URI Economic Impact Report - Autumn 2020

For the first time in its history, URI faculty are testing a novel biologic agent, invented at URI, in human clinical trials. Biophysicists Yana Reshetnyak and Oleg Andreev have discovered a technology that can detect and treat cancerous tumors without harming the healthy cells surrounding them, thereby significantly reducing patients’ side effects. Their detection method could someday be used as a universal procedure, locating a problem before the patient ever feels ill. The key is in the acidity level of cells: the lower the number, the higher the acidity. Reshetnyak and Andreev’s discovery could be used to study arthritis, inflammation, infection, infarction, and stroke, since those conditions also produce high acidity. They also pioneered a novel delivery agent, a molecular nanosyringe, which can deliver and inject diagnostic or therapeutic agents to cancer cells. “Since we know the mechanism of delivery and translocation, we believe that we are able to tune the nanosyringe properties and engineer a novel class of therapeutic and diagnostic agents,” said Reshetnyak. About 1.6 million new cancer patients are diagnosed annually in the U.S., and that number is expected to reach 2 million cases per year in the next 10 years. Reshetnyak and Andreev are collaborating on a $1.5 million National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute grant with Jason S. Lewis, chief of radiochemistry service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, New York. “Their research is innovative and exciting,” said Lewis. “It is also timely; the understanding of the tumor microenvironment, and in particular the pH of a tumor, is believed to be important in the metastatic spread of cancer. Their technology may allow for patient personalized therapies in the future.”

The URI Office of Intellectual Property and Economic Development works with URI researchers to: • protect their intellectual property, • license University technology to independent companies, and • launch new businesses. The office works closely with URI Ventures, which helps commercialize URI’s intellectual property. Among the office’s most recent achievements: $400,000 in licensing revenue for FY18 & FY19 combined, generated by current translational research efforts and commercialization at companies for a total of $650,000 since 2015. 42 Invention Disclosures in FY19 for commercial consideration, generating numerous opportunities for potential partners. This is the highest number of disclosures for one year in URI history. More than 120 invention disclosures were submitted in the past five years. 4 Active Start-Up Companies Since 2012, a total of four companies were launched, and all four are still operating in Rhode Island. One new start-up company was launched in FY19 to commercialize technology being developed at URI. 10 U.S. Patents in FY19, bringing URI’s patent portfolio to 36 issued U.S. patents since 2015. 42 Closed Deals, five license and 37 research commercialization agreements in FY19. The purpose of nine of the research agreements was to advance the technology of a Rhode Island manufacturer, with the remainder impacting companies across the United States.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER & COMMERCIALIZATION

In addition to creating jobs the work of URI scientists contributes to the local economy through new product development and the commercialization of new technology. One invention is a glove fitted with sensors for Parkinson’s patients. The gloves send information to doctors, who can ensure that medications are working properly and, in turn, manage the patient’s treatment plan better. Another is a simpler way to measure the level of an immunosuppressive agent in organ transplant patients. An optimal therapeutic level of this agent is essential for these patients. The new testing method uses saliva instead of blood, which means it is not necessary for a health care provider to perform the test. These scientists have contributed to the state’s extraordinary success in bioscience-related patents: Rhode Island ranks eighth in the nation in bioscience-related patents per capita (Biotechnology Innovation Organization, 2018).

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18 The University of Rhode Island