developed first fetal ECG monitor, the Meridian, and began clinical trials

What’s Next• For the Meridian: expand clinical trials, complete FDA study, bring final device to market

• Develop follow-up devices with advanced capabilities for detailed analysis of the fetal ECG for better understanding of how the fetal heart operates

Funding• Angel investors

Making Labor Safer for Women and Their Babieswww.mindchild.com


Technology• Single molecule detection—the next generation of disease diagnostics

Why It Matters • Trace quantities of signature proteins in the blood can be early biomarkers of diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease

• At least 75% of proteins in the blood are undetectable with current technology

• Quanterix’s Single Molecule Array (SiMoA™) assays are routinely at least 1000-fold more sensitive than comparable gold standard ELISA assays, allowing the detection of previously undetectable proteins

Lead Inventor• David Walt, Tufts University

Milestones• Developed AccuPSA™ test: 1700-fold more sensitive than current diagnostic test for recurrence of prostate cancer after prostate surgery

• Conducting a clinical study to validate AccuPSA™ test

• Conducting clinical studies in neurological disease, including project with Novartis

What’s Next• Partner with a major life science company to sell a Quanterix single molecule instrument for researchers’ uses

• Develop an FDA-approved diagnostic test platform for specialized tests in the neurological, cardiovascular, infectious disease, and autoimmune disease areas

Funding• Series A venture funding from ARCH Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, and Flagship Ventures

• Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) grant from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Our objective is to democratize single molecule diagnostics for all research and clinical laboratories. Quanterix technology will transform the immunodiagnostics market, which today generates $11B in sales. –David Okrongly, President and CEO, Quanterix Corporation

Quanterix CorporationTransforming Diagnostics—Saving Liveswww.quanterix.com

Therapy for Life-Threatening Food PoisoningHemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a food-acquired and waterborne disease that causes severe illness and sometimes death, particu-larly in young and elderly populations. Despite improvements in pediatric intensive care, for example, the mortality rate from HUS remains at 3 to 5%. The laboratory of Saul Tzipori at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University has developed monoclonal antibodies to the E. coli O157:H7 strain, which is responsible for multiple out-breaks of HUS. Three U.S. patents have been issued. The licensee of the Tufts patents is hoping for fast-track progress to a clinical trial of its primary, fully humanized monoclonal antibody candidate.

Anticoagulant TherapyUsing a microinjection technique developed by Karl Ebert, formerly of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts Uni-versity, a local biotechnology company has won FDA approval for production of Atryn, an anticoagulant purified from the milk of geneti-cally engineered goats. Atryn, the first such FDA-approved drug, is prescribed for patients with a specific hereditary condition who are undergoing surgery.

Animal Health VaccineResearch from the laboratory of Honorine Ward of Tufts Medical Center has led to the discovery of an antigen for preventing crypto-sporidiosis, an emerging food and waterborne parasitic infection that can pass from animals to humans and cause life-threatening disease in immunocompromised patients. The antigen, licensed to a global pharmaceutical company, will be incorporated into an animal vaccine. The company also hopes to develop a human vaccine. The vaccine would serve an unmet need in public health, especially as there is currently no specific treatment for cryptospo-ridiosis in immunocompromised patients.

Biological Therapy for Autoimmune DiseaseEarly work on the immune system protein interleukin-1beta—by Sheldon Wolff and Charles Dinarello of Tufts as well as two colleagues from nearby institutions—has led to an FDA-approved drug for a cluster of autoimmune diseases. The drug, Ilaris, was approved in 2009 and is marketed by a global pharmaceutical company. Patients with rare but life-threatening autoimmune disease receive sustainable benefit from Ilaris.

Technology Licensing Snapshots


Device for Stroke DetectionTufts Medical Center completed a license with an entrepreneur for a portable device for detecting ischemic stroke. The hope is to identify an opportunity for rapid adminis-tration of life-saving medication, even in the field. A proof-of-concept trial of the device’s efficacy has been completed at Tufts Medical Center. Next steps would include a full-scale clinical trial at other medical centers.

Safety Suturing DeviceCapitalizing on matching funds provided by M2D2, a Massachusetts program promoting medical device development, Tufts Medical Center completed an exclusive license agree-ment with a start-up to commercialize a safety suturing device. This innovative device was designed by a medical resident to prevent needle sticks, which can spread infection among healthcare providers and add signifi-cantly to hospital expenses.

Regenerative BandagesAn ophthalmics start-up has obtained a li-cense from Tufts University to commercialize optical silk-based regenerative bandages for corneal injuries and inlays/onlays for treat-ing presbyopia. Based on research led by engineering faculty members David Kaplan and Fiorenzo Omenetto, these “silk contact lenses” are being developed to capitalize on the outstanding optical clarity, versatility, and biocompatibility of the purified silk protein.

Treatment for ObesityIn an arrangement that pooled intellectual property from Tufts University, two other universities, and a contract research compa-ny, a Cambridge biotechnology company has licensed a treatment for obesity and related disorders. The licensed compounds, involving work by Louis Shuster of Tufts University School of Medicine, showed a significant reduction in food intake in animal models. The company is working toward a best-in-class molecule for the safe and effective treatment of obesity.


Offi

ce fo

r Tec

hnol

ogy

Lice

nsin

g an

d In

dust

ry C

olla

bora

tion

136

Harri

son

Aven

ue, 7

5K-9

50

Bost

on, M

A 02

111

tech

tran

sfer

.tufts

.edu

non

prof

it o

rg.

u.s. p

osta

ge

paid

bost

on, m

a pe

rmit

no.

1161

8162

11

Phot

os: A

lons

o N

icho

ls/T

ufts

Pho

togr

aphy

office vice provost starting up - tufts tech...

Documents