At numerous events throughout the year, TTC’s Invention Development and Marketing Unit (IDMU) proactively engages companies, entrepreneurs, investors, and those biotech stakeholders wishing to commercialize technologies and spur economic development. Find out where IDMU will be this fall: TechTransfer Partnering & Outreach Events
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TTC’s Invention Development and Marketing Unit Announces Fall 2019 Event Partnering and Outreach Schedule
August 22, 2019
August 7, 2019
Advances involving NCI tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) immunotherapies were recently featured in Nature Biotechnology: "Pursuit of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte immunotherapy speeds up." Research involving TIL immunotherapy is not new, but recent breakthroughs in overcoming some of the challenges associated with it have made it a rapidly developing field. Subtitled: “Mounting evidence of efficacy in metastatic breast cancer and other epithelial tumors is driving clinical and commercial investment in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes,” the article references the clinical research of Steven Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D. chief of the NCI Surgery Branch, Center Cancer Research (CCR), and Stephanie Goff, M.D., an associate research physician with the NCI Surgery Branch. The NCI Technology Transfer Center facilitates technology transfer activities for NCI TIL research and discoveries.
"Three Examples That Show Why NCI is a Goldmine of Blockbuster Technologies for Commercialization" featured in BioBuzz
May 28, 2019
Recent NCI collaborations with industry are highlighted in a May 2019 feature article by BioBuzz entitled: "Three Examples That Show Why NCI is a Goldmine of Blockbuster Technologies for Commercialization." The article also highlights the 2019 Technology Showcase on June 12 as an opportunity to learn how to collaborate and license technologies from the NCI and the the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research. Learn more about the event, including how to register, at: 2019 Technology Showcase.
“Matching Researchers with Industry to Help Get NIH Inventions to Patients” featured in The NIH Catalyst
May 17, 2019
Three new cancer therapies recently approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) – avelumab (BAVENCIO®), axicabtagene ciloleucel (YESCARTA®) and moxetumomab pasudotox (LUMOXITI™) – are the result of significant efforts by researchers from NCI’s Center for Cancer Research. Read more about these examples of technology transfer at work in the May - June 2019 issue of The NIH Catalyst, a publication about NIH Intramural Research.
April 11, 2019
“NCI and Industry: Moving Innovations from the Lab to Patients” was the feature article in March 2019 edition of MedNous, a European biomedical publication.
Illustrated by success stories, the article highlights the potential for NCI discoveries to make a positive impact for the patient. It also details how partnerships between the NCI Labs, TTC, and industry partners accelerate the commercialization process to bring NCI technologies from the lab to the market. MedNous, a publication of Evernow Publishing Ltd., is available via print and online. Read: "NCI and Industry" from MedNous
March 13, 2019
NCI TTC and the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) will host the 2019 Technology Showcase on June 12. The third annual event will highlight technologies being developed at the NCI and FNLCR to encourage startup company formation, technology licensing and collaborations. Richard Bendis, President and CEO of BioHealth Innovation, a Maryland public-private partnership focused on accelerating the growth of commercially relevant science, will provide the keynote address. The half-day event will take place at the Advanced Research and Development Facility in Frederick, Maryland. Learn more @ 2019 Technology Showcase.
NCI Honored with 2018 “Educational Institution and Federal Laboratory Partnership Award” by FLC Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR)
December 12, 2018
Advances in the rapidly growing field of immunotherapy are being realized as evidenced by several ground-breaking, new therapies brought to market in the last year. A new type of fellowship program conceived by the NCI - the NCI Immunotherapy Fellowship Program - was designed to help train the next-generation of physicians to meet the demands of this quickly expanding field. At its 2018 annual meeting, the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) MAR presented NCI with its “Educational Institution and Federal Laboratory Partnership Award” for “NCI Immunotherapy Co-sponsored by Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.”
James Gulley, M.D., Ph.D. of the NCI Center for Cancer Research (CCR), recognized the need to train the next generation of physicians to develop and conduct immunotherapy clinical trials. For today’s up-and-coming oncologists, the basics of immunotherapy taught to them in medical schools does not provide the in-depth preparation needed to meet the demanding and rapid advancements of this high-technology field; however, the breadth and depth of opportunities for training in clinical immunotherapy at the NCI CCR are unsurpassed. One of the major issues in making this immunotherapy fellowship a reality concerned finding funds to support the fellowship. Though the novel use of the CRADA mechanism, a partnership with the Society of Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC), and support by an existing CRADA partner, NCI created a new fellowship program to meet an unmet training need. To date, two fellows have successfully completed the NCI Immunotherapy Fellowship, and both transitioned into roles where they can make a positive impact in the field of cancer immunotherapy.
