The CU Technology Transfer Office reports researchers from CU Anschutz have been granted two new patents.
Just announced today, a group led by School of Medicine colleagues Malik Kahook and Naresh Mandava, Ophthalmology and the University of Colorado Hospital Eye Center, have been awarded a patent for artificial intraocular lenses made from shape-memory polymers.
By making use of ‘smart’ polymer materials, these lenses offer a patient-customized, less invasive lens replacement when natural lenses in the eye must be removed due to cataracts or other eye diseases. Along with related intellectual property, this patent is being commercialized by ShapeTech LLC, a CU startup company based in Denver.
The CU Technology Transfer Office began the patent process for this treatment in March 2011; in addition to two related U.S. patent applications, intellectual property protection also is being sought in the EU and other countries. The patent (U.S. 8,685,089, “Shape Memory Polymer Intraocular Lenses”) was issued on April 1.
Other inventors on this patent are CU Denver Bioengineering researchers Robin Shandas (Bioengineering chair) and Bryan Rech.
Another patent approved for Type 1 diabetes
TTO also received word that researchers from CU Anschutz and National Jewish Health (NJH) were awarded a patent for a novel, antibody-based approach to prevent or treat Type 1 Diabetes and other autoimmune diseases.
Autoimmune disorders are diseases caused by the body producing an inappropriate immune response against its own tissues, in which the immune system creates T lymphocytes and autoantibodies that attack one's own cells, tissues, and/or organs. Researchers have identified 80-100 different autoimmune diseases and suspect at least 40 additional diseases of having an autoimmune basis.
The inventors listed on this patent are John Kappler, CU School of Medicine, Departments of Immunology, Medicine and Pharmacology and National Jewish Health; Li Zhang, School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Barbara Davis Center; George Eisenbarth, deceased, former director of CU’s Barbara Davis Center; and Brian Stadinski, a former CU-NJH researcher now at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
TTO began pursuing this patent on behalf of the university in June 2009; patent protection is also pending in Europe. The patent (U.S. 8,673,300, “Therapeutic compositions and methods for the prevention of autoimmune diseases”) was issued on March 18.