$16.2 Million Grant Leads to Formation of the
Institute for the Advancement of Medical Innovation

December 10, 2008

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation announced an $8.1 million grant to the University of Kansas to establish the Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation, a unique life science proof-of-concept model that draws support from higher education, philanthropy and industry experts to move medical innovations from the lab to the market. To enhance the impact of the Kauffman Foundation’s support, the Kansas University Endowment Association will match the grant through contributions from other donors.

The Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation will focus on education and research that advances medical innovations, ultimately accelerating the number and quality of new drugs, medical devices and drug–medical device combinations from the bench to the bedside.

The Institute will be guided by an advisory board of independent experts and staffed by experienced drug development and medical device leaders to create an unprecedented collaboration of resources and processes to support the Institute.

“The Institute’s formation represents lessons we have culled from years of studying the models that strengthen the ability to bring new inventions and products to market," said Carl Schramm, Kauffman Foundation president and CEO. "We believe this Institute will become a world-class resource and help define best practices in moving innovation to the real world."

The grant includes seed funds for up to 24 proof-of-concept projects per year. Based upon the recommendations from the advisory board, the Institute may progress with a varying number of projects from year-to-year.

The grant earmarks funding for the Institute for Pediatric Innovation (IPI), which funnels its drug development work through a partnership with KU, Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Hospital (CMH) and Beckloff Associates Inc. IPI seeks to improve pediatric care by stimulating development of medical products and medications designed specifically for babies and children. 

"We are honored to receive this grant from the Kauffman Foundation to enhance and streamline the incredible efforts taking place at the University of Kansas in discovery and development of medical innovations," said Scott Weir, PharmD, PhD, director, Office of Therapeutics, Discovery and Development at the University of Kansas Cancer Center.

Weir, a 20-year pharmaceutical industry veteran formerly with Marion Laboratories Inc., will head up the Institute as its director. He also serves on IPI’s Pharmaceutical Advisory Board and leads KU's pediatric drug development efforts in support of IPI’s mission. Weir joined KU almost three years ago to help the University’s efforts to achieve National Cancer Institute designation, assuming a role partially funded by the Kauffman Foundation. "These funds will allow us to advance discoveries of drugs, medical devices, and drug-device combinations from concept to patients, allowing us to make a greater impact on the health of our community."

IPI already has identified three drug projects, which will be accelerated by the Institute during the next 12 months.  BIO Center staff has already completed formulations work on one of the identified drug compounds.  

“There are drug products on the market today that would be useful for children and could be indicated for treating childhood disease,” Weir said. “But pediatric forms of things like high blood pressure medicines or medical devices are really not available because large pharmaceutical and medical device companies typically do not have enough of a financial incentive to develop these products,” he added.

Weir explained that KU and CMH have developed a pediatric liquid form of an undisclosed hypertension drug that has previously been available only in adult form.

“IPI has said, ‘Here’s one of the drugs we’d like to make available in children’s form,’ and now we have worked with Beckloff, Mercy, and others to chart the plan to bring this product to the market,” 

Weir said.  “At this point the product is ready now to leave our labs  at KU and go into commercial laboratories and then into the formal drug development process to meet FDA requirements,” he added.

In addition to its impact in the medical field, the Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation will serve as a national model for how philanthropy, industry and universities can collaborate to advance university innovations in life sciences.

In recent years the University has recruited veterans from the pharmaceutical industry to serve on medical and scientific teams.  This has brought a proven private sector approach to the complex problem of moving university research out of the laboratory and into the market place.  The project teams are focusing on the most promising new drugs and treatments.

The Institute will encourage greater investment in promising research to allow it to move further in the development process.  This will eventually lead to greater interest by pharmaceutical companies and potentially lead to license agreements, spin-out companies, and other investments. 

"The University of Kansas and Kauffman Foundation share a commitment to innovation and a mission of service to the community," said Chancellor Robert Hemenway. "This generous grant will help us find new treatments and cures and get them to the patients who need them. Lives will be changed and the health of our region and nation improved as a result of the work that will take place at the Institute."

The grant also will enable expert faculty to educate the next class of drug and medical device development specialists by giving workshops and courses on the drug commercialization process.

"It's gratifying for us at KU Endowment to help the university advance the frontiers of knowledge," said Dale Seuferling, president of KU Endowment. "We're proud to partner with the Kauffman Foundation and look forward to attracting other donors to provide funding for this institute, which represents an unparalleled training opportunity for KU graduate and post-doctoral students."

Duplication of this approach in other regions is an important goal. However, it is noted that the Institute will have an economic benefit in this region.  It is assumed that this Institute will play a role in the formation of new pharmaceutical companies in the Kansas City region.  

