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The OCR forms three new ventures, assists in mergers of others

Yale Medicine Magazine, 1999 - Fall / 2000 - Winter

Contents

The Office of Cooperative Research pressed forward during the past year with the creation of three new ventures and provided support to a number of existing companies based on Yale technology. In addition, 18 new licenses were issued to the OCR’s business partners. In the fiscal year ending June 30, royalties for Yale-licensed inventions rose to $40.7 million, a $7.4-million increase over last year’s figures.

Of the three companies formed this year by the OCR, two are devoted to the development of chemical compounds. The third is an electronic marketplace for ideas and inventions.

Phytoceutica, whose medical director is Yung-Chi Cheng, Ph.D., Henry Bronson Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine, is studying increasingly popular Chinese herbal remedies so physicians can understand their properties and their interactions with conventional treatments.

Agilix, based on technology designed by Paul M. Lizardi, Ph.D., professor of pathology, will apply genome technology to agribusiness to develop more valuable crops such as those able to resist drought and thrive in less-than-ideal climates.

The Intellectual Property Exchange, IPTEX, is an online service of OCR that offers information on inventions at Yale and more than 175 universities and research institutions to its 330 subscribers in biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

The OCR continues to support companies formed in previous years; for example, assisting in the merger of Molecular Staging Inc. and polyGenomics Inc., which use similar techniques in work with cancer, infectious disease and defects in genes. Novirion Pharmaceuticals, a drug-discovery company being formed with the OCR’s help, is merging with Achillion Pharmaceuticals, which expects to begin operations in or near New Haven next year. Cellular Genomics, which seeks treatments for autoimmune disorders, formed a partnership with Oxford Glycosciences of England.

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