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KU researcher takes next big step in contraceptives CritiTech sees big things ahead ——
New leadership, global ventures are gaining attention By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Kevin Anderson/Special to the Journal-World
JOSEPH TASH IS DIRECTOR of the Interdisciplinary Center for Male Contraceptive Research and Drug Development at Kansas University Medical Center. He is researching and developing a male version of the pill.
Doubling down on birth control ————
New pill for men may soon be ready for clinical testing By Karrey Britt kbritt@ljworld.com
Many women would say, “It’s about time.” A Kansas University researcher has helped develop a birth control pill for men, and he’s hoping it soon will be tested in human clinical trials. Joseph Tash, director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Male Contraceptive Research and Drug Development at KU Medical Center, said he began his research in the late 1960s when he worked in
a Chicago hospital’s obstetrics and gynecology department. “I saw how the focus of reproductive responsibility seemed to be largely on the female, and I wanted to change that,” he said. Tash said men have expressed a greater willingness to participate in the family planning decisions, but right now they have only three options: abstaining from sex, using
condoms or getting a vasectomy. For women, there are more choices available — pills, patches, shots and intrauterine devices — but many women can’t use them for a variety of health reasons. Tash believes he has another option to add to the mix that’s 100 percent effective and has no side effects — at least in National Institutes of Health studies that have been done on nonhuman species. “It looks very promising, but until we get into
the FDA-regulated, preclinical tests, we don’t know for sure,” he said. Tash said the pill is a chemical compound called H2-gamendazole that temporarily stops the production of sperm by the testes. Based on studies, Tash said, it takes about three weeks to stop sperm production and then eight to 10 weeks for full recovery of fertility. Tash’s development has made national news, and
TASH HOLDS A SAMPLE of
Please see PILL, page 2A H2-gamendazole.
The technology of making things smaller has a Lawrence company poised to become much bigger. CritiTech — the west Lawrence-based pharmaceutical firm — has added three new senior level management positions to its staff as its first international venture is set to begin operations this week. “We’re getting to a very critical point with the company now,” said CEO McClorey David Johnston. “We’re ramping up and pursuing several options for collaboration and partnership.” The company confirmed it has hired Matt McClorey, the former leader of the Lawrencebased Bioscience and Technology Business Center, to serve as the company’s first chief operating officer. McClorey announced earlier this month he was leaving the successful bioscience incubator on Kansas University’s West Campus, and said at the time he was set to take a management role with a Lawrence-based technology company. CritiTech also announced it has hired McClorey’s No. 2 executive at the bioscience incubator. Jeffrey Morrison, the former executive director of operations and client development at Please see CRITITECH, page 2A
KU business school positions itself to maintain strong MBA program an overhaul of its twoyear fulltime MBA program as competition grows fiercer for Bendapudi the best students. “We are looking ahead proactively and making some changes,” said
By Matt Erickson merickson@theworldco.info
Across the world, fewer people are showing a willingness to set aside their careers to work full time on a Master of Business Administration degree. Kansas University’s School of Business defied that trend in 2012, at least, but it’s forging ahead with
In the United States, 62 percent of such programs experienced a decline in applications in 2012, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council study cited by the Journal. In the Midwest, the numbers were even worse; 71 percent of programs reported a decline. At KU, applications for its full-time program in-
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KU Business Dean Neeli Bendapudi. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that applications for two-year full-time MBA programs tumbled worldwide for the fourth straight year for the class of students beginning programs this fall. The median number of applications fell by 22 percent from 2011.
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highs set shortly after the economic downturn late in the previous decade. As more people find jobs, fewer are willing to attend graduate school — especially for full-time MBA programs, Bendapudi said, which require students to set aside their careers for two years. (KU also has a
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creased slightly in 2012, from 102 to 107. Though that followed a decline from 127 applications in 2010. Much of the worldwide decline in applications is likely related to economic trends, Bendapudi said. “These cycles happen in graduate education,” Bendapudi said. The declines follow
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Vol.154/No.268 36 pages