University of Virginia Licensing & Ventures Group 2023 Annual Report by uvalvg

UVA LVG ANNUAL REPORT

2023

THE INVENTION IMPROVING CLOSE TO 500,000 LIVES – AND COUNTING

UVA JOINS NEW MID-SOUTH HUB OF I-CORPS

MEET THE UVA ALUM REVOLUTIONIZING KNEE JOINT REPLACEMENT

Where research gets real

Launching UVA-Born Ideas into the Marketplace Accelerate

Develop

We provide resources and expertise to support the entrepreneurial and investment process

We connect and promote innovations to our partners and industry

Protect

04 Welcome We work with creators to discover an innovation’s smartest path to IMPACT

Our Mission: To grow and guide UVA innovations while improving lives on Grounds and around the world.

07 FY23 Performance 12 New Ventures 18 FY23 Patents 22 LVG Seed Fund 28 Innovator of the Year 36 I-Corps 46 Inside LVG

IMAGE: 2022 INNOVATOR OF THE Y E AR MARC BRE TON

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Engage

TABLE OF CONTENTS

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

We navigate the legal and patenting process to protect ideas developed at UVA

WELCOME

Welcome

Board of Directors LVG also provides educational opportunities for students to learn about research translation, commercialization, intellectual property, new venture creation and venture capital investing. This is a win-win since we derive our energy and enthusiasm from working with students, as well as faculty, entrepreneurs and investors. But none of what we do would be possible without the passionate support and guidance from our Board of Directors. On behalf of the entire LVG team, I want to express our thanks for your dedication, time and talent to support our mission.

You meet them on Grounds, at special events, conferences, seminars – or just when they walk through the front door here at the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group in downtown Charlottesville. Sometimes you meet so many people in so many different places that details of encounters escape you. Call it the cost of working at a world-class university like UVA. All this is to say I haven’t forgotten a thing from our 30th-annual Innovator of the Year event last February that honored diabetes pioneer Marc Breton.

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

How could I?

Having only arrived from Michigan State University a few months before, it marked my first time in the Rotunda. In attendance was a “Who’s Who” (or shall I say a Hoo’s Hoo!) of UVA faculty and innovators – including previous Innovator of the Year winners Boris Kovatchev, George Gillies, Karen Ingersoll, Ronald Taylor and Lee Ritterband – and our LVG team by my side. But the highlight of the evening was hearing from people whose quality of life has improved thanks to Marc and Boris’ invention. At last count, their artificial pancreas is helping close to a half-million people with Type I diabetes around the world (see page 28). At the end of the event, a woman shared how the invention has impacted her daughter. “It’s lifechanging,” she told Marc. “It’s just incredible. I want to say thank you ... this is such a well-deserved honor and I just want to say thank you personally.” At LVG, these are the kinds of moments we live for, the moments we strive for daily as we build upon the “Great and Good” 2030 Plan set forth by UVA President Jim Ryan.

To that end, LVG completed 67 transactions with companies in 2023. Licenses included companies in the Commonwealth, the U.S. and six different countries, highlighted by the biotech, electronics and medical device fields. Meanwhile, LVG launched three new ventures to advance innovations in treatment for cancer, malaria and male fertility.

Lastly, I invite anyone reading this report to our 2023 Innovator of the Year event. It is tentatively scheduled for the early part of 2024 at the Rotunda (please check lvg.virginia.edu for more details as we draw closer). I would love for others to feel the same thrill, kindness and excitement for innovation that I experienced in that hallowed space last February. Come along for the ride!

Michael J. Lenox, Ph.D. (ENGR ’93) Senior Associate Dean and Chief Strategy Officer, Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration, UVA Darden School of Business The Honorable Paul R. Michel, J.D. (LAW ’66) Former Chief Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Melur K. (Ram) Ramasubramanian, Ph.D. UVA Vice President for Research Richard Tadler (McIntire, ’78) Former Chairman, TA Associates Kwame Ulmer (M.S. ENGR ‘98, DARDEN ‘15) Principal, Ulmer Ventures

With the launch of the new Paul and Diane Manning Institute of Biotechnology – which will position UVA at the very forefront of cutting-edge medicine, including cellular and gene therapies that revolutionize how diseases are treated and cured – we believe this is just the beginning.

Last year, UVA joined the National Science Foundationfunded I-Corps Program, and this past summer LVG hosted its first cohort of companies (see page 36).

John S. Lazo, Ph.D. Pharmacology, UVA School of Medicine Chief Scientific Officer, KeViRx, Inc.

Ron Newbold, Ph.D. CEO, Empire Discovery Institute

If you want to be genuinely wowed, check out what some of our more established companies have been up to. Laser Thermal (page 14) is revolutionizing how thermal measurements are taken. Nanochon (page 26) has invented cartilage implants that are giving people with bum knees like me new hope. And AgroSpheres (page 20) just invested $25 million to expand their crop protection business here in Charlottesville.

Of course, all of this represents only one part of our mission.

Erik L. Hewlett, M.D. Professor Emeritus, Medicine, Infectious Disease and International Health UVA School of Medicine

Jennifer L. West Dean, Nancy and Neal Wade Professor of Engineering and Applied Science UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science

RICHARD W. CHYLLA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

In my line of work, you continually meet amazing people who are doing incredible things in research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Peter M. Grant II (COL ’78, DARDEN ’86) Chair Founding Partner, Anchormarck Holdings LLC

WELCOME

2023 PERFORMANCE

University of Virginia research, across disciplines, schools and institutes on Grounds, yields

“I’ve received more than I’ve given – I’ve learned a lot.” Macfarlane said. “It’s been an honor and a pleasure. “The role of LVG both in academic research and in an efficiently functioning entrepreneurial ecosystem is critical to enterprise excellence. Its success can breed subsequent success, which is cumulative for UVA, for Charlottesville and for Virginia.” Macfarlane, who received his MBA from UVA’s Darden School of Business, served two four-year terms.

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

“We appreciate your service to not only LVG, but to the University,” Chair Peter M. Grant II told Macfarlane. “Your voice will be missed.”

Assuming Macfarlane’s position on the board will be Richard D. Tadler, a UVA alumnus who has worked in private equity for 40 years. Tadler served as chairman of the global private equity firm TA Associates, helping the firm grow from a $100 million fund to more than $16 billion. Prior to his time at TA, Tadler was a general partner at Investments Orange Nassau and an assistant to the president at ARMCO Steel. “LVG as I know it is the first key step in helping UVA ideas go from the University ecosystem to the larger world outside Charlottesville,” said Tadler, who earned his MBA from the Wharton School of Finance. “It will be exciting to see the numerous ideas generated by the smart, ambitious UVA community of scholars and entrepreneurs.”

RICHARD TADLER

JOHN MACFARLANE

business development, patent protection, transactions with new and existing companies and seed fund investments to yield returns for UVA and enrich and improve lives.

150 217 46 67 3 $1.28M $31.3M

Invention Disclosures

Patents Filed

U.S. Patents Issued

Licensing Deals

New Ventures

Invested from the LVG Seed Fund

Leveraged by the LVG Seed Fund

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

After a remarkable eight-year run that began in 2015, John G. Macfarlane III – a former University of Virginia Board of Visitors member and managing partner of Arrochar Management LLC – has stepped down from LVG’s Board of Directors.

LVG engages these ideas and stewards them toward the marketplace through evaluation,

PERFORMANCE

LVG Board Bids Farewell to Macfarlane, Welcomes Tadler

discoveries and inventions with commercial potential every year.

