VitalMedix

Pharma

University of Minnesota ramps up effort to commercialize drugs

The University of Minnesota is no Pfizer or Merck. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t act more like Big Pharma. The school has begun an ambitious effort to convert its considerable drug research into actual products. The idea is to better coordinate drug discovery projects among programs like the Masonic Cancer Center, medical school and […]

Policy

Top bioscience lawmaker calls out the University of Minnesota

Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-St. Paul) has good reason to feel a fresh spring in his step these days. He helped pass  long overdue  tax credits for angel investors and research and development spending, a feat that earned him a prime spot (second from the left) behind Gov. Tim Pawlenty when the presumed Republican presidential candidate […]

Pharma

University of Minnesota taps former pharma executive to run transfer unit

Perhaps they should rename the school the University of MGI Pharma. Reggie Bowerman, a former MGI Pharma executive, recently joined the University of Minnesota’s Office for Technology Commercialization (OTC) as head of the newly formed Life Science Business Unit. He will oversee a group responsible for advising researchers on how to develop market viable diagnostics, […]

News

University of Minnesota is open for business. Are there customers?

Quantity or quality? Like most things in life, that’s not always an either/or question. Most people would prefer both. But as the University of Minnesota starts to shop its intellectual property a little more aggressively to investors, as evidenced by its first Life Sciences Showcase event at University Enterprise Laboratories Thursday morning, it’s something to […]

Hospitals

Upwind Medical Partners to create $8 million early stage fund

Another day, another new local early stage fund. Upwind Medical Partners is launching a $6 million to $8 million early stage fund that will focus on commercializing intellectual property from health care/research institutions like the University of Minnesota, Wisconsin Alumni Research Fund (WARF), Allina Hospitals & Clinics, and John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Founded by […]

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Pharma

Promising biotech start-up VitalMedix Inc. files for Chapter 7

VitalMedix Inc., a promising drug company spun out of the University of Minnesota, has shut down and will liquidate its remaining assets, according to sources and documents filed with U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Monday because it could not attract enough investors, said CEO Bill Brown, blaming a […]

News

Kudos to University of Minnesota tech transfer

Politicians, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs have long criticized the school for inhibiting innovation rather than creating it. But that criticism is getting old, or at least it should be. Under Jay Schrankler and Doug Johnson, the school's tech transfer program has made enormous strides.