Creighton University

Creighton IRM helps bring brilliant research discoveries to the marketplace. For industry and business, our technology transfer services include:

• Providing non-confidential information about Creighton University's intellectual property
• Negotiating confidentiality and material transfer agreements for projects
• Negotiating licensing agreements that are mutually satisfactory for all parties involved

Procedures

Those interested in licensing Creighton technology(ies) should contact Intellectual Resource Management at Creighton.

1. The initial licensing discussions between IRM and an interested business typically involve the following:
   1. Licensee's objectives, needs and constraints
   2. Creighton's objectives, needs, and constraints:
      1. Commercial development
      2. Constraints associated with federally-funded intellectual property
      3. Share in financial return from our investment
      4. Management of potential conflict of interest
   3. High-level discussion regarding terms of the license:
      1. Field(s) of use
      2. Territory
      3. Exclusivity
      4. Duration
      5. Sublicensing
      6. Reimbursement of patent fees
      7. Royalties (royalty rate, minimum payments, etc.)
      8. Equity (if a start-up company)
      9. Diligence milestones (if appropriate)
2. Businesses may be required to sign Confidentiality Agreements and/or Material Transfer Agreements.
3. Successful licensing negotiations and discussions are concluded with the signing of a Licensing Agreement.

Available Technologies

The technology listed below is available for licensing. Industries/businesses interested in licensing opportunities should contact Desarae Mueller-Fichepain, IRM-TTO Director, at 402-280-3653.

NANOME^TM nanoparticulate delivery system and related NANOME^SM services for delivering taxanes and other drugs to subjects suffering from cancer.

BENEFITS

• Localized and targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics
• Reduced adverse side effects of chemotherapeutics
• Reduced toxicity of chemotherapeutics

DETAILED SUMMARY

Please contact us for formulations using our new  NANOME^TM nanoparticulate drug delivery system for a wide variety of drugs to overcome major obstacles like poor solubility, poor bioavailability and P-gp mediated efflux.  In addition, the NANOME^TM drug delivery system reduces adverse side effects and toxicity of chemotherapeutics. NANOME^SM services, which include research and development of drug delivery systems for taxanes and other cancer treatment drugs,  are available. 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STATUS

Patent applied for.

Some Applications of NANOME^TM

Method for suppression of ultraviolet light-induced skin pathologies

BENEFITS

• Demonstrates a novel and effective therapy for treating or preventing skin cancer
• Reduces skin cancer by more than 50 percent
• Can be applied in cancer cases involving poor prognosis and chemotherapy resistance
• Is most promising for patients with compromised immune systems, such as organ transplant recipients

DETAILED SUMMARY

Non-melanoma skin cancer, caused primarily by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, accounts for half of all cancer in the United States. The more than one million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer that occur in the United States each year are comprised of mainly basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, which cause significant morbidity in the general population.

The method of the present invention can be used to prevent or inhibit the etiology of UV-induced skin pathologies, such as sunburn, photoaging and skin cancer.

This invention involves the inhibition of the UV-induced activation of mouse HER2, a protein involved in the growth of cancer cells. Inhibiting the UV-induced activation of HER2 reduces skin tumorigenesis by more than 50 percent, by increasing S-phase arrest, a novel connection between the receptor and a DNA damage response checkpoint that has not been previously reported. HER2 is overexpressed in many human cancers associated with a poor prognosis and resistance to chemotherapy. This research demonstrates a novel and effective therapy for the treatment or prevention of skin cancer. This therapy is perhaps most promising for organ transplant patients with compromised immune systems who often develop aggressive skin cancers.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STATUS

Patent applied for.

 

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Collection Vial with Fluid Track

BENEFITS

• Easier collection of CSF during lumbar puncture procedures.
• More rapid collection of the necessary volume of CSF with decreased length of lumbar puncture procedures, especially in infant and neonatal patients.
• Decreased spillage and loss of CSF
• Potentially reduces need for subsequent lumbar puncture procedures.
• Device can be used in both adult and pediatric lumbar puncture trays.

DETAILED SUMMARY

Lumbar punctures, also known as spinal taps, are diagnostic procedures involving the removal of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the space around patient’s spinal cord. CSF is the fluid that protects your brain and spinal cord. A lumbar puncture is a procedure in which a needle is used to access the space around the spinal cord.  CSF moves through this needle and drips into a collection vial.  CSF is collected in order to diagnose meningitis and other serious infections, bleeding near the brain, certain cancers, and inflammatory conditions affecting the nervous system. Frequently, dehydration and low pressure cause the CSF to drip very slowly into the collection vial, often forming a “bead” or “bubble” at the end of the needle before dripping into the vial. Such bubbles further slow down the CSF collection process, temporarily acting like a dam before the bubble eventually bursts, allowing the fluid to flow. Attempts to “burst” the bubble often result in spillage and loss of CSF during the procedure.

The device is equipped with a filament that breaks the CSF bubble’s surface tension and guides the fluid directly from the needle into the collection vial.

The device offers greater ease of use, especially with neonatal patients and children under three months of age, an age group which constitutes a significant percentage of those receiving the lumbar puncture procedure. In addition, the flexible filament allows for easy capping of the collection vial for storage of the fluid. 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STATUS

The invention is patent pending in a U.S. application.

 

Intellectual Property Management Consulting

IRM provides intellectual property management services to businesses interested in licensing, developing, marketing and selling intellectual property originating at Creighton University or elsewhere. Following are the types of services we offer:

• Business plan development
• Patentability reviews
• Prior art searches
• Marketing consultation
• Market analysis

Industries/businesses interested in IRM's intellectual property management consulting services should contact Desarae Mueller-Fichepain, IRM-TTO Director, at 402-280-3653, or Darlene Golden, IRM-TTO Operations Specialist, at 402-280-3651.