Last modified: Wednesday, September 26, 2007
License agreement in hand, high-tech business will open in Bloomington
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 26, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- SpheroSense Technologies Inc. has entered into a licensing agreement with the Indiana University Research & Technology Corp. to develop market-ready biosensor technologies. SpheroSense has chosen a headquarters for its research and development activities on Bloomington's south side.
"The technology SpheroSense is based on was developed at IU Bloomington by doctoral student Dragos Amarie, chemist Bogdan Dragnea, and me," said IUB physicist and SpheroSense co-founder James Glazier. " What we've done is enter into a license agreement with the IU Research & Technology Corp. that allows us to take these discoveries and develop technologies that hopefully will make a big splash in the marketplace."
SpheroSense is dedicated to "biosensors" -- devices that can be used to determine whether a chemical is present in or around living organisms. That chemical might be a segment of DNA, a poison, or a protein indicative of cancerous growth or cell stress. Biosensors promise a cheap, quick way of determining the attributes of an organism of interest in the laboratory (e.g. in the search for new drugs) or the health of a human patient in the hospital.
One of SpheroSense's goals is to produce a hand-held device that will monitor post-operative and trauma patients for early warning signs of sepsis or infection in the bloodstream, so medical personnel can intervene with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories before organs are damaged. This would reduce the likelihood of death or disability and prevent many expensive stays in ICUs.
"Because most of the instruments that do biochemical analysis are very expensive, the market for them is small," said Glazier, who also directs IU's Biocomplexity Institute. "What Dragos' invention allows us to do is work toward a device that is more powerful than what's currently being used and -- this is important -- much less expensive. Our aim is to create something that is useful and cheap enough to be in the lab of every biochemist, medical and veterinary researcher, even in the labs of some environmental and industrial scientists."
The decision to open shop in Bloomington was an easy one, explains SpheroSense CEO Andrew Cothrel.
"It's important that we have James, Bogdan, and Dragos close by," Cothrel said. "I interact with them on a regular basis, particularly with James. The fact that IURTC has a Bloomington office is key in terms of patent support and prosecution. Also, Bloomington has a great deal of support infrastructure for businesses focused on developing technologies from basic research. We also see many opportunities for partnering with other companies in the area."
One of IU's missions is to improve the economic lot of the region and state by encouraging its faculty and staff to develop profitable businesses based on their discoveries and other scholarly or artistic work.
"We are pleased to license James Glazier's invention to SpheroSense," said IURTC Vice President of Technology Transfer Jack Pincus. "Faculty startups are an effective way to develop products from their inventions. We believe SpheroSense will help Bloomington's economic development."
SpheroSense was founded in 2006 with seed money from Glazier, Indiana University's Office of the Vice Provost for Research and support from the IU Research & Technology Corp.
"The people at IURTC, particularly Bill Brizzard and Mark Long, have been crucial in helping us develop our concepts into commercial applications and a company," Glazier said. "The Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship was also very generous with time and support."
To speak with Glazier or Amarie, please contact David Bricker, IU Media Relations, at 812-856-9035 or brickerd@indiana.edu. SpheroSense CEO Andrew Cothrel can be reached at 317-850-0442 or adcothrel@insightbb.com.
