A bi-annual update on the activities of UMIP, the University’sintellectual property management and commercialisation company

Issue 3, April 2010

UMIP - REPUTATION AND VALUE THROUGH INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY®

UMIP WINS TOP UKTECH TRANSFER AWARD

UMIPNEWS

The judges at the Gala dinner,held at the Queen Elizabeth IIConference Centre, awardedUMIP the top prize, despitestrong competition from theother two shortlisted companies;Cancer Research Technology Ltdand UCL Business plc.

Commenting on the award CliveRowland, CEO of UMIP, said: “Itis an honour to receive thisaward and it is testament to allthe dedication and hard work ofUMIP staff. It has been a strongyear for us with many newtechnologies having been eitherlicensed or spun out, leading to

ground breaking newtechnologies in the marketplace.“

In financial terms, over the last 5years, The University ofManchester’s IP activities havegenerated over £35M for theUniversity through the sale ofshares in spin-outs, licensingincome and through IP grantsand contracts activity. Inaddition, UMIP has won anumber of high profile regionaland national awards.

Allan Prits, UMIP MarketingManager, receives the awardfrom Baroness Jo Valentine,

CEO, London First.

UMIP was voted Technology Transfer Officeof the Year at the Genesis biotechnologyconference in London in December.

Sharon, who was recentlynamed as Bionow / NWDABiomedical Personality of theYear 2009, Crains ManchesterBusinesswoman of the Year2008/9, and Entrepreneur of theYear at the inaugural NorthwestWomen in Business Awards 2008,was the Co-Founder and ChiefScientific Officer of University ofManchester spin-out companyRenovo until February this year.Renovo Group plc is abiopharmaceutical companydeveloping drugs for thereduction of scarring and hasbeen listed on the London StockExchange since 2006.

Sharon said that she is lookingforward to using the businessskills and networks that she has

developed from her involvementin the commercialisation ofUniversity-based research whichled to the creation of Renovo andto raising the profile ofentrepreneurship at the University.

Sharon commented: “I am verypleased to have been asked toadvise the University in thiscapacity. The University alreadyhas an excellent track record in innovation andentrepreneurship, with manysuccessful spin-out companies.When I announced in September2009 that I will move on fromRenovo in February this year, Isaid I wanted to use myexperience to help start andbuild companies, and thisadvisory role with UMIP is one in

which I can immediatelycontribute and help UMIPcontinue to be successful inmeeting its goals of creatingspin-out companies, licensing IPand making an importantcontribution to the economy.”

Clive Rowland, UMIP’s CEO, saidthat he was delighted thatSharon had agreed to accept theappointment. “We are verymuch looking forward toworking with Sharon. We havesome specific ambitious fundinginitiatives in mind with whichSharon is ideally suited to helpus. We are also asking Sharon toassist in improving oureffectiveness and our successrate in drug discovery licensing.”

UMIP APPOINTS DR SHARON O’ KANE ASITS ENTREPRENEUR IN RESIDENCE

Dr Sharon O’ Kane, Entrepreneur in Residence at UMIP

INTELLECTUALPROPERTYRESOURCE

An intranet resource for:

> Understanding IP

> IP Commercialisation

> IP in Research and Consultancy

> IP & Academic Materials

UMIP’s Commercialisation Executives areyour first point of call for any questions youmay have should you have an idea orobservation and are wondering if it haspotential value.

Our Commercialisation Executives are faculty specific:

For Technology and Humanities:

Dr Pushkar Wadke, EPSTelephone: 0161 306 8832Email: pushkar.wadke@umip.com

Dr Lorna Farnsworth, EPSTelephone: 0161 306 8813Email: lorna.farnsworth@umip.com

Dr Mugdha Joshi, EPSTelephone: 0161 306 8513Email: mugdha.joshi@umip.com

Daniel Syder, HumanitiesTelephone: 0161 306 8512Email: daniel.syder@umip.com

For Life Sciences and Medical &Human Sciences:

Dr Emma Woods, FLSTelephone: 0161 606 7236Email: emma.woods@umip.com

Dr Edward Maughfling, MHSTelephone: 0161 606 7213Email: edward.maughfling@umip.com

Dr Gill Shuttleworth, FLS/MHSTelephone: 0161 603 7738Email: gillian.shuttleworth@umip.com

MEET YOUR UMIP FRONTLINE CONTACTS

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If you are working on research that you think has commercialpotential, we would be pleased to hear from you.