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private nonpartisan foundation that works to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to grow economies and improve human welfare. Through its research and other initiatives, the Kauffman Foundation aims to open young people's eyes to the possibility of entrepreneurship, promote entrepreneurship education, raise awareness of entrepreneurship-friendly policies, and find alternative pathways for the commercialization of new knowledge and technologies. It also works to prepare students to be innovators, entrepreneurs and skilled workers in the 21st century economy through initiatives designed to improve learning in math, engineering, science and technology. Founded by late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, the Foundation is based in Kansas City, Mo. and has approximately $2 billion in assets.

 

KU and Mayo Clinic Cancer Center Team Up in NCI-Funded Investigational Trial

Jul 13, 2007

KU to provide expertise in drug development

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The University of Kansas Cancer Center and the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center are working together on a National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded investigational agent that is designed to prevent cancer. The project represents an opportunity to leverage the strengths of two research entities to fast track a new cancer prevention therapy to patients.

The two institutions are developing and executing an exploratory clinical trial. Several investigational formulations of the drug will be developed at KU under the direction of Roger Rajewski, PhD, Director of the Biotechnology Innovation and Optimization Center (BIO Center) . The investigational formulations will then be tested in clinical trials at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

This joint research grant focuses on a drug designed from a naturally-occurring anti-cancer agent found in vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. The agent, SR13668, is a synthetic version of a compound that naturally inhibits Akt, a protein that can stop a cell from destroying itself, thus keeping a malignant cell alive. This protein is abnormally active in many human malignancies such as breast, prostate, lung, pancreatic, liver, ovarian and colorectal cancers, and in cell and animal experiments, SR13668 has exhibited the ability to inhibit tumor growth, and potentially tumor invasion.

The proposed research is to conduct "pharmacokinetic" studies on a small number of healthy volunteers to determine how different formulations of SR13668 are absorbed, distributed and metabolized within the body. These short-term phase "0" studies are not meant to treat cancer or to demonstrate that these agents can prevent cancer − larger clinical trials may be held to determine the drug?s effectiveness against cancer.

It is natural for the two institutions to work together to advance this particular investigational anti-cancer agent from development to clinical trials, according to Scott Weir, PharmD, PhD, director of the KU Office of Therapeutics, Discovery and Development.

Paul Limburg, MD, MPH, Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and co-investigator of the study, said this potentially novel drug might provide a new way to think about preventing cancer.

"While searching for treatment is important, even more so is finding effective ways to prevent cancer, and we hope to do so by working together in this effort," said Limburg, who also serves as the director of the Cancer Prevention Network, a nation-wide consortium funded by the NCI to organize, promote, and conduct cancer prevention research.

Weir said he hopes this initial project will set the stage for expanded collaborations with Mayo Clinic to jointly discover and develop anti-cancer agents.

KU Cancer Center Director Roy Jensen, MD, said this joint effort illustrates the university's outstanding research strengths and capabilities in its effort to improve cancer care.

"Working with Mayo Clinic Cancer Center on this research grant is a further testament to the excellence of KU's School of Pharmacy and our Drug Discovery and Development program. This project demonstrates our ability to collaborate with others. It serves as a tremendous asset as we move forward with obtaining NCI's designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center," Jensen said.

Story by KUMC News

BIO Center Members present at AAPS
Scientists from the Biotechnology Innovation and Optimization Center (BIO Center) attended the he 2007 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego. More than 9,000 pharmaceutical scientists from around the world attended the meeting to discuss the latest research and discoveries impacting the pharmaceutical industry. The week-long meeting included coordinated keynote and plenary lectures about combining biomedical research in the fields of academia and industry, and featured a wide variety of educational programming and more than 2,000 poster presentations..
Roger Rajewski, director of the BIO Center attended the meeting, along with Michelle Kennedy, Ph.D., John Halsam, Ph.D., and Mehmet Tanol, Ph.D.    BIO Center scientists presented two posters:

• Pulmonary Delivery of Sodium (2,6-diisopropylphenoxy) methyl phosphate: A Water Soluble Prodrug of Propofol.  Michelle P. McIntosh and Roger A Rajewski.
• Development of a Combined Immediate and Sustained Release Tramadol Formulation.  John A. Haslam, Michelle P. McIntosh, Karl Schorno, and Roger A. Rajewski.

Kennedy joins BIO Center team
Dr. Michelle Kennedy joined the Biotechnology Innovation & Optimization center in October. Kennedy has extensive experience in the contract pharmaceutical industry. Her expertise in this area strengthens the capabilities of the BIO Center. 

Kennedy has a background in interdisciplinary research, incorporating design, synthesis and analysis of novel compounds, as well as experience in a pharmaceutical analytical laboratory.

Kennedy received her Ph.D. in Chemistry for University of Kansas and completed postdoctoral training at Columbia University.  She then worked in the Analytical Departing at Quintiles, which became Aptuit, Inc in 2005.