F Y23 PERFORMANCE

Invention Disclosures

Architecture Commerce Data Science McIntire School Biocomplexity Initiative Research Computing

7% OTHER

53% SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

Biology Chemistry Physics Psychology

31%

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING & APPLIED SCIENCE

Biomedical Engineering Chemical Engineering Civil & Environmental Engineering Computer Science Electrical & Computer Engineering Engineering & Society Materials Science & Engineering Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Systems and Information Engineering

Anesthesiology Beirne B. Carter Center Biomedical Engineering Cardiology Center for Diabetes Technology Cell Biology Center for Membrane & Cell Physiology Core Facilities Cardiovascular Medicine Endocrinology Gastroenterology Health Systems Technology Services Hematology & Oncology Infectious Disease Medical Center Therapy Services Medical Center Be Safe Medical Center MICU Microbiology Molecular Physics & Biophysics Neuroscience Neurology Obstetrics & Gynecology Ophthalmology Orthopedics Otolaryngology Pathology Pediatrics Pharmacology Pulmonary Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences Radiation Research Surgery Urology

In FY23, UVA innovators brought forward 150 ideas and discoveries with the potential to improve lives.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

F Y23 PERFORMANCE

Industry Partners LVG executed 67 commercial transactions with 38 industry partners from around the world.

California Massachusetts

Licensing Deals

Michigan

United States / 26

New Hampshire

Biotech

Nonprofit

Communications

Pharmaceuticals

Electronics

Quantum Computing

Government, Healthcare

Research Reagents

Life Sciences

Semiconductors

Marketing

Therapeutics

Medical Devices

University

Mobile App Development

Virginia / 5

Maryland North Carolina

Industries Represented

UVA Translational Research Funds

Ohio

UVA has three ongoing philanthropically funded translational research programs that support biomedical innovation. While each fund has different parameters and oversight, all proposals are evaluated based on their potential path to delivering improvements in healthcare.

Canada Denmark Germany Japan Netherlands United Kingdom

World / 36

Coulter Translational Research Partnership

Ivy Biomedical Innovation Fund

LaunchPad for Diabetes

Year Founded

2006

2008

2009

Applications

246

330

126

Projects Funded

108

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

Pennsylvania

The Licensing & Ventures Group plays an integral role in UVA’s sophisticated translational research infrastructure. Translational research involves moving knowledge and discovery gained from the basic sciences to its application in clinical and community settings.

New Ventures In the span of two years, I’ve gone from running a lab at UVA to running a company in Charlottesville. I don’t think we could have imagined that it would grow this quickly. LVG has been a great partner.” – J ohn Gaskins, Cofounder & CEO of Laser Thermal

Svalinn Therapeutics, Inc. Some 400 million humans have a genetic enzyme variant putting them at risk for severe toxicity with the current treatments for Plasmodium Vivax Malaria. Svalinn is developing novel therapies for Plasmodium Vivax, enabling all people to be cured of this disease regardless of their enzyme status. S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E | PAT H O L O GY U VA I N V E N T O R : D R . J A M E S Z I M R I N G

BATs LLC BATs, LLC is an immunotherapy company focused on changing the paradigm of cellular therapy for cancer by retargeting non-cultured immune cells to liquid and solid tumors with bispecific antibodies without the need for culture. U VA S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E

PS Fertility, Inc. PS Fertility Inc is a medical diagnostic laboratory focused on revolutionizing the male fertility market through a breakthrough scientific discovery in reproductive sciences. Its novel discovery of PS factor and its role in fertilization take fertility testing to a level beyond sperm counting and motility measurement. U VA S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E U VA I N V E N T O R S : J E F F R E Y LY S I A K ; KO D I R AV I C H A N D R A N

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

U VA I N V E N T O R : D R . L AW R E N C E L U M

NEW VENTURES

Laser Focus: UVA-Born Company Revolutionizing Thermal Measurements Laser Thermal co-founder John Gaskins announced a $2.9 million investment to expand the company’s Charlottesville facilities. o understand the importance of obtaining precise thermal measurements, look no further than the exploding smartphone debacle of 2016.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 caused several users to suffer second- and thirddegree burns and cost the company an estimated $17 billion due to two recalls, and, eventually, a discontinuation. After a lengthy investigation, Samsung determined that defective phone batteries generating excess heat caused the explosions. As products continue to shrink and become more complex, thermal management is the most significant challenge to designing and building the next generation of products. Overcoming these challenges requires a better understanding of the thermal properties of materials and how they can be used to prevent overheating.

“Many of our employees are originally from Virginia, or are happily transplanted and love working at a high-tech company located in such a beautiful, friendly and innovative state,” Gaskins said.

Historically, measuring and analyzing a material’s ability to conduct or resist heat has been difficult, but Laser Thermal, a Charlottesville company founded by University of Virginia alumni John Gaskins and Patrick Hopkins, is working to change that.

Gaskins and Hopkins earned their bachelor’s degrees and doctorates from UVA.

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

Laser Thermal was founded in 2020 and currently focuses on serving testing needs in the semiconductor industry, but its tool has the potential to help companies in other industries increase quality control, speed their products to market and create better technology.

THIS IMAGE CRE ATED BY S SRT- F SHOWS ME ASURED THERMAL PROPERTIES AT THE DE VICE SCALE HELPING C OMPANIES WITH PRODUC T DESIGN AND QUALIT Y C ONTROL

The scale at which Laser Thermal can make measurements is their calling card. “We’re in our wheelhouse when we’re in the nanometer and micron range,” Gaskins said. “The diameter of a human hair is, on average, about 100 microns or 0.1 millimeters. We make measurements on scales 1,000 to 10,000 times smaller than that.” Laser Thermal already counts several Fortune 500 companies and major research universities as its clients. In July, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that the company will invest $2.9 million to expand its operations in Charlottesville, creating an additional 28 new jobs at its manufacturing, research and development facility at Ix Park. “Laser Thermal’s decision to expand its research and development capacity in Charlottesville highlights the economic development generated from our world-class universities like the University of Virginia and the innovation and talent they produce,” Youngkin said. “The company’s success also showcases Virginia’s ongoing technology sector growth, and we look forward to a continued partnership.” Due to the proximity to major shipping hubs and international airports, and the ability to maintain collaborative ties with UVA, Gaskins said starting a company in Charlottesville was a no-brainer.

“UVA did a great job of making me a well-rounded engineer with a strong emphasis on writing and communication, which has served me well throughout my career,” Gaskins said, “especially as I’ve gone from engineering to more of the business side of things.” After completing his doctorate, Gaskins joined Hopkins’ ExSiTE Lab at UVA. He and the rest of Hopkins’ lab were making extremely small-scale thermal THE DE VICE ME ASURES MATERIAL THERMAL PROPERTIES AT LENGTHS UP TO 10,000 TIMES SMALLER THAN A HUMAN HAIR

JOHN G ASKINS, RIGHT, AND FELLOW UVA ALUMNUS PATRICK HOPKINS FOUNDED L ASER THERMAL IN 2020

measurements and wondered why the practice wasn’t more widespread. That’s because the technique was both labor-intensive and difficult to master, requiring constant oversight from scientists and doctoral students.

something from an academic prototype to a commercial tool that can be used by some of the biggest companies in the world.” Gaskins says LVG was, and continues to be, invaluable.

Gaskins, Hopkins and Brian Foley, the vice president of research and development at Laser Thermal, discovered a means to simplify the measurement using fiber optics, which UVA Licensing & Ventures Group inhouse attorney Robert Decker helped them patent in 2016.

“They’ve helped push us along,” he said. “We can always ask their licensing managers if they have connections within the industry. And Rich Chylla has a strong background in commercialization and pulling up companies. He’s been a great resource as well.”

“Rob was an enormous help to us throughout the entire patent process.” Gaskins said. “Without him, I don’t know where we’d be.”

The recent passage of the CHIPS and Science Act has most certainly been a fortuitous development for Laser Thermal.

In 2019, the team invented a new, much simpler, method to perform the tests using their existing fiber optic intellectual property and put it into a device they created called SSTR-F, ultimately licensing both pieces of intellectual property through LVG.

“There’s all this money being pumped into the U.S. ecosystem, and companies are looking for competitive advantages,” Gaskins said. “As a company, we really believe we offer a competitive advantage in understanding thermal properties to a level that really hasn’t been available before.

Laser Thermal was founded just before the start of the pandemic.

“When you think of thermal failure, you always hear of bad stories like a Samsung Galaxy [phone] blowing up. That is largely because the industry has approached thermal from a reactive standpoint. We feel what we bring as a company is the ability to be proactive about thermal properties, thermal failure and heat flow.”