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eThe UMIP Premier Fund (UPF) has had a busyfew months completing on a further foursubstantial investments bringing the portfolioto seven in total. The new additions are:-

Cable Sense, School of EEE, is developinghardware products and software services inintelligent infrastructure monitoring andmapping (IIMS) for IT networks anddatacentres. IIMS maps the cabling within anIT infrastructure and monitors it’s health andintegrity. This information is useful toproviders of managed port services, both in-house and external.

Lein Diagnostics, a collaboration with Eye andVision Sciences, within FLS, has led totechniques for measuring optical parameters ofthe eye that correlate well with blood glucoselevels. This is a potentially ground-breakingtechnology in the management of diabetes.

Ai2, FLS, is committed to the development ofinnovative technology to prevent infection ona wide range of commonly used medicaldevices like urinary catheters, stents andwound dressings.

Exosect is the first non-UoM investment thefund has made. This has been done to balancethe portfolio. Exosect Limited is agrochemicalsbusiness actively focused on the developmentand sales of Intelligent Pest Managementsolutions and is at a later stage in its businessdevelopment than most of our investmentswith products already in the field.

Within the existing portfolio too, there havebeen some substantial steps forward with ArviaTechnology, Nano ePrint and Myconostica allachieving some significant milestones.

A portfolio of seven investments since theinception of the fund two years ago representsa very solid start. There will inevitably be somedowns as well as ups over the next few years(though we hope not too many) as thesecompanies start their journeys towardssubstantial economic success. Early-stagetechnology business is risky, as is investing inthem, but we at MTI work with the companiesclosely to help them navigate through thechallenges they face and maximise theopportunities they have.

This is just a start and the UPF is activelylooking for more investment opportunitiesthroughout The University of Manchester.

If you have an idea or a technology that youfeel could have commercial potential, thenplease contact UMIP (contacts below) to seehow it can be developed into an investmentopportunity for the fund.

UMIP PREMIER FUND UPDATE...

Mark RahnInvestment ManagerMTI Partners (Managers of the UMIP Premier Fund)

www.theupf.com

EXCIPLEX - NOVEL DIAGNOSTIC PROBES

KETSO - A HANDS-ON KIT FOR CREATIVE GROUP WORK

LATEST LICENSING & SPIN-OUT NEWS

UMIP has assisted HonoraryProfessor Ken Douglas and Dr Elena Bichenkova from the School of Pharmacy, tolicence their Exciplex technology,on an exclusive basis, tospecialist oligonucleotidereagent manufacturer, LinkTechnologies Limited.

Exciplex diagnostic probes offerultra-biospecificity andsignificantly increased detectionsensitivity over conventionalsystems due to negligiblebackground signal. The probesare based on labellingoligonucleotides with exciplexpartners that form excited-statecomplexes in close spatialproximity. Application of thesemodified oligonucleotides indiagnostic systems has beenshown to discriminate DNAmutations at the level of PCRproducts and plasmid DNA.

Professor Douglas commented:“This is a very excitingopportunity to bring together aUniversity discovery base and this

excellent company to worktogether. The Exciplex is asignificant new area of scienceand we are pleased to have theexpertise of Link Technologies totake this forward to a commercialentity for clinical benefit.”

Dr John Bremner, BusinessDevelopment Director at LinkTechnologies, concurred: “Weare delighted with this deal,although we firmly believe thisis simply the start of somethingtruly exciting. Our ongoingcollaboration with the Universityover the coming months willoptimise the technology,allowing us to launch a newrange of innovative productstargeted at diagnosticcompanies worldwide.”

The University and Link are alsocommencing a forwardcollaboration to further developthe existing technology. Underthe terms of the licenceagreement, Link willmanufacture and sell Exciplex-based reagents worldwide.

