As reported in our year in review edition of UKEconDevNews, University of Kentucky economic development ended our first full year on a positive note, experiencing significant growth in new businesses and investment in new businesses. In spite of a decline in national venture capital investment dollars and volume, venture funding for UK-affiliated companies, including mergers and acquisitions, hit a record $55 million last year.
We saw new faculty entrepreneurs come forward with innovative ideas, developed new R&D partnerships with industry, created a regional investors network, began work on a new business model for licensing, and secured $6.5 million for redundant power at Coldstream Research Campus. All indicators point to more success for Coldstream and our technology commercialization and business development activities in the coming year. Our headline story on Therix Medical is another example of innovative initiatives which contribute to economic development for Kentucky.

Len Heller
UKCED Vice President
KTI CEO & President

Therix Medical: Bringing UK Clinicians' Ideas to Market

Dr. John Gurley has ideas and he is not alone.

"Every day clinicians have ideas about how to help patients and say, 'Someone ought to make a tool like this to fix this problem,'" says Gurley, a cardiologist at the University of Kentucky. "But no one is standing beside them listening. No one is saying, 'You're right that's a great idea! We are going to help you make that tool.'"

Gurley took matters into his own hands and met with Len Heller, UK's vice president for Commercialization & Economic Development, with the idea for Therix-a privately funded business development initiative that would bring clinicians' ideas to market. read more

Venture Funding Totals $55 Million for UK Companies

UK-affiliated companies attracted a record $55 million in venture funding last year, including angel and venture capital investments and mergers and acquisitions, according to the Lexington Venture Club's annual survey of early stage companies in the Bluegrass.

"We have found top-notch companies in the Lexington area, along with a lively entrepreneurial spirit and a supportive university and state government," says Bill Sutter with Hopewell Ventures, a $110 million Chicago-based venture capital fund. Sutter was a keynote speaker at the Lexington Venture Club's Celebrating Entrepreneurs event where the survey results were released. read more

UK Alumni Consult With Kentucky Small Businesses

University of Kentucky alumni experts are now only a click away for Kentucky small business employers and entrepreneurs who have a business or technical question. The UK Alumni Expert Network connects tens of thousands of Kentucky small businesses with alumni who have expertise in hundreds of areas from business operations to new product development. The UK Alumni Expert Network is the first expert network for economic development offered by a university and its alumni association. read more

Pat Powell Makes Technology Startups His Business

Pat Powell has joined the UKCED Business Development team as director of the Lexington Innovation and Commercialization Center, or ICC. The Lexington ICC is part of a statewide network focused on helping entrepreneurs build successful technology businesses. "Most entrepreneurs have a technical background and need help marketing their ideas to make a profit and fund their technology with risk capital," he says.

As part of the Bluegrass Business Development Partnership, Powell focuses on early stage business projects from both the Lexington community and the UK campus, assisting entrepreneurs who are working through technology issues, high growth business planning, and fund raising. read more

KSBDC Assists Small Businesses During Economic Downturn

The struggling economy is impacting Kentucky small businesses, which according to the U.S. Small Business Administration represent 97 percent of the Commonwealth's employers. Businesses must have their operational methods and financial controls in place to survive.

In response to current economic conditions, the Kentucky Small Business Development Center (KSBDC), a network of 17 service centers located throughout the state, has added new transformative consulting services to assist distressed businesses. One of the first clients to utilize KSBDC's new transformative consulting services is Knight-ED LLC. read more

AllTranz "Graduates" from ASTeCC Campus Incubator

AllTranz Inc. has moved from its incubator lab space at UK in the Advanced Science and Technology Commercialization Center to a new 3,400 sq. ft. lab in Lexington. Founded by UK College of Pharmacy faculty researcher Audra Stinchcomb, AllTranz is ready to begin human clinical trials on a next generation osteoarthritis pain management product transdermally delivered through a gel. read more

Laura's Lean Beef Earns Good Housekeeping Seal

The entire product line of Laura's Lean Beef, headquartered at the Coldstream Research Campus, has earned the Good Housekeeping Seal, bringing the company increased prestige in the world of consumer goods. "Laura's Lean Beef offers fresh cuts of beef, frozen patties and three fully cooked entrees all produced from cattle that are humanely raised without growth hormones or antibiotics, and fed a diet of natural grasses and grains.