“I don’t think we had the aspirations to be as big as we are right now,” Gaskins said. “When Patrick and I spun out the company in 2020, we were thinking we could make a few of these in our basement and just sell them to customers, not really understanding the full scope of what it takes to take

Since launching Laser Thermal, Gaskins and Hopkins have leveraged their UVA

ties to expand their business. Many of their product engineers and research scientists are UVA graduates, and the company has helped Darden students gain valuable internship experience by participating in the school’s Batten Venture Internship Program. UVA Assistant Vice President for Economic Development Pace Lochte sees a bright future for the company, one that is aligned with larger University and state economic development priorities. “Laser Thermal is contributing important, highly relevant work to the rapidly growing semiconductor industry that will further reinforce Virginia as a good place for chip manufacturers and suppliers to do business,” Lochte said. “From a workforce perspective, this is going to create additional opportunities for our students to remain in Virginia after graduation, retaining valuable talent in Virginia.” Gaskins, who left UVA fulltime in April of 2021, said the last few years have been a bit surreal. “In the span of two years, I’ve gone from running a lab at UVA to running a company in Charlottesville,” he said. “I don’t think we could have imagined that it would grow this quickly. The city of Charlottesville and LVG have been great partners.”.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

IN THE NEWS

A. First of all, the semiconductor industry is one of the most important sectors for modern industrial economies. Semiconductor chips are ubiquitous in all electronic products ranging from consumer appliances, smartphones, automobiles to aircraft. The United States pioneered the development of semiconductors and microprocessors but allowed much of the technology and manufacturing to move offshore. Not only can this result in supplychain disruptions like we observed during the pandemic, but there are national security concerns when we don’t control the development, manufacturing and sourcing of these technologies.

UVA Licensing & Ventures Group Executive Director Richard W. Chylla and Entrepreneur-in-Residence Andy Krouse visited with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and others at a Virginia business incubator.

ost people know that the iPhone was developed by Apple. But what most people don’t know is that the iPhone contains more than 100 innovations that were originally developed at universities around the country.

The CHIPS and Science Act provides financial incentives for companies to invest in these technologies in the United States. The act also goes further. It provides funding to the National Science Foundation Translational Innovation Partnership directorate for supporting

While Apple was the system integrator and product developer, the company didn’t create the underlying base technology. This occurred in university laboratories, funded largely by basic research from Federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, NASA and the Department of Energy. University of Virginia Licensing & Ventures Executive Director Richard W. Chylla frequently shares this fact when discussing the impact that university technology transfer offices can have on the world.

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

Many companies would never get off the ground without federal funding, which is why Chylla is so thankful for the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act that was signed into law last year.

infrastructure and tech transfer offices like LVG to move more technology out of university labs into the private sector. Q. W hat are some examples of UVA startups that have received federal funding in the past and are now making significant societal impacts? A. The arrhythmia treatment drug Adenocard, which Dr. Robert M. Berne helped commercialize more than 30 years ago, generated more than $50 million for cardiovascular research at the University. Today, the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center at UVA is one of the world’s premier centers for cardiovascular research. Adenocard has provided a successful blueprint for countless lifechanging UVA innovations. Another good example occurred about six years ago when LVG made its first investment from the University’s Seed Fund in TypeZero Technologies, whose artificial pancreas technology we had helped license. TypeZero was subsequently purchased by DexCom Inc., which provides glucose monitoring for people with diabetes. (see page 28) Q. Are there some UVA companies just getting off the ground that have benefitted from federal funding of the basic science and could be poised to have similar impacts?

Known as the “CHIPS and Science Act,” it authorized $3.1 billion over five years to support technology transfer capacity building for research institutions. This includes support for identifying academic research with potential for technology transfer and commercialization, ensuring availability of technology transfer expert staff, helping to offset cost of patenting and licensing, developing private sector partnerships and supporting education and training of entrepreneurial students and faculty.

Last year, Chylla and UVA LVG Entrepreneur in Residence Andy Krouse met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Gerry Connolly and others at a Virginia business incubator in Herndon.

UVA LVG E XECUTIVE DIREC TOR RICHARD W. CH Y LL A ME T WITH U. S. TRE ASURY SECRE TARY JANE T Y ELLEN AND OTHER OFFICIAL S IN HERNDON.

–R ichard W. Chylla, UVA LVG Executive Director

A. One of our current Seed Fund companies, Mission Secure, protects clients in the energy, defense, autonomous systems, maritime and helps critical infrastructure industries prepare for and protect against cyberattacks. QC82, Inc., one of our new ventures, is working to deliver photonic quantum computing by using breakthroughs in on-chip quantum photonics and room temperature photodetection. This means maintaining U.S. leadership in this next generation of high-speed computing, solving problems too complex for classical computers. Q. What was your overall message to Treasury Secretary Yellen, Senator Kaine and others with whom you met? A. Thank you for all your support for legislation and programs that continue to fund the development of basic science and the downstream infrastructure that supports the translation of basic science into partnerships with industry that brings the benefits of this technology to the American public.

The funds also support the establishment of Collaborate Innovation Resource Centers that promote regional technology transfer. “There have been a number of programs over the last 25 years that have been set up in the state of Virginia to help entrepreneurs get started,” Chylla said. “The CHIPS and Science Act is going to help to accelerate that by sending money from the National Science Foundation into the Commonwealth to create more venture financing for strong businesses and university infrastructure to support them. This is sorely needed especially for life sciences companies.”

This [legislation] is sorely needed, especially for life sciences companies.”

UVA LVG ENTREPRENEUR IN RESIDENCE ANDRE W KROUSE, LEF T, WITH SENATOR TIM K AINE

This investment over the past 75 years by the U.S. has proven late American engineer and inventor Vannevar Bush’s statement true – that “basic research is the pacemaker of technology progress.”

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Recently Passed ‘CHIPS and Science Act’ Expected to Accelerate More UVA Startups

Q. Can you explain more why these potential funds from the CHIPS and Science Act are so vital?

F Y2 3 PAT E N T S

US Patent Number

Title

Inventors

11,647,915

Systems and Methods for Medical Imaging Incorporating Prior Knowledge

Fielden, Samuel W.; Zhao (BIDMC), Li; Wintermark (Stanford), Max; Meyer, Craig H.

11,633,458

Compositions and Methods for Treating Melanoma

Slingluff, Jr., Craig L.; Mauldin, Ileana S.

11,406,313

System and Method for Improved Cardiac Rhythm Classification from Time Between Heart Beat Intervals Using Non-Linear Dynamics

Moorman, J. Randall; Lake, Douglas E.

11,415,655

Reduced Field-Of-View Perfusion Imaging with High Spatiotemporal Resolution

Salerno, Michael; Yang, Yang; Zhao (BIDMC), Li; Chen, Xiao

11,567,062

System and Method for Tracking Changes in Average Glycemia in Diabetics

Kovatchev, Boris P.; Breton, Marc D.

11,393,558

Methods, Circuits, Systems, and Articles of Manufacture for Searching a Reference Sequence for a Target Sequence Within a Specified Distance

11,389,509

Title

Inventors

11,559,504

Ceramide Nanoliposomes, Compositions and Methods of Using for Immunotherapy

Kester*, Mark; Staveley-O Carroll, Kevin; Guangfu (U of MO), Li

11,436,280

Methods of Providing Approximate Solutions to the Maximum Clique of a Graph Using Expansion of Cliques of Subgraphs within a Graph and Related Circuits and Processor-Executable Instructions

Shukla, Nikhil Shrikant; Bashar, Mohammad Khairul; Mallick, Antik

11,413,324

Compositions and Methods for Treating Peripheral Nerve Disease, Disorders, and Injuries

Kucenas, Sarah; Garrett, Taylor Welsh

11,408,959

Positioning Through Multipath Reflection

Brandt-Pearce, Maite; Hosseinianfar, Hamid; Noshad (not UVA), Mohammad

Bo, Chunkun; Skadron, Kevin; Sadredini, Elaheh; Dang, Vinh

11,667,721

System and Method for the Development of CD30 Bispecific Antibodies for Immunotherapy of CD30+ Malignancies

Medin (MCW), Jeffrey A.; Lum, Lawrence G.; Oldham (MCW), Robyn A.; Thakur, Archana

Methods for Treatment of Social Dysfunction Neurological Disorders and Seizures

Filiano (Duke), Anthony; Kipnis, Jonathan

11,540,749

System and Method for Automated Detection of Neurological Deficits

Uribe, Omar; McDonald, Mark; Southerland, Andrew M.; Rohde, Gustavo; Zhuang, Yan

11,471,661

Ventricular Assist Device Stent, Ventricular Assist Device, and Related Methods Thereof

Mehaffey, James Hunter; Roeser, Mark; Kern, John A.; Kron, Irving L.; Ailawadi, Gorav

11,451,261

Asynchronous Stream Mote

Stan, Mircea R.; Guerrero, Luisa P. Gonzalez

11,436,714

11,684,739

Multiple Beak Endotracheal Device and Related Methods Thereof

Blank, Randal S.

