News

IP Best Practices Forum Meets at U-M Innovation Partnerships

7/14/2017
In 1998 representatives from approximately 15 of the most well-respected, technology-driven global corporations came together to create the Intellectual Property Best Practices Forum to exchange best practices related to the commercialization of intellectual property. While membership in the organization has evolved over the past 20 years, the mission has remained...

Arcascope Pursues Circadian Solutions for the Jet-Lagged

7/14/2017
Olivia Walch wasn’t planning to start a company when she developed Entrain, an app that helps travelers shift their circadian rhythms to reduce jet lag in a new time zone. But when Entrain attracted 50,000 downloads in a single week, Walch realized she had something powerful on her hands. Users...

J&J Acquires TRS 3D Printing Tech to Treat Bone Defects

7/14/2017
DePuy Synthes Products, Inc., part of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) family of companies, has acquired 3D printing technology from University of Michigan startup Tissue Regeneration Systems (TRS). The 3D printing methods developed by TRS will help enable DePuy Synthes to create patient-specific, bioresorbable implants with a unique mineral coating...

Diamond Kinetics Launches “Smart Bat” with Marucci

4/21/2017
Just in time for the start of baseball season, Pittsburgh-based U-M startup Diamond Kinetics and Baton Rouge-based sporting goods company Marucci Sports have announced a partnership to produce a new line of handcrafted maple bats that incorporate an array of emdedded “smart” sensors to collect, analyze and deliver swing data...

MEDC-Funded ADVANCE Program Launched

4/21/2017
A new “Gap” or “Proof of Concept” fund is being launched to provide resources to assess market needs and the potential for promising new university inventions, thanks to $1 million of funding support from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The University Early Stage Proof-of-Concept Fund program known as ADVANCE...

A New Path Forward for HistoSonics

4/21/2017
On March 13, 2017 University of Michigan startup HistoSonics Inc. announced the hiring of a new CEO, the closing of an $8.2 million Series B funding round, and a shift in focus toward the treatment of solid tumor cancers. According to the Ann Arbor based company, which launched in 2010...

Don Chaffin’s Groundbreaking Work in Ergonomics

4/21/2017
As part of his PhD thesis at the University of Michigan in 1967, Don Chaffin developed a 2D mechanical model of the human body. Little did he realize that what he created would be the basis for a powerful tool that would change the approach to ergonomics for decades to...

Nynex Therapeutics Launches in Cleveland

4/21/2017
In March, the Cleveland-based drug development accelerator BioMotiv, and the University of Michigan, announced the launch of the new startup Nynex Therapeutics. The company, which will be based in Cleveland, will develop first-in-class therapeutics to inhibit deubiquitinases, which are a class of proteases upregulated in cancer and associated with tumor...

Nynex Therapeutics, a new oncology startup, launches to target oncogenic proteins

3/16/2017
BioMotiv, a drug development accelerator associated with The Harrington Project, and the University of Michigan have launched a new startup, Nynex Therapeutics, to develop breakthrough drugs that inhibit deubiquitinases as a novel mechanism for therapeutic intervention in multiple difficult-to-treat cancers. Nynex’s innovative work builds on the substantial progress over the...

New Products Launched: FlexDex and Mastermind

3/3/2017
Two new products entering the market illustrate the continuing impact of U-M innovation. The FlexDex Needle Driver FlexDex Surgical, a Brighton, Michigan-based developer of surgical tools, has begun shipping its first product, a simple, ergonomic and intuitive “needle driver” for stitching inside the body. The commercial launch of the device...

Rubicon Genomics Acquired by Takara Bio USA

3/3/2017
U-M start-up Rubicon Genomics , a producer of genomic analysis kits, was sold in January to Mountain View, California-based Takara Bio USA Holdings, a subsidiary of the Japanese company Takara Bio, for a reported $75 million. “This acquisition builds on Takara Bio’s commitment to provide our customers with a broader...

U-M Startup Ripple Addresses Clinical Trial Bottleneck

3/3/2017
Created from technology developed at the University of Michigan, Ripple Science Corporation is focused on addressing a common pain point in research labs: recruiting and managing participants for clinical trials and translational research. Ripple co-founder Jacob Bonenberger explained, “Ripple isn’t tackling an uncommon problem — all researchers struggle with poor...