MADE is a manufacturing and e-commerce initiative by the University of Iowa whose mission is to encourage and facilitate the University of Iowa community to bring innovative, need-based products to market with the goal of enhancing economic development at the university as an extension of research and scholarship. For more information about MADE, visit iowaMADE.org
Two UI startups awarded Commercialization Enhancement (CE) grants by UIRF and UIVentures. CE grants are targeted at companies that are close to beta test or introduction of a product or service and need a small amount is capital to reach their goal. Often a potential industry partner or investor requires additional proof of market need before investing.
The UIVentures program at the University of Iowa has started a venture accelerator to move “non-FDA” startups based on university research to market more quickly. The accelerator brings together several internal and outside services to speed up market entry while increasing their chance for long-term success.
The University of Iowa’s Faculty Innovators Workshop is a four week course on commercializing innovative research and technology.
In a climate where funding from the NIH and other federal agencies is becoming more competitive, the program is designed to provide UI faculty, staff, and students with the opportunity to further develop marketable ideas. This has been shown to greatly increase the likelihood of receiving SBIR and other funding.
Tue, July 18, 2017
12:30 PM – 6:00 PM CDT
Hotel Vetro
Faculty innovators and the medical technology community often have common challenges and questions: "I want to learn from someone who has done it already", "I've heard it's difficult for startups to be successful if they're not on the coast", "Where can I find a business mentor/clinician/engineer?",and "How do I find funding?"
Silicon Prairie News just released its first “State of the Silicon Prairie Report” 2016. Iowa City ranked 6th amongst Midwest cities. However, Iowa City, led by startups out of the University of Iowa, had the second strongest innovation index in the study (only behind St. Louis). The city [and the University of Iowa ] produces significant SBIR grants and companies and has strong research based startup activity. According to our survey, the folks in Iowa City believe that their community is on the rise.
Dr. David Lubaroff, Professor Emeritus, Emeritus Professor of Urology has received a UIRF GAP award of $75,000 to assist in advancing his prime-boost prostate cancer treatment method toward commercialization. The GAP project will confirm pervious positive research results, and complete several other critical proof of concept experiments. Successful completion of this project will enable licensing the IP to Ohana Vaccines, an early stage UIVentures startup.
The University of Iowa is a NSF I-Corps site managed by UIVentures and JPEC. Our program offers workshops to introduce faculty, staff, (and now) graduate students and postdocs to research commercialization. Their product or service, is called their intellectual property or IP, and is typically based on research discoveries or inventions achieved in a UI lab.
Voxello, the producer of the noddle, a medical device that helps impaired patients communicate with nurses and caregivers, has received FDA clearance for the trademarked device, and recently closed a Series A funding round of more than $800,000.
Immortagen Inc., based in Iowa City, a cancer diagnostics company that develops cloud-based precision medicine using a proprietary software platform, received a $100,000 loan from the Demonstration Fund for proof of concept work and key personnel.
Market: Cancer Genome Sequencing
Immortagen seeks to personalize cancer treatment through private tumor banking, full spectrum genetic profiling, revolutionary Clinical Decision Support algorithms, and advanced mouse models for drug research and development.