Method and Apparatus for Estimating Emotional Quality Using Machine Learning

11,538,675

Whitehill (Worcester), Jacob; Ramakrishnan (Worcester), Anand; Ottmar (Worcester), Erin; LoCasale-Crouch, Jennifer

Rapid Identification and Sequence Analysis of Intact Proteins in Complex Mixtures

Hunt, Donald F.; English, Ann Michelle; Ugrin, Scott Andrew; Bai, Dina L.; Shabanowitz, Jeffrey; Syka (Not UVA), John E.

11,679,104

Compositions and Methods of Enhancing the Homing and/or Engraftment of Hematopoietic Cells in the Central Nervous System

Filiano (Duke), Anthony; Kurtzberg (Duke), Joanne; Kipnis, Jonathan

11,666,263

Three Dimensional Printed Mold for Electrochemical Sensor Fabrication, Method and Related System and Devices Thereof

Yang, Cheng; Venton, B. Jill; Trikantzopoulos, Elefterios

11,512,072

Compositions and Methods for Preparing and Using Azetidines

Hsu, Ku-Lung; McCloud, Rebecca L.

11,621,876

Clipping-Enhanced Data Communication

Brandt-Pearce, Maite; Lian, Jie

11,466,243

Bioreactor Controller Device and Related Method Thereof

Christ, George J; Remer, Joshua David; Garner, Gavin T.

11,446,392

Biomimetic Vesicles and Uses Thereof

11,389,168

Temporary Aortic Occlusion Device

Greene (MicroVention), George R.; Sepetka (MicroVention), Ivan; Lei (MicroVention), Cathy; Nguyen (MicroVention), Rupal; Bradley (Navy), Matthew J.; Ahlers (Navy), Stephen T.; Goforth (Navy), Carl S.; Stone, James R.

Kent, Kenneth Craig; Gong (Wisconsin), Shaoqin; Guo*, Lian-Wang; Wang*, Bowen; Chen (Wisconsin), Guojun; Urabe (Ohio State), Go

11,635,376

Fiber-Optic Based Material Property Measurement System and Related Methods

Foley, Brian M.; Gaskins, John Ed; Hopkins, Patrick E.

11,644,520

Systems and Methods for Magnetic Resonance Based Skull Thermometry

Gilbo, Yekaterina K.; Sporkin, Helen L.; Fielden, Samuel W.; Mugler, III, John P.; Miller, IV, Grady Wilson; Allen, Steven P.; Meyer, Craig H.

11,666,560

Anti-Fibrotic Agent

Paige (GMU), Mikell; Petruncio (GMU), Gregory; Shim, Yun Michael

11,419,948

Functionalized Microgels with Fibrin Binding Elements

Barker, Thomas H.; Brown (NC State), Ashley Carson; Lyon (GA Tech), Louis Andrew; Stabenfeldt (GA Tech), Sarah E.; Welsch (GA Tech), Nicole; Nicosia (GA Tech), John

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

11,389,169

US Patent Number

Temporary Aortic Occlusion Device

11,376,305

Compositions and Methods for Regulating Blood Pressure

Isakson, Brant E.; Billaud, Marie; DeLalio, Leon J; Le, Thu

11,617,901

Application of Radiation Using Imaging Guidance

Brenin, David R.; Showalter, Timothy Norman; Hossack, John A.

11,512,002

Silica Materials and Methods of Making Thereof

Sonn, Jong Ho; Norris, Pamela M.

11,565,133

System and Method to Compute a Pixel Sensitivity Map of an Imaging Device

Siebers, Jeffrey Vincent; Ahmed, Mahmoud

11,666,287

Method, System and Computer Readable Medium for Predictive Hypoglycemia Detection for Mild to Moderate Exercise

Breton, Marc D.; Ben-Brahim, Najib

11,590,501

Systems for Isolating and Transplanting Pancreatic Islets

Swami, Nathan; Varhue, Walter; Langman, Linda W.; Brayman, Kenneth; Peirce-Cottler, Shayn

11,436,401

System for Placement Optimization of Chip Design for Transient Noise Control and Related Methods Thereof

Wang, Ke; Skadron, Kevin; Stan, Mircea R.; Zhang, Runjie

11,650,148

Cavity-Enhanced Fourier Transform Spectroscopy for Chiral Analysis

Pate, Brooks Hart

11,541,101

LEMD3 Antagonizes TGF-Beta-Driven SMAD2/3 Transcription in a StiffnessDependent Fashion in Both The Nucleus and Cytosol

Barker, Thomas H.; Moretti, Leandro; Chambers (Emory U), Dwight M.

11,413,449

Medical Device that Applies Electrical Stimulation to the Spinal Cord from Inside the Dura for Treating Back Pain and Other Conditions

11,426,371

Compositions and Methods for Treating Cancer

Loughran, Jr., Thomas P.; Fabrias (CSIC), Gemma; Abad (CSIC), Jose Luis; Casas (CSIC), Josefina; Feith, David J.; Tan, Su-Fern; Pearson, Jennifer M.; Cirilo (UB), Antonio Delgado

Howard, III (U of Iowa), Matthew A.; Brennan (U of Iowa), Timothy; Dalm (U of Iowa), Brian; Utz, Marcel; Gillies, George T.; Scott, Steven; Nelson, Randall S.; Shurig, Robert

11,584,799

Anti-CD30 Antibodies and Methods for Treating CD30+ Cancer

Medin (MCW), Jeffrey A.; Faber (MCW), Mary L.; Tate (MCW), Everett R.; Oldham (MCW), Robyn A.

11,411,435

Energy Harvesting and Control for Sensor Node

Calhoun, Benton H.; Otis (Not UVA), Brian P

11,519,881

Method for the Evaluation of Adhesive Bond Strength via Swept-Frequency Ultrasonic Phase Measurements

Haldren, Harold A.; Perey, Daniel F.; Yost, William T.; Cramer, K. Elliott; Gupta, Mool C.

11,466,660

Morphing Segmented Wind Turbine and Related Method

Loth, Eric; Selig (U of Ill), Michael; Steele, Adam

11,396,523

Proton Activated Atomic Medicine

Rich, Tyvin A.; Pan, Dongfeng; Chordia, Mahendra D.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

46 U.S. Patents Issued

AT A G L A N C E

AgroSpheres

headquarters on Seminole Trail in Charlottesville. They will do so using $25 million from a recent AgroSpheres investment round.

With Gov. Youngkin’s Support, UVA-Born Company Announces New Charlottesville Plant

“The milestone that we are celebrating today is tremendous – a $25 million investment to expand in Albemarle County, creating 53 spectacular, highpaying jobs in order to increase production space, constructing a research and development facility and a demonstration facility for new products,” Youngkin said. A benefit of AgroSpheres’s proprietary platform is that “All right here. Really awesome.” it is suitable for all types of crops. Youngkin was effusive in his praise of Pourtaheri and Shakeel. LATE UVA PHARMACOLOGY PROFESSOR MARK KESTER WAS AN AGROSPHERES COFOUNDER. (DAN ADDISON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS)

That’s what makes Payam Pourtaheri and Ameer Shakeel’s entrepreneurial journey so unique. As undergraduate students in the University of Virginia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science seven years ago, they did just the opposite. Working in the lab of UVA pharmacology professor Mark Kester, Pourtaheri and Shakeel created a bioparticle capable of breaking down a wide range of substances.

