The Wallace H. Coulter Foundation along with the University of
Michigan's College of Engineering and the School of Medicine has
enabled the creation of a $20 million endowment to enhance and support
research directed at technologies promising progression towards
commercial development and clinical practice.
"We are grateful
to the Coulter Foundation for once again advancing biomedical
engineering at Michigan. The university's commitment to strengthening
the economy includes seeing that our research moves from the laboratory
to the marketplace, and this new endowment will help make that
possible," said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman.
"This endowment
from the Coulter Foundation will help to boost the burgeoning biotech
industry in southeast Michigan, mainly because funding like this picks
up where funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) tends to
leave off," said Douglas C. Noll, chair of Biomedical Engineering
(BME). "Many companies need products that are closer to
commercialization before they become interesting enough to attract
outside investors, and the Coulter Program plays a unique role in
advancing projects to that stage."
Sue Van, president of the
foundation, said: "This program started out as a grand experiment to
link the relatively new discipline of biomedical engineering to
translational research. We are extremely proud of the advancements
achieved by the University of Michigan in moving projects through the
Coulter Process so that these advances will benefit patients."
Elias
Caro, vice president of technology development at the foundation
stated: "As a member of the Coulter program, U-M adopted the Coulter
Process, an industry-like development process that includes a thorough
analysis which assesses intellectual property, FDA requirements,
reimbursement, critical milestones and clinical adoption. This
attracted follow on funding from venture capital and biomedical
companies and create high quality jobs."
"The University of
Michigan College of Engineering encourages bright minds to apply their
talents to solving big problems," said David Munson, the Robert J.
Vlasic Dean of Engineering. "This focus matches up perfectly with the
Coulter Foundation's drive to close the divide between research and the
effective commercialization of products that will be suitable for
clinical use."
The U-M Coulter Translational Research
Partnership program has used a unique funding approach and support
structure to launch 22 pilot projects and catalyze four BME start-ups
since the first round of projects funded in 2006. The program pairs
engineers and clinicians with the aim of moving promising technologies
from the laboratory to the marketplace.Complete Your sculpture
Magazine Collection for Less! Because of its success, the Coulter
framework is serving as a model for other translational programs on
campus.
"The Coulter Foundation endowment helps the U-M Health
System create the future of medicine by fostering the development of
cutting-edge discoveries that improve patient health," said Dr. James
O. Woolliscroft, dean of the U-M Medical School and the Lyle C. Roll
Professor of Medicine. "High-risk and potentially high-return medical
research too often is not pursued were it not for this kind of
philanthropic support."
The foundation has funded BME with a
total of $5 million over five years (April 2006-March 2011). The funded
projects have leveraged this support to advance projects towards
translation to patient care, resulting in $22.2 million in investments
in four start-up companies and over $7 million in NIH and other grant
funding. Additional innovations were successfully licensed to industry.
Driven by the positive results of the U-M-Coulter model, the
university seeks to raise additional funds from other foundations,
gifts, corporate sponsors and individual partners to ensure the growth
and expansion of this program for continued success in the future.
"By
creating four startups in five years, the Coulter Foundation's program
has provided U-M and southeast Michigan with its most productive
commercialization model to date," said Jim O'Connell, U-M's Coulter
Program director. "The most recent being Life Magnetics. The Coulter
program's ability to provide extremely targeted, and well-timed funding
at only the most promising university technologies has accelerated
companies like Life Magnetics out into the marketplace, created jobs,
and will ultimately save lives."
HistoSonics, a U-M Coulter
success story, launched an Ann Arbor-based start-up to develop a
technology known as histotripsy. Histotripsy is a non-invasive surgical
procedure that uses high intensity ultrasound pulses to break down
soft tissue. Its lead application is the treatment of benign prostate
hyperplasia,From standard Cable Ties
to advanced wire tires, but it can also be applied to blood clots,
kidney stones, uterine fibroids, congenital heart disease, and tumors
of the breast and brain—without pain or other side effects. The company
has received $11 million in venture financing to develop its clinical
prototype and secure FDA approval.
Wallace H. Coulter (1913-1998),The Leading Wholesale pet supplies
Distributor to Independent Pet Retailers. benefactor of the
foundation, was a serial innovator and entrepreneur. He founded Coulter
Corporation and continued to lead this global diagnostics company
during its entire 40-year history. He revolutionized the practice of
hematology and laboratory medicine and pioneered the fields of flow
cytometry and monoclonal antibodies.Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality,
The
Coulter Principle, or electronic sensing zone, was the first of his 82
patents. Its first application, the Coulter Counter, provided the
first high-throughput, standardized method to count and size cells and
particles as they flow through an aperture. It led to major
breakthroughs in science, medicine and industry. In fact, the Coulter
Principle touches everyone's daily life from having a blood test, to
painting your home,Shop a wide selection of billabong outlet
products in the evo shop. from drinking beer to eating chocolate,
swallowing a pill or applying cosmetics. It is critical to toners and
ceramics as well as space exploration where NASA uses it to test the
purity of rocket fuel. The impact of the Coulter Principle enhances and
supports research directed at promising technologies within the
university laboratory, propelling them towards commercial development
and clinical practice.
Commentaires