Laura Freeman, a seventh generation Kentucky cattle farmer, founded Laura's Lean Beef in 1985 at Mt. Folly Farm in Winchester, Ky. Freeman made $10,000 during her first year in operation. read more

Eric Grulke's Research Brings Nanoparticles Center Stage

What do Humvees and eyeglasses have in common? Nanomaterials and Eric Grulke.

Ten years ago UK chemical and materials engineering professor, Eric Grulke, found his place in nanotechnology while working on carbon nanotubes. Grulke, who came to UK with a background in polymer and polymer applications, is now one of UK's leading researchers in advanced carbon nanomaterials.

Grulke's work using nanotechnology is critical in preparing nanomaterials for the marketplace. "We are seeing this technology in everyday products like sunscreen and composites for sports equipment," says Grulke. "We are starting to scratch the surface in priority areas such as energy conversion, cleaner industrial processes and environmental applications." read more

Bucks for Brains technology commercialization stats: 39 UK faculty with endowed chairs or professorships from the Research Challenge Trust Fund, also known as "Bucks for Brains," were participating in technology commercialization activities in FY 2008. Of these, 35 have patents and applications for a total 165 patents and applications; 11 have technology that has been licensed, for a total 23 licenses; and 21 are in some stage of a start-up company.

Shannon Bass named ParaTechs CEO: ParaTechs president and co-founder and UK entomologist Bruce Webb has promoted Shannon Bass to Chief Executive Officer. Bass, who joined ParaTechs in October 2007 as Business Development VP, has 17 years of management experience in the biotech industry and extensive experience in cGMP quality control/quality assurance and manufacturing. Bass was a key player in the recent release of ParaTechs' newest product, the Non-Surgical Embryo Transfer Device, NSET™, for use in producing transgenic mice. ParaTech develops novel technologies using insect molecular biology and is located in UK's ASTeCC campus incubator.

UK participates at the 2009 BIO International Convention: The BIO International Convention "Heal, Fuel, Feed the World," May 18-22 at the Georgia World Congress Center, will include an exhibition with international country/state pavilions and product focus zones and 150 biotech sessions. An estimated 20,000 industry leaders and more than 30 nations will attend. UK faculty, biotech start-up companies and commercialization & economic development specialists participate.

Naprogenix invited to present at BIO: Naprogenix received one of only two dozen invitations from the editors at Genetic Engineering News to present their technology at BIO. Naprogenix is identifying active compounds in native plants using its proprietary Natural Products Genomics™ research which have potential value as neuroprotective drugs. CEO and co-founder John Littleton, College of Pharmacy, will present on how plants have evolved defensive metabolites that could be useful as drugs and how this information might be used to direct "evolution" of plant cells to improve drugs. Naprogenix has made advances in the platform biotechnology that is used for plant drug discovery.

Bluegrass Business Development Partnership update: The one-stop, economic development partnership between Commerce Lexington, the University of Kentucky and Lexington-Fayette County government served 721 clients during the first two quarters of FY 2009. Clients include entrepreneurs, technology businesses, small businesses, and minority-owned businesses. The BBDP also reported 135 jobs created/businesses started during this same six-month period. A total 3,232 people attended 49 workshops and training sessions.

KSBDC receives federal grant to assist veteran owned businesses: The Kentucky Small Business Development Center received a one-time $100,000 grant to promote business ownership to enlisted and retired members of the armed forces, their families and civilian business owners affected by deployments. Through the use of online technology and e-mail consulting, veterans will have access to KSBDC services prior, during and after deployment.