Youngkin added: “Agriculture technology is on the move, and these guys are leading it, and Virginia is at the forefront.”

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

There was just one problem.

“We were excited by our platform technology and its potential, but we did not know the best use case for it,” Pourtaheri recalled. “We were basically looking for a problem to solve with a solution in hand.” Kester advised Pourtaheri and Shakeel to prove their technology by “going after some low-hanging fruit” – and that is literally what they did. Pourtaheri and Shakeel began testing their technology on grapes at local vineyards and soon after decided that trying to safely degrade the harmful pesticides on crops would be the best application. In 2016, AgroSpheres was born. Today, the company – which obtained one of its patents through the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group, and last year announced a multi-year collaboration with Bayer to create novel modalities of biologicals for use as crop protection products – is thriving. In May, Pourtaheri and Shakeel – with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin in attendance – announced plans to build a pilot fermentation plant in a building near their company

“Payam and Ameer founded this business while they were in school – and they finished school,” Youngkin said. “It’s a testament to grit and determination and vision. It’s a testament to believing that you can achieve. And it is a testament, I think, to Virginia.”

FROM LEFT, AGROSPHERES TEAM MEMBERS SEPEHR ZOMORODI, PAYAM POURTAHERI, AMEER SHAKEEL, ZACH DAVIS AND JOSEPH FRANK.

AgroSpheres is a product of the Darden School of Business’ i.Lab Incubator. UVA Assistant Vice President for Economic Development Pace Lochte, whose office supports the region and commonwealth’s efforts to expand and recruit knowledgebased industry, said AgroSpheres is a shining example of how the entrepreneurial ecosystem that the University and community foster can lead to societal impact.

“Enhanced shelf-life and field-stability make it so that any farmer can use the technology with their existing equipment,” Pourtaheri said. Added Shakeel: “Our vision is local manufacturing, but global impact. Our farmers in Charlottesville can use these products; our farmers in southeast Asia can use these products.” Looking into the future, Pourtaheri and Shakeel – who were selected to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2021 – said they hope AgroSpheres will become a leader in transitioning the crop protection and nutrition space to environmentally friendly practices. “Inventing is just the first step,” Shakeel said. “From that point, to bring the technology to the world and have a global impact, it takes a village. We’re blessed that we have the state, the county and Charlottesville supporting us.” Already, the company has raised roughly $40 million in investments and grants and has built a diverse and dynamic team. “We are excited to invest in growing the biotech hub here in Charlottesville,” Pourtaheri said. Pourtaheri said it’s been a fun and humbling journey coming from a small bench in professor Mark Kester’s lab. He said AgroSpheres is forever grateful to Kester, a co-founder who died unexpectedly last July. “If you knew Mark … he would have been bouncing off the walls telling [people] that the governor is coming to see his boys,” Pourtaheri said. “We’re missing him a little bit more today. He really encouraged us to get out there.”

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Virginia’s governor helped announce the construction of a fermentation plant for AgroSpheres, a company founded by two UVA alumni. Identifying a problem, then finding a solution has been the genesis for countless startup companies.

“AgroSpheres shows how meaningful connections between students, faculty, alumni and public- and private-sector partners can lead to dynamic companies that transform markets, create high-quality jobs and contribute to economic vitality in our region and the commonwealth,” Lochte said. “We are delighted to see innovation-based startups thriving in our area’s powerful ecosystem and continuing to grow.”

LV G S E E D F U N D

Investment Committee

LVG Seed Fund

Gerry Brunk (COL ’90), Managing Director, Lumira Capital

Our sixth year of operation saw multiple accomplishments within the portfolio, as well as the first investment in Seed Fund II. At the same time, the portfolio operated efficiently in an environment focused on sustainability and capital effectiveness.

Peter M. Grant II, Partner (COL ’78, DARDEN ’86), Anchormarck Holdings Dayna Grayson (ENGR ’99), Co-founder and General Partner of Construct Capital

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

In terms of Fund I, we maintained our track record of attracting strong co-investors to follow-on fundings, (15-1 overall and 33-1 in 2023). These included co-investments from companies and groups outside Charlottesville with funds like Genoa Ventures, Arboretum Ventures, Lumira Capital, 3B Future Health Fund, Aligned Climate Capital and Streck, a major strategic investor.

LVG was awarded a grant from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation that allowed us to add to our team of Entrepreneurs in Residence, welcoming Lisa Bowers, Robin Hume, Jeff Meyers, Jim Powers and Jim Zuffoletti to our roster (see pages 44 & 45).

Davalos at Virginia Tech, the company has developed unique technology to sort, enrich and recover cell populations in their native, untouched state, allowing for more accurate measurability in downstream culture, analysis and use in biomedical research. UVA LVG Seed Fund II joined with Virginia Tech Carillion Seed Fund on the initial round of funding.

Our first follow-on was in BrightSpec, Inc. BrightSpec Molecular Rotational Resonance (MRR) spectrometers enable the unambiguous ID and quantification of molecules and can determine molecular structure even in cases where mass spec or NMR struggle. The company is commercializing its products and raised a Series C round led by Genoa Ventures and Arboretum Ventures.

As we concluded our fifth year, discussions focused on follow-on funding with major venture investors for some of our companies. Despite market behavior entering 2023, where companies were finding it very difficult to raise new or follow-on financings, I am pleased to report that each of those companies completed fundings and were able to attract major players at increased valuations above our initial investment value. Our five follow-on investments of $1M attracted more than $33M in co-investments.

Ceres Nanosciences continued to deliver innovative products based on its proprietary Nanotrap® technology to address life science needs and provide better patient outcomes. The company is generating revenue and continues to play a significant role in addressing the presence of COVID through the use of their nanomaterials in more than 20 wastewater programs across the U.S. Streck, a major player in the diagnostic instrument space, led a Series B financing in September of 2022.

In the last 12 months, we greeted our sixth cohort of Darden students participating in the Due Diligence in Seed Fund course and our fifth summer of interns from the Darden Venture Fellows Program (see pages 42 & 43). We continue to realize significant benefits from these students, and the students gain the real-life experience of an investment fund associate.

Slate Bio, our first investment co-founded by an LVG Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Andrew Krouse, is based on research and development from Dr. Rahul Sharma from the UVA Division of Nephrology and Center for Immunity, Inflammation and Regenerative Medicine. The company raised its Series A with LVG and Epidarex leading the round. Slate is advancing a first-in-class fusion cytokine biologic for the treatment of lupus nephritis and other autoimmune diseases. GenEp was founded by Dr. Manoj Patel from the UVA Department of Anesthesiology in collaboration with Andrew Krouse. The company is working on development of a novel dual sodium channel inhibitor for the treatment of epilepsy. The company closed its Seed A round led by Lumira Capital and 3B Future Health Fund in May, 2023.

In September 2022, we joined with eight universities to form the NSF-funded Mid-South I-Corps Innovation Hub. We recently completed our inaugural I-Corps program, with seven teams representing technologies from across Grounds participating in the four-week course, providing faculty and graduate students support to accelerate their discoveries from the lab to the market. Fund II kicked off with a new investment in CytoRecovery. A joint effort from Dr. Nathan Swami at UVA and Dr. Rafael BOB C RE E DE N MANAGING DIREC TOR

Nanochon, a company started by UVA alum Benjamin Holmes (see page 26), is developing a 3D-printed, orthopedic, load-bearing implant that provides a scaffold for cartilage tissue growth. Nanochon is also working with Dr. Jason Kerrigan, director of UVA’s Center for Applied Biomechanics. UVA LVG Seed Fund led an extension of the seed round and was joined by Virginia Tech Carillion Seed Fund and Life Science Angels in August, 2022.

