UK Ranks 1st in Startup Companies Among Benchmarks

More startup companies are formed by University of Kentucky faculty and staff entrepreneurs than at any of UK’s 19 benchmark institutions per $10 million in annual research expenditures according to a recently released report by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) for 2007. UK’s benchmark institutions include the University of Wisconsin and the universities of Maryland, Michigan, Illinois and Florida.

AUTM also reported that UK climbed from 39th in 2005 to 7th in 2007 among all public and private universities for developing new technology-based businesses. In the area of licensing, UK ranked 13th in licensing income compared to its benchmarks. During last fiscal year, UK recorded $1.7 million in gross licensing revenue and a total of 151 licenses.

“Our commercialization rankings and stats give us the opportunity to show how UK research translates to new business opportunities for Kentucky,” said Len Heller, UK vice president for Commercialization & Economic Development. read more

Lexmark and UK Begin New Chapter in R&D Partnership

Lexmark officials and UK, led by the Office for Commercialization & Economic Development and the Office for Sponsored Projects Administration, have forged a relationship to work over the long term to create opportunities at UK for new projects in engineering and marketing. Lexmark and UK have been working together on research project since 1988.

“We are committed to our role of partnering with business and industry as they compete in the global marketplace,” said UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. “Lexmark has been an important partner with UK for quite some time and we are pleased that our relationship continues to grow.”

“We are excited about the possibilities that will result from this partnership,” said Deb MacKay, Lexmark Vice President, Research & Development. “We anticipate that the collaboration will bring about the innovation that comes with fresh perspective, will accelerate both learning and delivery to the marketplace, and will lead to advancements in technologies that are adjacent to our technology portfolio. Linking these two research entities will benefit Lexmark, UK and the Commonwealth.” read more

Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship Opens in ASTeCC

The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship, the nexus for business development at UK, has opened a new office in UK’s main campus incubator, the Advanced Science & Technology Commercialization Center, better known as ASTeCC.

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. recently hosted alumnus Douglas J. Von Allmen and his wife, Linda, during a visit to campus, which included a presentation of the Center’s new programs, including the Clinician Innovation Program and Therix Medical, the Bench to Business faculty networking events and the UK Alumni Expert Network. read more

New Clean Coal Technology Company Relocates to Lexington

3H Company, an early-stage business focusing on clean coal technology, has relocated to the UK ASTeCC campus incubator from Hampton, Va. Drawn to Kentucky because of the state SBIR/STTR matching funds program, Liang Hu, founder of 3H, chose Lexington in part because of potential partnerships with UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research.

With guidance from the Bluegrass Business Development Partnership (BBDP), a collaboration between Commerce Lexington, the University of Kentucky and the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government, 3H is working to partner with industry to test the company’s technology in energy efficient carbon sequestration, or the capture and storage of CO2 deep within the earth. In addition, 3H received NSF Phase I funding and Kentucky SBIR matching funds. read more

Clinician Innovation Day Launches Commercialization Initiative

University of Kentucky HealthCare clinicians can now turn their medical device and diagnostic ideas into products thanks to a new commercialization initiative that was unveiled Aug. 4 during the 1st Annual Clinician Innovation Day. More than 140 UK clinicians, engineering faculty, Bluegrass Angels, and others attended the event.

The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship in the Office for Commercialization & Economic Development partnered with UK cardiologist Dr. John Gurley to develop the clinician innovation initiative and Therix Medical. The new commercialization program will reach a large untapped audience. At the UK Chandler Hospital alone there are more than 550 clinical faculty, 500 interns/residents/fellows, 425 medical students and several hundred nurses and technicians, each representing a unique commercialization opportunity. read more

UK’s New Clinician Innovation Company Hires CEO

The board of Therix Medical has hired Lexington native Jim Clifton, a 23-year veteran in new business development, to lead the company that will turn UK clinician’s ideas into useful diagnostics and devices to improve patient care. One of Clifton’s first positions after receiving his MBA was with DataBeam Corporation, founded by Dr. Todd in 1983 and later sold to Lotus, an IBM subsidiary. UK’s Kentucky Technology Inc. and the Bluegrass Angels and Bluegrass Angel Venture Fund are investing in Therix. read more

Coldstream Named Major Satellite Parking Site for 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games