Remember to discuss possible IP protection before you publish. Contact your UMIP Commercialisation Executive first.

Dr Elena Bichenkova

Professor Ken Douglas

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Ketso, a hands-on kit forcreative group work, is the latestsuccess story to emerge fromresearch within the Faculty ofHumanities. The idea behindKetso originated some 15 yearsago, when Dr Joanne Tippettwas working in Lesotho helpingvillagers plan a better future,and a portable, tactile systemwas needed to encourage groupcollaboration and learning.

Using felt sheets and re-usable,coloured shapes placed on thefelt, Joanne developed a systemfor shaping ideas and groupproblem solving. She has

continued to use and developthe system in her communitydevelopment and sustainabilityresearch work. Ketso has nowbeen trialled and tested on 5continents and over 11 countries,including Bangladesh, Germany,Australia, USA and Afghanistan.

Joanne joined The University ofManchester in 2000, becoming amember of staff in the School ofEnvironment and Developmentin 2004. By this time she hadbeen encouraged by manypeople and organisations todevelop Ketso into acommercially viable product.

Joanne takes up the story: “Aspart of my PhD I worked withcommunity groups, stakeholderpartnerships, including theMersey Basin Company andpublic sector organisations.Ketso was achieving really greatresults in problem solving, ideasharing and stakeholderengagement, so I approachedUMIP for advice on how tocommercialise the product.

UMIP initially helped with thedesign registration and generalbusiness advice. Several furtheryears of development followed.!n 2008, Ketso received fundingsupport from UMIP which Ketsoallocated to trademarkregistration and accountancyservices. In April 2009 we createdthe company and in November2009 we recruited our firstemployee. We are now launchingKetso as a social enterprise witha global reach, aiming to achievea turnover of around £6m in thenext five years.”

As well as achieving its socialmission (transforming the way welearn, collaborate andcommunicate) through use of theproduct, the manufacture ofKetso helps disadvantagedpeople: the jute carrying bags aremade in an Ethical Trade Initiativecertified workshop in Kolkata,and the kits are assembled at alocal sheltered workshop.

Joanne adds: “What started as asimple idea has now become a

highly regarded system that hasbeen used by organisations asdiverse as The EnvironmentAgency, Manchester City Counciland Tesco. It has also been used toengage with groups such as youngpeople and people withdisabilities. It is lightweight, user-friendly, re-usable, and attractiveto organisations that want topurchase from a social enterprise.”

Dr. Tippett’s ideas were shortlisted for the SustainableDevelopment Commission’sBreakthrough Ideas for the 21stCentury in 2009. Ketso won aResearch Council UK BusinessPlanning Competitioncommendation for the best planin the Humanities and SocialSciences in 2008.

PLASMA CLEAN TECHNOLOGY IS PURE GENIUS

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www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/storm

Plasma Clean Limited, a hi-techspin-out, has been awarded a£112,829 Grant for Research and Development from theNorthwest RegionalDevelopment Agency (NWDA)

Based in the Stockport BusinessIncubator, Plasma Cleanspecialises in odour control andair purification solutions utilisingnon-thermal plasma technology.

The Grant will allow PlasmaClean to complete thedevelopment of its non-thermalplasma system. The technology,aimed at Ultra Pure Gasapplications in the manufactureof semi-conductors, flat-paneldisplays and solar cells, and anyother ultra high purity gasapplication, has alreadygenerated significant interestfrom the UK and abroad.

The work will build on the NWDAresearch project completed inOctober 2008, which helped thebusiness to deliver a uniquepower supply system capable ofproducing a highly active plasmadischarge using lower power.

The Plasma Clean system, knownas Plasma UPG, will eventuallybe licensed to commercialpartners across the world,seeking low power solutions tomeet the ever demanding needto enhance process gas purity.

David Glover, Managing Directorof Plasma Clean said: “Receivingthis award is a great boost forPlasma Clean and will help todeliver a unique productoffering which will presentsignificant benefits to ourcustomers worldwide.

We have already had significantinterest from some of the majorplayers in the air purificationindustry, seeking a productwhich will offer competitiveadvantage in terms ofperformance and running costs.”

