Every other Tuesday, the Innovation Institute highlights a Pitt technology or a set of technologies from its portfolio of impactful innovations available for licensing or strategic partnerships. This week, we feature a technology that has the potential to treat infectious, inflammatory and post-traumatic disorders such as sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, autoimmune diseases, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, cardiovascular disease and more. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Johns Hopkins University have synthesized new carbon analogs of pyranose derivatives and approaches using these compounds may overcome some of the current challenges of cytokine inhibitors which often only target downstream cytokines and often play a less meaningful role in the inflammatory process.
Every other Tuesday, the Innovation Institute highlights a Pitt technology or a set of technologies from its portfolio of impactful innovations available for licensing or strategic partnerships. This week, we feature a novel modular, expandable rail system that can be easily installed to modify existing living spaces to improve accessibility in the homes of those with mobility issues. The technology is spearheaded by Jonathan Pearlman, PhD, Chair and Associate Professor, Dept. of Rehabilitation Science and Technology and David Brienza, PhD, Associate Dean for Technology and Innovation, SHRS. SUMMARY: Mobius, consists of a structural track which will serve as an anchor for a wide range of accessibility devices including handrails, grab bars, and stair lifts, which can be added to the Mobius as the needs or desires of the user change.
Four innovation projects have been selected to receive funding from the Innovation Institute’s Chancellor’s Gap Fund to have prototypes of their innovations created in collaboration with the Swanson School of Engineering’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship program.
Every other Tuesday, the Innovation Institute features a technology or collection of technologies from its portfolio of impactful innovations available for licensing or strategic partnering. This week we feature a device co-developed by innovators from Pitt and CMU that quickly and accurately diagnoses ear infections and prevent over-prescription of antibiotics. The technology is spearheaded by Alejandro Hoberman, MD, Executive Vice Chair of Pediatrics, Vice Chair of Clinical Research, University of Pittsburgh. Automated Diagnosis of Acute Ear Infections SUMMARY: More than 20M prescriptions per year = $2B direct and $2B indirect costs Up to 50% of ear infection diagnoses are wrong Only 75% accuracy with experienced clinicians There is a need for simple, reliable clinical decision support to improve AOM diagnosis and reduce unnecessary antimicrobial therapy.
The Innovation Institute recently awarded grants from the Chancellor’s Gap Fund to four Pitt innovation teams working on small molecule drug discovery projects. The funds will enable experiments to validate their innovations and stimulate the interest of potential external investors or industry partners. Established by Chancellor Gallagher, the Gap Fund has proven effective in moving promising Pitt innovations forward on the path to commercialization, such as the universal CAR T cell receptor system developed by Jason Lohmueller, assistant professor of surgery and immunology. Lohmueller received a Gap Fund award in 2021 to help achieve critical experiments that resulted in the licensing of the technology to Pittsburgh-based cell therapy company, Coeptis Therapeutics. “The Chancellor’s Gap Fund has been instrumental in helping Pitt innovators avoid the ‘valley of death’ for their innovations by providing funding for critical de-risking experiments or the development of prototypes,” said Peter Allen, Executive Director, Inventor Engagement and New Ventures at the Innovation Institute.