Coldstream Research Campus will serve as the primary satellite park and ride location in 2010 for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, Sept. 25 – Oct. 10. Coldstream, located five miles from the site of the Games at the Kentucky Horse Park, can hold 8,400 vehicles. Direct shuttle service to the Kentucky Horse Park will be provided. read more

UK Alumni Expert Network Selected as Finalist in National Competition

The UK Alumni Expert Network, which connects tens of thousands of Kentucky small businesses with alumni who have expertise in hundreds of areas from business operations to new product development, is a finalist in the University Economic Development Association’s (UEDA) 2009 Awards of Excellence competition. This is the first time the University of Kentucky has been recognized by the UEDA. read more

Equine Diagnostic Lab Reopens With A Little Help From Their Friends

The local equine community made its voice heard when IDEXX Laboratories announced plans to close its Lexington-based office, Equine Biodiagnostics Inc. (EBI), and consolidate operations with their lab in California.

“Much of the equine community had come to depend on our specialty disease testing services. IDEXX Lab’s plan to move our operation to California would mean longer waits for test results, which could be devastating, if not fatal, to a sick horse,” said Jennifer Morrow, UK microbiology graduate and 12-year EBI employee. “As the outcry from our customers grew, we began to see an opportunity.”

This past winter, Morrow and co-worker Amy Graves, UK animal science graduate, took the leap into entrepreneurship and reopened the lab as Equine Diagnostic Solutions LLC (EDS). “Never in our wildest dreams had we imagined becoming business owners,” said Graves. read more

Five new companies move to Coldstream Research Campus

Affinity Photoprobes manufactures and distributes photoprobes that are used in the identification of enzymes and proteins and for the production of antibodies.

American Board of Family Medicine, a nonprofit organization, promotes excellence in medical care through educational and scientific initiatives and offering certification opportunities.

Equine Diagnostic Solutions LLC, formerly Equine Biodiagnostics Inc., creates tests for significant diseases such as strangles, EPM, equine influenza and salmonellosis. (see Equine Diagnostic Lab Reopens a Little Help From Their Friends)

Ionx is an R&D company that is creating new technologies for health and wellness, including the soon-to-be-released iDOT patch.

MedTech College offers medical training including allied health and nursing programs and short-term courses.

Bluegrass Angel Venture Fund update

Editor’s note: UK is a BGA fund investor through Kentucky Technology Inc. (KTI). UK’s economic development team of Len Heller, Dean Harvey and Pat Powell advise and assist in early-stage funding with angel investors and venture capital funds. Heller directs investment in technology based businesses as President and CEO of KTI.

Global Shelter Systems (GSS) was acquired by Hesco, a market leader in providing force protection to the military. GSS, located in Northern Kentucky, produces BlastBloc®, a blast mitigating and bullet-stopping barrier system that earned the U.S. Department of State’s highest level certification. The Bluegrass Angels were instrumental in managing the success of the GSS investment, producing a return on investment in less than two years. This was the second largest investment for the BGA Fund and Dean Harvey helped put together the original term sheet.

IF Technologies, providing online health care services information and pricing to consumers, opened in Lexington. A little more than a year after the company presented at the Lexington Venture Club, it has launched HealtheReports, the online service. Dean Harvey, Pat Powell and Gordon Garrett, with the Kentucky Small Business Development Center in the Office for Commercialization & Economic Development, worked with IF Technologies providing business development and investor presentation development services.

NeurOp, an Atlanta-based pharma company, continues a pain and nerve treatment research collaboration project with the University of Kentucky Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Center and Emory University.

New Licenses

UK held 151 licenses and negociated 19 new licenses in FY 2009. The following UK company recently received a license:

iGlyko Inc., founded by UK Department of Chemistry researcher Sylvia Daunert, is developing a glucose recognition polypeptide (GRP) that will be used in the development of a hospital based, continuous blood glucose monitoring system.

New Patents

UK was issued 21 patents in FY 2009. The following UK inventors have recently received patents:

Jayakrishna Ambati / Medicine
Deane Falcone and John Littleton / Agriculture
Robert Lodder / Pharmacy
Bruce Walcott, James Lumpp, Aravind Balasubramanian, Osamah Rawashdeh and John Main / Engineering
Daniel Wermeling / Pharmacy
Jerold Woodward / Medicine