Nanoly Bioscience of Boulder and the University of Colorado recently entered into an option agreement that will enable the startup company to develop a technique for protecting vaccines during delivery to rural and less-developed areas of the world.
The most needed vaccines in developing countries are for measles, tetanus, polio, pertussis and diphtheria, all of which -- like most vaccines -- must be kept at between 35-45 degrees Fahrenheit (2-8 degrees Centigrade) during transportation, delivery and storage. Outside of this range, vaccines begin to degrade and become ineffective. Maintaining this 鈥渃old chain鈥� during transportation and delivery is challenging even in developed areas, and storing vaccines at appropriate temperatures is a serious problem in remote areas where electricity is absent or unreliable.
A research team led by CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor Kristi Anseth of the chemical and biological engineering department and the BioFrontiers Institute developed a unique material that is being adapted to solve the problem, which is estimated by the World Health Organization to cause more than a quarter of the total wastage of liquid vaccines worldwide. Anseth鈥檚 group created a unique 鈥渘ano-polymer鈥� material that can be customized and blended with any vaccine to protect against thermal damage during transportation, ultimately improving vaccine availability in remote locations.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled to be adapting CU technology and working toward a solution for such an important problem,鈥� said Balaji Sridhar, a member of Anseth鈥檚 lab who co-founded Nanoly in 2012 along with Anseth lab colleague Mark Tibbitt and co-founders from several other institutions. In 2013, the company placed second in the CU Denver business plan competition. 听Nanoly Bioscience also won the Duke University Startup Challenge in 2012.
鈥淲e are excited that Nanoly has optioned Dr. Anseth鈥檚 polymer technology,鈥� said MaryBeth Vellequette of the University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office, who is the director of technology transfer for CU-Boulder. 鈥淣anoly has a very dynamic team that is passionate about developing this technology and we are eager to continue working with them as this venture grows.鈥�
The CU Technology Transfer Office pursues, protects, packages and licenses to business the intellectual property generated from research at CU. The office provides assistance to faculty, staff and students, as well as to businesses looking to license or invest in CU technology. For more information about technology transfer at CU visit . 听
For more information about Nanoly Bioscience visit . For more information about CU-Boulder visit . For more information on the CU System visit .
Contact:
Lindsay Lennox, CU Tech Transfer Office, 303-735-5518
lindsay.lennox@cu.edu
Balaji Sridhar, Nanoly Bioscience, 720-273-2875
balaji@nanoly.info