Doug Stellman, NWBIS, YFMPrivate Equity commented: “Wehave been working with PlasmaClean for over 3 years throughthe North West BusinessInvestment Scheme. I amdelighted their hard work andinnovation has been recognised,enabling them to take theirdevelopments of the UPGplasma technology to the nextlevel on an international scale.There is a huge market forPlasma Clean’s technology andthis grant will help them furtherestablish themselves as pioneersin the air purification field.

www.plasma-clean.com

STORM® - A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

STORM® (Skills-based Training on Risk Management) is a skills-based model of suicideprevention training, for use inthe health, social and criminaljustice services. It was conceivedas a research project in the midto late 1990s by Professor LindaGask and Professor RichardMorriss from the School ofPsychiatry and is based on their research in the area ofsuicide prevention and medical education.

Linda and Richard noticed at thetime that, despite a glut ofinformation about suicide, therewas little skills training forworkers who deal with patientsor clients on a daily basis.

Gill Green was soon brought inas project manager to managethe development of STORMafter three peer reviewedstudies proved successful.STORM’s training packages helpfrontline health and social care

staff spot the signs of suicidaltendencies and self-injury. Thetraining packages are usedacross a range of adult andchildren’s services includingprimary care, A&E departments,third sector services and schools.

Gill comments: “We realised thatwe had a very good product.Since 2002, packages have beensold to NHS trusts, prisons andother organisations dealing withpeople who may be at risk ofsuicide. Additionally, a version ofSTORM was commissioned byHM Prison Service in 2004 whichwas adapted specifically for its needs.”

The Care Services ImprovementPartnership (NIMHE, aforerunner of NMHDU) assistedwith the launch of STORM in theNorth West in 2003, through aprogramme of seminars andadvertising, targeting variousPrimary Care and Mental HealthNHS Trusts. Involvement inScotland’s ‘Choose Life’ suicideprevention campaign was apivotal moment, leading tosignificant uptake of thetraining scheme based on formalevaluation and word of mouth.

Outside of the UK, the trainingpackages have been used inIreland, Australia, Bangladeshand Pakistan. Dr Safi Afghan, aconsultant psychiatrist, who hashelped deliver training to 500health service staff in the UKand Pakistan, said: “It’s sopowerful and it saves lives. Ourworkers say the training hasboth improved their skills andconfidence, plus it demystifiesand destigmatises suicide.”

UMIP are currently assisting Gillwith spinning out STORM as asocial enterprise. Dr SoniaNikolovski, UMIP venturemanager, said: “We are lookingat a different business model forSTORM because we want to beable to reinvest a highpercentage of the profits backinto the company for researchand development into newpackages and to be able toreach new markets. The focus ofthe business will be to achieveits social aims.”

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A Guide to UMIP

Case Studiesof Licensing

Case Studiesof Spin-outs

IP & Confidentiality

Spin-out Companies

Licensing

Consulting

ResearchContracts

IP Workbook

Academic Materialsand Publishing

Download thefollowingguides andbooklets fromwww.umip.com

Hard copies available from:sarah.harris@umip.com

5 Years of UMIP

One of the significant added value aspects intechnology transfer which attracts seed fundersand licensees is Proof-of-Principle funding.

To add value, UMIP manages, for theUniversity, a ‘Proof-of-Principle’ account forprojects with good potential. We encourageyou to find out more and make an application.Applications are reviewed throughout the year.

To find out more, please contact your UMIPcommercialisation executive listed on thesecond page of this newsletter.