Kristin Gunther (DARDEN ’09), Principal, Revolution Growth Dr. K. Craig Kent, Executive Vice President for Health Affairs (ex-officio) Robert Paull (ARCH ’98), Co-Founder, Partner, Lux Capital Melur K. (Ram) Ramasubramanian, Vice President for Research, UVA (ex-officio)

Another portfolio company that raised a Series B was Astraea. Astraea’s artificial intelligence platform combines innovative technologies and analyticsready satellite imagery, bringing customers closer to big geospatial data and giving them tools to analyze it at a fraction of the cost. The company is generating revenue and the round was led by Aligned Climate Capital. Our Seed Fund Investment Committee continues to be the Fund’s greatest asset. These individuals continue to assist us in evaluating opportunities, provide experience and guidance for the portfolio and have been a significant reason for the Fund’s success to date. As we begin the new year, we anticipate facing new challenges given the funding environment. We look forward to making additional investments from Fund II, while continuing to support our current portfolio and fulfilling our role in commercializing UVA innovation across Grounds.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Opportunities for an exit in 2023 via public offering or acquisition were not as plentiful as in recent years. As a result, venture investors turned their focus to portfolio companies versus new deals, increasing reserves for the one or two additional rounds prior to an exit. The UVA LVG Seed Funds followed this pattern, completing five follow-on investments from Fund I, along with our first investment from Fund II.

LV G S E E D F U N D

LVG Seed Fund Portfolio

UVA ALUMNI-FOUNDED COMPANY ROSS DUNLAP (COM ‘96) Ceres Nanosciences is a life sciences company focused on incorporating its novel Nanotrap® particle technology into a range of diagnostic products and workflows with the ultimate goal of providing better patient outcomes. The Nanotrap® particle technology can improve diagnostic testing by capturing, concentrating and preserving low abundance analytes from biological samples. Syndicate Partners: GreyBird Ventures, Pactolus Ventures, Bay Area Lyme Foundation

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

Merand Pharmaceuticals is developing a novel microRNA therapeutic (MicroRNA93 or miR-93), shown to promote angiogenesis, to treat patients suffering from Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD), a progressive circulatory issue affecting over 200 million people globally.

Direct Spinal Therapeutics, Inc.

Direct Spinal Therapeutics, Inc. is a medical device company developing a Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) product-platform to enhance treatment for chronic back pain and other spinal cord injuries.

BrightSpec is a life science instrumentation company offering fast, precise analysis of trace level chemical components for applications in R&D, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, food and advanced manufacturing sectors. Syndicate Partners: MedVest

TearSolutions’ first-in-class therapy is a synthetic form of the protein lacritin, called Lacripep™, which targets the causes of dryeye disease. The company completed Phase II clinical trials in 2020, which focused on patients with Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome. Syndicate Partners: Virginia Tech Carilion, Pharmstandard, Santen Pharma

Exits

EIR-FOUNDED COMPANY ANDREW KROUSE GenEp, Inc. is a genetic epilepsy company focused on first-in-class ion channel modulators for treatment resistant genetic epilepsies. GenEp is bringing a precision medicine approach to epilepsy by targeting newly identified gain of function (GOF) mutations.

UVA-ALUMNI FOUNDED COMPANYDR. BENJAMIN HOLMES (SEAS, ‘09) Nanochon is developing a novel implantable device for patients with limited mobility due to injury and joint pain. Nanochon’s Chondograft is a functional cartilage implant made through a unique combination of synthetic nanomaterial and 3D-printing that harnesses the capacity of stem cells to self-repair tissue at the site of injury in the joint.

F O U NDE D T O C OMME RC I A L IZ E T HE PAT E N T E D T EC HN OL O G IE S OF U VA C HE MI S T RY PR OF E S S OR B R O OK S PAT E , PH .D. (C OL ‘87 )

FOUNDED TO COMMERCIALIZE A NOVEL THER APY DISCOVERED BY UVA PROFES SOR OF CELL BIOLOGY AND OPHTHALMOLOGY GORDON L AURIE, PH.D.

FOUNDED TO COMMERCIALIZE THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y OF UVA RESEARCH PROFESSOR EMERITUS GEORGE GILLIES, PH.D. (ENGR ‘76, ‘80)

UVA FACULTY-FOUNDED COMPANY BRENDAN RICHARDSON (COM ‘88) Astraea is a technology startup building the first integrated platform for global scale geospatial analytics. The company’s earthAI technology uses machine learning, big data computing and Earth-Observing satellites to easily access, analyze and extract actionable insights about the planet, providing global understanding for local impact.

FOUNDED TO COMMERCIALIZE A NOVEL THERAPEUTIC DISCOVERED AT UVA BY FORMER FACULTY MEMBER DR. BRIAN ANNEX

FOUNDED TO COMMERCIALIZE RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY UVA ENGINEERING PROFESSOR BARRY HOROWITZ, PH.D. Mission Secure is a leading control system cybersecurity company. The company’s patented MSi Platform and cyber advisory services protect clients in the energy, defense, autonomous systems, maritime and critical infrastructure industries prepare for and protect against cyber-attacks. Syndicate Partners: Energy Innovation, Blue Bear, Chevron

EIR-FOUNDED COMPANY ANDREW KROUSE Slate Bio. Inc. is developing paradigmshifting engineered cytokines for immune modulation that induce persistent remission in Lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Slate’s product, SLT-518, is the first bi-specific engineered fusion of IL-2 to IL-33, and is uniquely positioned to improve the lives of those with autoimmune diseases.

Founded by Chad Rogers (COM ‘97) to commercialize diabetes technology research from the Center for Diabetes Technology at the UVA School of Medicine and acquired by Dexcom, Inc. in August 2018. Acquired by: Dexcom, Inc.

Founded to commercialize a novel cardiovascular device to improve surgical accuracy developed by UVA Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Dr. Scott Lim and acquired by Keystone Heart in June 2020. Acquired by: Keystone Heart

LV G S E E D F U N D

LV G S E E D F U N

This Alum’s Tech May Revolutionize the Knee Joint Replacement Field U

niversity of Virginia alumnus Benjamin Holmes can pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with the field of biomedical engineering. More than a decade ago, he was taking an introductory course taught by School of Engineering & Applied Science professor Silvia Blemker called “Engineering of Musculoskeletal Tissue,” which focused on the biomechanics, as well as the biology and physics of the human body.

HOLMES’ C OMPAN Y USES A C OMBINATION OF NANOMATERIAL AND 3D - PRINTING TO HARNES S THE CAPACIT Y OF STEM CELL S TO SELFREPAIR TIS SUE AT THE SITE OF THE INJURY IN THE KNEE JOINT.

During a class, Blemker played a GIF that showed how muscles worked, and Holmes – who until that point had been mainly focused on mechanical engineering – was mesmerized. “This is extremely nerdy, but I have this very clear memory of it,” Holmes said. “It’s just an incredible process – a chemical change causes these structures to move. When you think about how much we take for granted just talking, walking, moving your arm, holding things …

“We’re trying to tackle it differently – almost like a next-generation knee replacement. We’re using next-generation synthetic materials and more modern approaches to manufacturing metal, trying to reengineer the knee replacement and make it less invasive.”

“There’s this complex, very fast biological process that makes that happen. That was the moment that really clicked for me just in terms of how cool the body and biology are.”

Nanochon is currently raising money for its first human trials. Holmes said the feedback that he and his team have received from sports medicine surgeons is that people would prefer a natural regenerative solution to a replacement.

I can’t say enough good things about the work that they do over there on 722 Preston Avenue. They make an entrepreneur’s journey infinitely easier.” –B enjamin Holmes

While Holmes would graduate from UVA with a mechanical engineering degree in 2009, the moment led to the Fairfax native getting his master’s degree and Ph.D. in biomaterials and regenerative medicine from George Washington University. In 2016, Holmes, through the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps Hub program – commonly known in the tech world as I-Corps – started a company called Nanochon. Today, the University of Virginia Seed Fund portfolio company is on the cusp of revolutionizing the knee joint replacement landscape, according to Matthew Rannals, a senior venture associate at the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group. “One of our primary missions here at LVG is to improve people’s lives around the world, and we believe Nanochon’s cutting-edge tech has the potential to do just that,” Rannals said.

