Murray Spruill

There have been several recent developments related to patent law that could hold serious implications for the biomedical industry. Murray Spruill, chair of Alston & Bird’s Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Patent Group, will discuss some of these current and anticipated changes in patent law. He will also discuss how these changes will affect patent strategy and prosecution.

Patrick Vernon
Ted Zoller
Randy Myer
Alumni and Current LTV Teams

Launching the Venture (LTV) is a four-part series of courses offered by the Kenan-Flagler Business School which is designed to teach, empower and inspire entrepreneurial teams at UNC to launch commercial businesses and social ventures. The four sections include: team building, feasibility, business planning, and financing. Teams are comprised of any mixture of UNC faculty, staff, post-doc, graduate and/or undergraduate students. Each team is paired with a coach who is an experienced entrepreneur and/or business professional that have expertise in the entrepreneurial process and the industry of that particular team. The program has helped launch more than 100 commercial and nonprofit ventures since its inception.

LTV instructors Patrick Vernon, Randy Myer, and Ted Zoller will discuss the various aspects of the course, including important factors to consider if you are contemplating starting a business. Alumni and current members of LTV will also share their business models and lessons on the entrepreneurial process from their unique perspectives.

Launch the Venture - Patrick Vernon
Hands Free” Network Server Performance Management - Jeff Terrell
RemedEase Inc. - Amy Rix

Dr. Oliver Smithies has been an Excellence Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UNC – Chapel Hill since 1988. Dr. Smithies is credited for the development of gel electrophoresis and his work in developing homologous recombination (gene targeting), which allows for the construction of animal models of complex human genetic diseases, earned him the Nobel Prize in 2007.
Methods produced by Dr. Smithies have radically changed the way scientists approach the search for new therapies in both academia and industry. During his tenure at UNC, Dr. Smithies, along with his wife and colleague Dr. Nobuyo Maeda, have produced a number of mouse models and reagents that have been sought out by the commercial sector in order to advance their internal research and development efforts. Dr. Smithies will discuss his perspective on the effects of his work on current research and drug discovery.

The process of developing and commercializing new technologies that arise from your university research can proceed in a number of various paths. Each of these routes have unique considerations and obstacles. A panel of three UNC inventors will share their personal experiences in taking technologies from the lab to the market.

Scott Singleton is an Associate Professor of Medicinal Chemistry & Natural Products in the School of Pharmacy. Scott's technology involves novel attenuators of bacterial antibiotic resistance. Kurtis Keller is a Research Engineer in the Microelectronic Systems Laboratory within the Department of Computer Science. Kurtis's novel 3D guidance system for minimally-invasive surgeries was the basis of the UNC spin-out InnerOptic Technology. Collin McKinney is an Electronics Designer and Electronics Facility Manager in the Department of Chemistry. Colin is an inventor on a variety of instrument technologies arising from collaborations with faculty researchers ranging from devices for making neurochemistry measurements in rats to in-cell nuclear magnetic resonance.

Inhibitors of RecA activities for control of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens
InnerOptic’s InVision - computer-assisted surgical system
Advice to UNC Inventors

Juliann Tenney and Sherrie Settle, of the UNC Research Compliance Program, will discuss some of the common situations in which potential conflicts arise. They will also discuss the information and timing in which relationships should be disclosed to and discussed with the compliance office. In turn, the seminar will address the strategies necessary for managing such conflicts.

Liquidia's complex patent portfolio is critical in supporting their broad technology platform. A well-crafted intellectual property portfolio is essential to a technology based company with regard to a multitude of business objectives, including marketing efforts, research and development, and the generation of revenue. Shawn Glidden, counsel for Liquidia, will discuss his perspective on devising and executing a strong patent strategy to create the backbone for success in reaching a company's ultimate business goals.