To illustrate the diversity of projects awardedsince August 2009, please see below:

Prof Ian Roberts - Faculty of Life SciencesUsing plants to produce conjugate vaccinesand glyco-peptides> Spin-out PoP awarded on October 2009> Project currently scheduled to run from Jan

2010 to Dec 2010

Dr Mark Ashe - Faculty of Life SciencesBiobutanol production using novel modified yeasts> Licensing PoP awarded in December 2009 > Project due to start in March/April 2010

Prof David Garrod & Prof Lin Li - Faculty ofLife SciencesLaser texturing of metal surfaces for improvedsurgical implants> Licensing PoP awarded Feb 2010> Project due to start June 2010

Prof. Aimin Song - School of Electrical &Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineeringand Physical SciencesTera Hertz (THz) nanodevices for energy harvesting> Spin-out PoP> Project started November 09

Dr. Ian Cotton - School of Electrical &Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineeringand Physical SciencesDeveloping an insulating composite cross armto replace both the existing steel cross armand insulator on transmission towers> Spin-out PoP awarded December 2009 > Project currently scheduled to run from

March 2010 to March 2011

Prof Sandra Downes – School of Materials(EPS), Prof Giorgio Terenghi - Clinical andLaboratory Sciences (MHS)A Novel Biodegradable Conduit for PeripheralNerve Repair> Spin-out/Licensing PoP awarded October 2008 > Extended and scheduled to run from

December 2008 to December 2010

Prof Sandra Downes – School of Materials,Faculty of Engineering and Physical SciencesA Novel Biodegradable Construct for Tendon Regeneration> Spin-out/Licensing PoP awarded

December 2008 > Project currently scheduled to run from

January 2009 to January 2010

UMIP PROOF-OF-PRINCIPLE (PoP) AWARDS

Peter Sanderson has been awarded the medalin recognition of his outstanding and loyalservice to UMIP and to the University.

Peter, who will retire from UMIP at the end ofApril, having served the maximum of two fullterms of three years for a non executiveChairman, co-founded the company with CEOClive Rowland during the summer of 2004.UMIP quickly established itself as one of thecountry’s leaders in university technologytransfer. In 2008, UMIP received wide

recognition in Europe following acomprehensive review of technology transferpractice and performance by the EuropeanInvestment Fund and has since begun toestablish itself on the world stage.

Peter, who was a Director of Adam & Co – aprivate bank headquartered in Edinburgh – atthe time that he was appointed as part-timeUMIP chairman, continued to be active in thebanking and commercial fields during hisappointment at UMIP and these contacts havebeen very helpful to UMIP in developing its business.

Peter said “ I have enjoyed my time at UMIPtremendously and it was very satisfying to bringmy commercial experience from my career tothe University to help it develop its many anddiverse interests. In a lot of ways, the post ofUMIP Chairman is ideal for someone who hasspent a full life in business and commercebecause not only is it a varied challenge initself, it also allows you at the same time to putsomething back into society. I know that I amenvied by business colleagues for havingsecured the appointment. Naturally I am sorrythat I will no longer be seeing the excellent andexciting projects which go on every day at UMIPbut it is pleasing to know that UMIP is wellpoised for its next stage, leading up to 2015.Whilst I will continue to be active with someother non-executive appointments, I amparticularly looking forward to spending moretime on the golf course.”

RETIRING UMIP CHAIRMAN RECEIVESUNIVERSITY MEDAL OF HONOUR

Core Technology Facility46 Grafton Street

Manchester M13 9NTT: 0161 603 7751info@umip.comwww.umip.com

UMIP®The University of Manchester’s Intellectual

Property Commercialisation Company

MANCHESTER SCIENTIST SHINES IN BIONOW 2009 AWARDS

BEHIND THE SCENES

In this column, we will be takinga look behind the scenes tomeet some of our UMIP supportstaff. Carol Feely is UMIP’sFinancial Controller and leads ateam of three who report in to

the Commercial Director, JaneShelton. Carol explains what atypical day might entail…

“As well as managing allfinancial aspects of therunning of UMIP’s business, theteam also undertake thefinancial management ofseveral of the spin-outcompanies, including payrollservices for 134 employees.

In any given day we might besetting up the financial systemsfor a spin-out company,preparing VAT returns and

registrations, undertaking creditcontrols, balance sheetreconciliations and preparingfinancial and managementaccounts. It is a varied job whichrequires specific experience andexpertise. The financial side ofthe commercialisation processcan be difficult for non financialpeople, and we can ensure thatthe financial delivery is in placefrom the earliest stage in the process.”