Gordon Garrett receives Technology Business Consultant certification: Garrett, associate state director and management consultant with the Kentucky Small Business Development Center, received certification from the Association of Small Business Development Centers. Garrett is one of only 22 SBDC consultants nationwide to complete the rigorous requirements to be a Technology Business Consultant.

UK iwin sponsors workplace practices series: The UK Institute for Workplace Innovation (iwin) begins the first series workshop "Leveraging workplace flexibility as a strategic management tool" on April 23. iwin educates businesses on the latest trends and benefits of implementing innovative workplace practices. Workshops and webinars schedule.

New UK Affiliated Companies

Synergetic Technologies moves into ASTeCC: Based on research by M.P. Menguc, Synergetic Technologies Inc. develops scientific instrumentation and software for accurate particle shape or agglomerate structure characterization of nano or sub-micron sized particles. In 2007 Synergetic licensed technology to Horiba Inc. in Japan, a major manufacturer of analytical instruments.

Transposagen Biopharmaceuticals relocates from Philadelphia, Pa.: ASTeCC is the new headquarters for Transposagen, a biotech company that provides unique animal models of human diseases for drug discovery and development. Transposagen collaborates with academic researchers including two UK researchers to phenotype/characterize 14 knockout rat lines. Transposagen produces more than 100 knockout rat lines, some with known disease associations including Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and a variety of cancers and cardio diseases.

HiberNetics researches new stroke treatment: HiberNetics is focusing on the clinical potential of opioid peptides originally derived from Amazonian frog skin as a treatment for stroke. Synthesized variants of the peptides may reduce cerebral and myocardial ischemic injury from stroke and enhance survival following severe hemorrhage. HiberNetics is based on the patented research of Peter Oeltgen, pathology and laboratory medicine.

New Licenses

UK has issued 12 new licenses to-date in FY 2009. The following UK-affiliated companies hold new licenses:

Merloc, UK chemistry associate professor David Atwood's company, is developing multidentate sulfur-containing ligands for binding heavy metals to use in waste management and environmental cleanup.

Scout Diagnostics is developing a new diagnostic tool using biomarkers to detect Alzheimer's disease prior to clinical diagnosis. Scout, located in the ASTeCC campus incubator, is based on research by Mark Lovell and Burt Lynn in the Department of Chemistry and the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

NuForm Materials, located in Sadieville, Ky., is developing methods to process coal combustion ash. Based on Tom Robl's work at the Center for Applied Energy Research, the company is also isolating specific fractions useful as polymer fillers, high performance pozzolans and metal matrix materials.

New Patents

The following UK principal investigators have received patents in FY 2009:

Joe Chappell /agriculture
Robert L. Houtz /agriculture
Chang-Guo Zhan /pharmacy
Laurence G. Hassebrook /engineering
David A. Atwood /chemistry
Robert Houtz /horticulture
Jurgen Rohr /pharmacy
Malaya Chatterjee /medicine

Conferences/Events

April 7 Kentucky Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference

April 23 UK Clinical and Translational Science Spring Conference

April 23 iwin series: Leveraging Workplace Flexibility as a Strategic Management Tool

April 29 iwin series: Using Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Leadership in Challenging Economic Times

May 18-21 BIO International Convention "Heal, Fuel, Feed the World"

June 24 iwin series: Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life

Commercialization & Economic Development

Research Means Business at the University of Kentucky. Len Heller and his team of professionals are your UK contacts for innovative commercialization and strategic partnership opportunities.

UKCED

ASTeCC/AgTeCC Campus Incubators

Business Development

Coldstream Research Campus

Intellectual Property

Investor Relations

Kentucky Small Business Development Center

Kentucky Technology Inc.

Lexington Innovation and Commercialization Center

Licensing

Statewide Economic Development Initiatives

Technology Commercialization