“We want this to be an option for anyone who is in moderate stages of the disease, but is still considered pre-knee replacement,” he said. “That’s a pretty wide range – anybody from a 20-year-old with a traumatic injury, all the way up to a 55-year-old who is looking for an alternative to knee replacement.”

Holmes sure thinks so. He said Nanochon’s cartilage implant, known as the “Chondrograft,” can help a wide spectrum of people with knee problems.

Nanochon’s timing couldn’t be better. Right now, the sports medicine sector of healthcare is booming. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global sports medicine market is projected to reach $9.86 billion by 2026.

“We believe there are roughly 500,000 patients annually in the U.S. who could qualify for the product,” Holmes said. The Chondrograft uses a combination of nanomaterial and 3D-printing to harness the capacity of stem cells to self-repair tissue at the site of the injury in the joint. The implant mimics the natural collagen in cartilage, providing a structure that is known as a “scaffold” for the cells to grow and to direct their behavior. Roughly the size and shape of a coin, it is inserted into the knee during an arthroscopic procedure to fill in the cartilage damage. Over time, it degrades and is replaced by healthy tissue.

Holmes said Nanochon hopes to bring the Chondrograft™ to market by 2027.

“A lot of companies are trying to solve this problem, but nobody is solving it the way we are,” Holmes said. “Historically, the approach was, ‘Let’s try and get living tissue or living cells into the site of the cartilage loss.’ There are some things now on the market that do that – a way to deliver live cells into the lesions. They work OK. I think the problem is that they’re difficult to deliver and have high costs associated with them – so there’s not very good access to that type of care.

“People are injuring themselves and/or developing arthritis or other degenerative diseases in greater numbers and at earlier ages than ever before – so it’s a really compelling clinical need, and it’s a really compelling business opportunity,” he said. The UVA Licensing & Ventures Group has been an invaluable resource, Holmes said. “LVG has been an incredible supporter of Nanochon, helping bring in other investors in the seed round and being an active partner in ongoing fundraising efforts,” he said. “As a member of the board, they have also been part of the management team, navigating operations challenges and providing guidance. I can’t say enough good things about the work that they do over there on 722 Preston Avenue. They make an entrepreneur’s journey infinitely easier.”

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

THE IMPL ANT IS ROUGHLY THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF A C OIN.

Edlich-Henderson Innovator of the Year Award The highest honor bestowed on University of Virginia innovators, the Edlich-Henderson Innovator of the Year award recognizes an individual or team each year whose research discovery is making a major impact. Named for UVA Professor Emeritus Dr. Richard F. Edlich and Christopher J. (“Goose”) Henderson, a veteran of privately owned financial services businesses, the award is a tribute to their enduring support of and commitment to the University and its innovators.

Amy Mathers, M.D.

2020

Rebecca Dillingham, M.D. Karen Ingersoll, Ph.D.

2019 2018 2017 2016

Lee Ritterband, Ph.D. Jeffrey Elias, M.D. Brooks H. Pate, Ph.D. John A. Hossack, Ph.D. N. Scott Barker, Ph.D. Arthur W. Lichtenberger, Ph.D. Robert M. Weikle II, Ph.D.

2015

Benton H. Calhoun, Ph.D. James A. Smith, Ph.D.

2014

J. Randall Moorman, M.D. Douglas E. Lake, Ph.D.

2013

Marcia A. Invernizzi, Ph.D.

2012

Robin A. Felder, Ph.D.

2011

Boris P. Kovatchev, Ph.D.

2010

Kevin R. Lynch, Ph.D. Timothy L. Macdonald, Ph.D.

2009

John P. Mugler, Ph.D. James R. Brookeman, Ph.D.

2008

George T. Rodeheaver, Ph.D.

2007

Wladek Minor, Ph.D.

2006

George T. Gillies, Ph.D.

2005

Benjamin M. Gaston, M.D. John F. Hunt, Ph.D.

2004

Haydn N.G. Wadley, Ph.D.

2003

William A. Petri Jr., M.D., Ph.D. Barbara J. Mann, Ph.D.

2002

Joel M. Linden, Ph.D.

2001

Doris Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, Ph.D.

2000

Ronald P. Taylor, Ph.D.

1999

John C. Herr, Ph.D.

1997

Richard L. Guerrant, M.D. Timothy L. Macdonald, Ph.D.

1996

Jessica J. Brand Patrice G. Guyenet, Ph.D. Richard D. Pearson, M.D. Janine C. Jagger, Ph.D.

1995

Donald F. Hunt, Ph.D. Jeffrey Shabanowitz, Ph.D. George C. Stafford Jr., Ph.D

1994

Gerald L. Mandell, M.D. Gail W. Sullivan

1993

Joseph Larner, M.D., Ph.D.

1992

Robert M. Berne, M.D. Luiz Belardinelli, M.D. Rafael Rubio, Ph.D.

Innovator of the Year

Marc Breton’s Surprise Journey to Diabetes Pioneer Associate professor Marc Breton did not anticipate working in the medical field. People with diabetes around the world are glad he does. Having earned his Ph.D. in systems engineering from the University of Virginia in 2004, Marc Breton was all but certain he would be returning to his native France to begin a professional career, play a little rugby, and, with any luck, start a family. A confluence of circumstances changed everything. At the time, employment conditions in France for young researchers like Breton weren’t good, and a large social movement around the issue was in full swing. It was also around that time when Breton – through UVA engineering professor Donald Brown – was introduced to School of Medicine professor Boris Kovatchev to help apply a mathematical model to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder data that Kovatchev’s team was working on. It led to Kovatchev offering Breton a postdoctoral position to work on his diabetes research project. While working within the medical field had been the furthest thing from Breton’s mind, the decision to stay at UVA actually didn’t prove that difficult.

2022 INNOVATOR OF THE Y E AR MARC BRE TON

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

THE

PREVIOUS WINNERS

Celebrating Impact Through Innovation

2021

I N N OVAT O R O F T H E Y E A R

E A RLY DAY S

“There was an expectation in our family that you shall do good in science, and you shall pursue long studies,” Breton said with a laugh. “I never got a sense there was another option. There was an expectation of education.” Breton often accompanied his mother to her lab. Her research centered on malaria and how parasites invade red blood cells. Over the years, Breton overheard his fair share of seminars, and this made him pretty sure he never wanted to follow in either of his parents’ footsteps. Breton jokingly called himself the “black sheep” of his family because he was drawn to math and engineering, in contrast with the long family tradition in medicine and biology. From an early age, he enjoyed trying to understand how things worked. As a 10-year-old, Breton remembers trying to create three-dimensional shapes with pieces of paper.

“It was stay here and have a job with someone I’ve enjoyed working with, and in a subject that could be interesting and I don’t know much about,” Breton recalled, “or I can go back and try to find a job in the middle of a social movement.”

“I’ve always loved solving problems … the figuring out of how to get from point A to point B – or even that there is a point B to get to,” Breton said.

Teaming with Kovatchev, Breton went on to create the first – and to date only – simulation environment accepted by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration as a replacement for animal studies in pre-clinical assessment of insulin treatment strategies. It paved the way for the pair’s invention of a revolutionary artificial pancreas that could monitor and automatically regulate a person’s blood glucose levels.

Still, Breton had no idea what he would do with his skillset, how he might be able to someday parlay his love for math into a career.

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

Today, the work that Breton started when he was a post-doc nearly 20 years ago continues to improve the lives of people with diabetes around the world.

It was for this reason that UVA Licensing & Ventures Group Executive Director Richard W. Chylla said Breton was chosen as the recipient of the 2022 EdlichHenderson Innovator of the Year award. The endowed award recognizes University faculty members or a team of faculty researchers whose work is making a major impact on society. “Here at UVA LVG, our mission is to grow and guide University innovations, but equally important is to make a positive impact on society at large,” Chylla said. “If you look at the total return on Dr. Breton’s work at UVA – the lives of patients improved, the jobs created, the continuing sponsored research and the royalties back to the University for research reinvestment – it is a testament to this mission. Dr. Breton’s work deserves this recognition, and we are proud to celebrate him.” Kovatchev says Breton, an associate professor in psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences in the School of Medicine, is one of a kind. “Marc has a unique ability to see, compartmentalize and solve problems,” said Kovatchev, the co-founder and director of the Center for Diabetes Technology. “This is a rare combination, and it drove him to this success.”