And, as Carol adds, getting thefinance and account systemsright from the start is one of the

most important elements for anystart-up. She continues: ”Weknow from looking at some ofUMIP’s spin-out case studies(www.umip.com/UMIP_guide.htm)that if they had the chance to doanything over again, many of them have said that they wouldget the paperwork and financeside straight right from the verystart as it saves a lot of time andtrouble further down the line.That is where we can really addvalue to the commercialisation process, showing people howimportant early-stage financestructuring is.”

Printed on recycled paper

© The University of Manchester Intellectual Property Ltd 2010

A group of academics from theLife Sciences Disease Systemssection were amongst the firstto be invited to join members ofthe UMIP team and FLS BusinessRelations Team for lunch at theRed Chilli Restaurant on GraftonStreet in February.

Over lunch, Dr Rich Ferrie, Headof UMIP’s Biomedica Team, andDr Emma Woods, UMIPCommercialisation Executive forFLS, discussed their roles inidentifying and protecting novelresearch, evaluating itscommercial potential andsupporting the technology

transfer process via spin-out andlicensing routes.

Dr Sharon O’Kane, UMIP’s newEntrepreneur in Residence, alsoattended and offered first-handadvice from her successful roles inboth academia and the Universityspin-out company, Renovo.

Representing the FLS BusinessRelations Team was Prof IanKimber; Associate Dean forBusiness Development andResearch Business Manager, DrVictoria Hand who discussedtheir plans to identify fundingthrough industrial partners and

to support research alongsidecompanies. The newly-appointedFLS IP Exploitation Manager, DrCurtis Dobson, offered furtheradvice from his personalexperience with UMIP inestablishing spin-out companyAi2 and also discussed his plansto support futurecommercialisation and IPdevelopment in FLS.

A good time was had by all asFaculty members were able todiscuss and ask questions aboutIP development,commercialisation and industrialliaison in a more informal

atmosphere. Together, UMIPand the Faculty BusinessRelation Team plan to hostfurther events to connect withmembers of FLS and promotethe benefits and rewards of IPdevelopment and commercialactivity including the in-houseProof-of-Principle fund and theUniversity’s generous IP policy.

UMIP & FLS BUSINESS RELATIONS TEAM LUNCH

Dr Christian Zakian from theSchool of Dentistry has beenawarded a prestigious accoladefor his pioneering work in thebiomedical field.

Christian claimed the 'PromisingNorthwest BiomedicalTechnologist of the Year' at theNorthwest Biomedical Awards inNovember 2009 for his work onan invention that allows

mapping of carious lesions inteeth. The Awards, which areorganised by BioNow, examinethe best emerging talent in theregion and reward excellence inthe sector.

The novel approach uses definedwavelengths of light to build animage of each tooth allowingdentists to not only determinethat decay is present but howdeep that decay extends. Todate, available techniques areeither not sensitive enough toearly stages of the disease, suchas x-rays, or are limited by thepresence of stain in teeth. Thismethod is non-invasive and canassist dentists to monitor thedisease progression, resulting ina more informed approach totreatment. In contrast to other

optical techniques thisinnovation provides a picture ofthe whole tooth and not just asingle point; this is useful toreveal the precise location of thedecay and helping to decidewhether drilling is required andwhere. The images produced areclear and bright and offer anopportunity for patientinvolvement in the treatmentdecision making processes.

Led by Christian, his researchteam applied for Proof-of-Principle funding from UMIP tobring the project forward, whichwas subsequently granted.Christian is part of a multi-disciplinary research group(Dental Health Unit) led by ProfRoger Ellwood and Dr Iain Prettyand formed by scientists and

dentists who focus on co-ordinating clinical trials anddeveloping next generationdental diagnostic instruments.

UMIP licensing manager, DrLizzie Crawford, commented onthe awards: "The investmentfrom UMIP allowed Christian togo from strength to strength,transcending his daily role as aresearch assistant to head up ateam that includes, a technicianand a research assistant.Christian's ability tocommercialise and drive hisproduct forward at such an earlystage in his career is testamentto his tenacity and confidence inhis invention and this was a viewthat was clearly shared by thejudging panel."

Dr Rich Ferrie and Dr Emma Woods