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Surgery
ID# UMC-05
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Technology Ubiquitin for the Treatment of Inflammation in Surgery and in Trauma
Scientific Relevance Extracellular ubiquitin, when released after trauma, has anti-inflammatory actions.  When administered to an animal model for endotoxic shock, ubiquitin was found to reduce almost all classical symptoms of inflammation.  When ubiquitin was given to animals with severe brain injuries, pressure within the skull was reduced significantly, and lung malfunction was prevented.
Commercial Opportunity Each year in the United States, at least 1.4 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Of these people, about 50,000 die, and an estimated 80,000 to 90,000 people with TBI experience permanent disability from their injury.  Direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity due to TBI totaled an estimated $60 billion in the U.S. in 2000.
Competitive Advantage Ubiquitin does not produce any detectable, adverse side effects, and is extremely effective in reducing inflammation, regardless of the cause.
Inventors Matthias Majetschak and Kenneth Proctor
ID# UMD-20
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Technology Microparticles as a Treatment Method for Bleeding Disorders
Scientific Relevance Microparticles (MP) derived from blood can be administered to a patient to help stop bleeding and decrease blood clotting time.  This would be important in cases involving internal bleeding, trauma, surgery, and chemotherapy, where the patient’s own blood prior to treatment could be banked for later use.
Commercial Opportunity This technology addresses a critical need because of the endless need, and short supply, of blood and its products.  The market for a platelet substitute product is significant.  It is estimated that over 10,000,000 units of platelets were transfused in the United States last year at an average cost of $50 per unit, which equates to an a market potential of $500 million annually.
Competitive Advantage At present, no synthetic microparticles or blood cells have emerged as being clinically useful.  In addition, since the patient’s own blood can be used, the risk of acquiring infectious agents from an external blood supply is decreased substantially.
Inventors Wenche Jy, Joaquin Jimenez, Lawrence Horstman, Yeon Ahn, and Eugene Ahn
ID# CC004
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Technology A Novel Cell/Tissue Culture System to Enhance Cell Proliferation & Induce Cell Differentiation
Scientific Revelance Conventional cell and tissue culture typically involves cells resting atop (or attaching to) a gas-impermeable plastic bottom, in a given volume of specific medium to maintain viability and function. For immortalized cell lines or cells that are not exquisitely dependent on oxygen, this means of culture is sufficient and results in acceptable growth and differentiation for experimental needs. However, these conditions are sub-optimal for tissues with high metabolic requirements. Researchers at the University of Miami have designed a novel culture system whereby three dimensional tissues can receive oxygen both from the top (after diffusion through medium) and the bottom (through direct diffusion across a perfluorohydrocarbon-silicon membrane), thereby surrounding the cells/tissue with oxygen and delivering it in a more physiological fashion.
Commercial Opportunity The Petri dish market is over two billion dollars a year. This novel system can be used to promote both growth and differentiation of stem/progenitor cells where oxygen becomes limiting as is invariably the case in conventional culture systems. Such application is of particular interest for cell types known for their high in-vivo oxygen demands. The premise behind this approach is that, unless culture systems meet the physiological requirements of such cells, their in vitro differentiation from stem cells will be severely impaired. Among the tissues with a high metabolic rate whose differentiation may benefit from our invention are: pancreatic islet cells, liver, kidney, cardiac tissue, brain cells and lung epithelium, to name a few. Additionally, this device could also be used to allow for more physiological culture at lower oxygen levels, where, for example immortalized lines are known to maintain their proliferative ability. In a conventional plastic dish, low oxygen cultures will result in far lower core tissue oxygen levels and can generate cell apoptosis and death. In the system described above, as the tissue is “sandwiched” by oxygen, diffusion limitations are ameliorated and thereby, steep gradients do not occur across the cultured tissues.
Competitve Advantage
  • Provides a more physiological mode of oxygen delivery, preventing hypoxia even in thick cellular aggregates.
  • Promotes cell viability and function
  • Enhances differentiation in stem cell systems where oxygen has been proven to act directly as a cell specification agent.
Inventors Drs. Christopher A. Fraker, Juan Dominguez-Bendala, Camillo Ricordi & Luca Inverardi.
ID# CC002
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Technology Novel Device for Cell Therapy
Scientific Revelance Transplantation of pancreatic Langerhans islets into subcutaneous, neovascularized devices is one of the possibilities currently explored as part of a search for a cure of diabetes as such transplantations could normalize metabolic control in a way that has been virtually impossible to achieve with exogenous insulin. Syngeneic islets transplanted into a subcutaneous, neovascularized device have been recently shown to restore euglycemia and sustain function long-term in a rat model.
Commercial Opportunity Diabetes is an increasing worldwide problem, and the need for diabetes-focused drug discovery is well underlined by the fact that whereas mortality rates for heart attacks, breast cancer, and stroke have significantly improved in the US since the 1980s due to the introduction of new drugs and therapeutic methods, they increased for diabetes. The incidence of Type 1 Diabetes has also increased while the age of onset has decreased by 3–5 years over the past decade for yet unknown reasons.
Competitve Advantage The novel approach requires much smaller doses than a traditional
systemic immunosuppression since therapeutically active concentration levels have to be maintained only within the device (by local delivery). Therefore, the serious toxic side effects and the susceptibility for opportunistic infections, the main problems associated with systemic therapies, should be avoidable even if long-time treatment is needed to provide protection against rejection and maintain function.
Inventors Dr. Camillo Ricordi
ID# CC003
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Technology Novel Small Molecules for Promoting Nerve Regeneration
Scientific Revelance

Unlike most other tissues which have the ability to heal themselves after injury, damaged axons in the central nerve system are unable to regenerate. There are no existing therapies to promote CNS axon regeneration in humans. Identification of novel small molecules that promote nerve growth and nerve regeneration could provide compounds that can be manipulated to yield drugs useful in treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases.
Commercial Opportunity Health care costs for CNS patients are staggering. For instance, the patient costs are estimated at $13 billion annually for SCI patients in the U.S alone. Concerns about the specificity and efficacy of agents reported in the literature, researchers at the University of Miami and New York University have synthesized a novel family of small molecules that are potent and selective in promoting axon regeneration.
Competitve Advantage
  • Potent and Selective
  • Novel mechanisms that could lead to new therapy strategies
Inventors Drs. John Bixby, Vance Lemmon, Lynn Usher (UM), Young-Tae Chang, Jae-Wook Lee, and Jaeki Min (NYU).
 

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