Congratulations to the following award winners:
NCI Scientific Team:
Drs. James Gulley, Marijo Bilusic, Ravi Madan, and Christian Hinrichs
NCI TTC and NCI Ethics:
Drs. Michael Pollack, Laura Henmueller, Kathleen Carroll and Mr. Eric Hale
SITC:
Dr. Howard Kaufman
December 12, 2018
TTC's Sidra Ahsan, Ph.D., received the FLC MAR 2018 "Rookie of the Year Award," presented at the FLC MAR regional meeting. This FLC award recognizes the efforts of an FLC laboratory technology transfer (TT) professional who has demonstrated “outstanding work in the field of technology transfer in a manner significantly over and above what was called for in the normal course of their work during the past year.” The nominee must be new to technology transfer, with three years (or less) experience in a TT position.
Notable Technology Transfer Contributions
In less than two years with TTC, Sidra Ahsan, Ph.D., is making a significant, positive impact on behalf of NCI. Dr. Ahsan, a technology transfer manager and TTC fellow, has diligently endeavored to increase her knowledge and application of technology transfer. The volume and scope of projects that she has tackled in her short tenure has helped position NCI to meet its mission today and in the future. Dr. Ahsan has taken on a wide-range of projects involving both extramural partnerships and intramural labs and managed several clinical trial agreements that helped advance testing of important, new therapies. Dr. Ahsan supports investigators from NCI’s Center for Cancer Research (CCR) and the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP). In the last year, Dr. Ahsan negotiated several CRADAs, Clinical Trial Agreements, and amendments for CCR and DCP. These agreements made possible the initiation of four important clinical trials examining: therapies for breast cancer, a rare brain cancer, colon cancer prevention, and ovarian cancer development and progression.
Dr. Ahsan also contributed to several TTC working groups and passed the USPTO registration exam to become a registered patent agent in 2018. “I believe that Sidra’s notable accomplishments reflect the high-level of TT work taking place in our office every day,” commented TTC Director Dr. Thomas Stackhouse. Congratulations to Sidra on a well-deserved accomplishment, and thanks to those in TTC who have mentored her and supported her success.
September 20, 2018
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved moxetumomab pasudotox (Lumoxiti), a bacterial toxin–based drug, for the treatment of some patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL). Technology Transfer played an important role in facilitating the development path of moxetumomab, which was originally discovered by Ira Pastan, M.D., and colleagues in NCI’s Center for Cancer Research (CCR). NCI Technology Transfer facilitated the licensing of the technology to a commercial partner to further develop it into a product, as well as the collaborative agreements necessary to support NCI-investigator-lead clinical trials. FDA approval of moxetumomab is an excellent example of Technology Transfer at work. To learn more about this innovative technology advancement for the treatment of HCL, a rare cancer, see:
Moxetumomab Approved by FDA for Hairy Cell Leukemia
Toxin-Based Drug Moxetumomab Pasudotox May Be New Option for Rare Leukemia
September 18, 2018
NCI TTC's new start-up license program makes it easier and more financially attractive for start-ups to license a technology from NCI or any of the ICs supported by the TTC Service Center. Launched in October 2017 in response to feedback from companies, "NCI Startup 2.0" updates and enhances previous licensing options for start-up companies.
The program offers a term-limited, exclusive Start-up Evaluation Option License to start-up companies developing early-stage vaccine, therapeutic, device, and diagnostic technologies. To learn more about the program – including the criteria that companies need to meet to qualify, the license features, and the process for startups to obtain a license, please see Tech Transfer Start-up Licenses.
Launching the updated start-up licensing program was the result of months of work by two separate project teams. The teams were comprised of a variety of TTC staff who considered and analyzed the original program that was established by the Office of Technology Transfer. The goal was to develop an enhanced program that met the unique needs of a start-up company versus the licensing options available to larger companies and organizations.
“From some very diligent work and analysis of the original program, our two project teams were able to identify key issues that our original start-up licensees found problematic,” commented TTC Associate Director Richard Rodriguez. “One key factor was the original term of the start-up option license, which was 12 months. This was clearly insufficient time for our licensees to raise capital or concurrently conduct pre-clinical experiments. The new program provides 24 months, which we believe will better assist our licensees in meeting their obligations. Other changes will make it easier for our start-up licensees to bring a product to the market.”