Bringing #Startups and #Entrepreneurs Together

COMMERCIALIZATION CONNECT

AUGUST 2018

BRINGING #STARTUPS AND #ENTREPRENEURS TOGETHER

UK OTC led a partnership between 13 other Southeastern Conference universities and 11 other Midwest universities, and recently announced the launch of the Southeast Executives-on-Roster (Southeast XOR) and Midwest Executives-on-Roster (Midwest XOR). The purpose of the collaboration is to match experienced entrepreneurs vetted by these universities with the executive needs of companies spinning out of these universities.

Matching appropriate executive talent with the management needs of startup companies is extremely important and fundamental to the success of these companies. The XOR programs provide companies with an important tool to recruit necessary talent. With appropriate management talent, these startups are better able to achieve their commercialization objectives, including raising capital.

UK OTC is actively seeking interest from additional startups and entrepreneurs that would like to utilize this online platform.

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COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITIES' LEADERSHIP GATHER TO DISCUSS COMMERCIALIZATION

UK OTC Director Ian McClure, in collaboration with UofL and KY Cabinet for Economic Development, helped organize and co-hosted the state's first Commonwealth Commercialization Summit. The Summit consisted of a roundtable conversation attended by Kentucky's public institution leadership to discuss partnership and the opportunity to make Kentucky a regional commercialization leader with universities as the innovation engine.

Five public university presidents and other administration leaders joined UK's President Capilouto, UK OTC and representatives from the Cabinet for Economic Development at the Kentucky History Center in Frankfort to share ideas and insights from their campuses and communities that could help advance this opportunity.

NEW OTC EVENTS

The UKWIN conference provides an opportunity for UK women to learn about the commercialization process from women who have gone through the process and to network with one another. Our featured speaker will be Linda Dwoskin, endowed professor in pharmaceutical education and the associate dean for research in the College of Pharmacy. Linda has completed 20 patents over her career. Panelists include Elaine Ramesh, a licensed patent attorney and partner at Flener IP & Business Law, Nicole Thorne Jenkins, executive associate dean for administration, faculty and research and a Bluegrass Angel, and Stephanie Jenkins, founder of Kangaroo Keeper.

The inaugural UK Startup Network Launch and Reception is an event for members of UK Startups to come together to network and share experiences. Panelists include Seth DeBolt with Redleaf Biologics and James Landon with Powertech Water.

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OTC STAFF UPDATES

Ian McClure, OTC director, will be presenting on a panel at the Licensing Executives Society (LES) Annual Meeting in October. The topic is Maximizing IP Value and Minimizing IP Risk in M&A Transactions . Ian will discuss his recent publication, Effectively Discharging Fiduciary Duties in IP-Rich M&A Transactions , which was published in the Berkeley Business Law Journal 2017. The topic is taught as a component of his syllabus in the UK law and MBA course he teaches titled Law & Business of IP Management.

Taunya Phillips, associate director of Strategic Alliances, will be participating in a panel at AUTM's The Conversation: A Leadership Forum in September. The topic is Engaging Our Alumni and Extended Family. She will be joined by Sam Pai, Stanford Alumni Consulting Team, and Tim Schigel, Refinery Ventures LLC.

OTC Staff

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XOR PLATFORM FEATURED COMPANY

Avast Therapeutics has developed a novel targeted therapy for neurodegenerative diseases called DSNP-11. Results to date are encouraging with no signs of severe toxicity or adverse event concerns. When asked what the inspiration was, Luke Bradley said "there is no cure for nerodegenerative diseases, only symptomatic treatments. We wanted to change the way these diseases are treated by targeting the disease itself. Our platform technology has the potential for widespread use and application."

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DID YOU KNOW?

The UKAccel program offers a professional development and experiential learning opportunity to UK researchers interested in turning their IP into a potential startup.