In the meantime, he played rugby. MARC BRE TON

It was while in France earning his undergraduate and master’s degree in engineering – with a specialization in automatic control – when Breton picked up the sport. He joined his school team and has played, coached and refereed ever since. “It’s been an outlet,” Breton said. “That release has been something that has kept me sane.”

CHANGING THE GAME After returning from a conference in 2006, Kovatchev told Breton about someone at the event who believed the idea for an artificial pancreas wasn’t possible. “That is the best way you can make Boris do something,” said Breton, smiling. “He came back and we started working on it.” The big question was whether sensors could be used to dose insulin.

Neither Breton nor Kovatchev had any experience in animal models or research, which left them in a bind since they needed to generate data that could show that what they wanted to do was safe for humans. Amazingly, Breton and Kovatchev’s team found a work-around. They created a computer simulation that could replace animal testing. And when the FDA approved it, it was a game-changer for diabetes research. What once took five to 10 years now only took a couple months. “All of a sudden you could go and test something on a computer and then test it in a human being a few months later,” Breton said. “We completely bypassed that whole step.” In 2008, the first human clinical trial of the artificial pancreas commenced under the guidance of Dr. Stacey Anderson. “It was awesome,” Breton said. “There were some grueling sessions where you don’t sleep, you’re stressed out trying to make sure everything is working because you don’t want to hurt anybody, but it was incredibly exciting. “I loved getting real data, not just playing with a computer – actually running clinical trials with human beings and talking to them. For an engineer, it was pretty awesome.” The device, at that point, was primitive. With long cords and a clunkiness that made transport difficult, it was, in Breton’s words, a “Frankenstein lab monster.” But in 2012, Breton and Kovatchev, with former UVA faculty members Steve Patek and Patrick Keith-Hynes, figured out how to program their algorithm into a smartphone. “Now we had a device that was portable,” Breton said. “There was a hint of, ‘This could be real. This could be something that people could use.’ They could have an app on their smartphone that controls their insulin pump. “That got us thinking that this wasn’t completely an academic exercise anymore.”

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

One of three children, Breton grew up in Paris. His mother worked in academia, specializing in in microbiology. His father was a high school and college biology teacher.

I N N OVAT O R O F T H E Y E A R

“Dr. Breton is one of the University’s most successful inventors, and the technologies he has developed throughout his career have saved and improved countless lives,” UVA Vice President for Research Melur K. Ramasubramanian said. While sitting in his office at UVA’s Center for Diabetes Technology – which he co-founded with Kovatchev, Anderson and Patek in 2010 – a smile crept across Breton’s face when asked what he hopes to accomplish next. “One of the glories of academic research is that we’re never done,” he said. Recently, Breton and Kovatchev finished a clinical trial for the next

E N T E R U VA LVG .

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The University’s technology transfer office connected the team with two of its entrepreneurs in residence, Jeff Keller and Chad Rogers, who, in turn, helped them obtain patents for the device and form a startup company called TypeZero Technologies.

Soon after, TypeZero and its six cofounders were able to license the device, now known commercially as the t:slim X2 insulin pump with Control-IQ, to Tandem Diabetes Care, a pump manufacturer. In 2018, TypeZero was purchased by DexCom Inc., the leader in glucose monitoring for people with diabetes. Today, the fruits of Breton’s labor are helping people with diabetes everywhere. “Our little algorithm is now probably in 400,000 devices around the world, controlling the insulin of 400,000 people from the age of 2 to 98 years old,” Breton said, “and that’s very special because I had the opportunity to meet many of these people and hear how this work has impacted their lives. That has been an incredible high.” Breton looks back fondly on the ski trips and visits to summer camps that he made in order to test the device in high-energy environments with kids from across the country.

So do the kids. One of them, Benjamin Motta, was so impressed by Breton that he came to UVA and is now working as an intern at the Center for Diabetes because of him. For his undergraduate admissions essay, the Fredericksburg native wrote about how much Breton and his colleagues inspired him. “They are not just a bunch of faceless lab scientists who make new discoveries,” said Motta, a third-year student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. “It’s people who genuinely want to make a difference in the world and how other people are able to live, and who have a genuine fascination with the science behind it all. Seeing that, and especially how it touched my own life, was life-changing.” Motta recalled the first time he tried a version of the artificial pancreas while on a ski trip with Breton. He had struggled with variable blood sugar ever since he could remember, but now suddenly – despite several hours on the slopes and a meal – it was static. “It was like magic. It was extraordinary,” Motta said. “As a 12-year-old, it was fascinating to see that kind of engineering happening live… it was incredible.”

To this day, Motta is benefitting from the algorithm Breton helped develop. “I’ve never had better blood sugar control in my life,” Motta said, “and I know I’m not alone. Marc is making lives better for a massive swath of people across the world.”

I N N OVAT I O N N E V E R S T O P S Following the creation of the simulator and the artificial pancreas, Breton helped develop another algorithm that gives patients an idea of how well they are doing between doctors’ visits by providing a precise estimation of their hemoglobin A1C (a key indicator of longterm glucose control). The algorithm took Breton just two weeks to complete, and it was implemented into MyStar Extra, the first commercial blood glucose monitoring device capable of estimating A1C from fingersticks. Overall, Breton has submitted 55 invention disclosures to LVG since 2007, and he is a named inventor on 27 issued U.S. patents.

BRE TON, FAR LEF T, TESTED E ARLY VERSIONS OF THE ARTIFICIAL PANCRE AS DURING SKI TRIP S FOR CHILDREN WITH DIABE TES

generation of the t:slim X2. By tweaking parts of the original algorithm, they have created a full closed-loop system. This means users won’t need to ever interact with the device. They can, in Breton’s words, “just set and forget” it. “If you don’t have to interact with the system, you don’t have to train on the system and think about your diabetes all the time – that’s a big thing for people with Type 1 diabetes,” Breton said. “It’s also potentially a big deal for people with Type 2 diabetes, because if you have a simple system that you can just set and don’t have to do anything with, well then it becomes a valid therapeutic solution for broader populations.” Breton aims to not only provide full automation for patients, but to be able to give more guidance to physicians. “There’s a whole lot of data in diabetes and it’s a shame we’re not using it,” Breton said, “so our mission here is figuring out ways to use all of that data for the betterment of patient care, health system efficiency and also potentially informing companies of technologies they should be pursuing.” Breton’s work epitomizes UVA’s commitment to biotechnology and its promise of saving and improving lives. UVA recently announced plans to launch the Paul and Diane Manning

Institute of Biotechnology, which will transform health care in Virginia and beyond with its focus on biotechnology research and development of modern treatments and cures for disease. Ironically, the Mannings provided early funding for the artificial pancreas. “We live in a time of exciting possibility in health care, with new treatments showing great promise to help patients and their families,” UVA President Jim Ryan said. “UVA is right on the front lines of this work, and this recognition for Marc Breton is well-deserved. I’m grateful to him and his colleagues for what they have done to improve the lives of so many who are suffering from disease, including diabetes.” Breton said he is humbled to have been selected as the Innovator of the Year, alongside past winners like Dr. Amy Mathers, Dr. Rebecca Dillingham, Karen Ingersoll, Lee Ritterband, Dr. Jeffrey Elias and Kovatchev. “What a ride,” said Breton, who lives in Charlottesville with his wife, Emily Whipple, and their three children. “It’s incredibly rare for scientists to see the product of their work and have an impact that they can see on society. Usually, if you’re very lucky, you will have an impact after you retire. “We got on a crazy train and got to see it immediately.”

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I N N OVAT O R O F T H E Y E A R

3333

ACCOLADES

IN MEMORIAM

LVG Inventor Becomes First Faculty Member To Win Moore Inventor Fellowship F

rom nearly 200 nominations for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s 2022 cohort of Moore Inventor Fellows, only five were selected, which included University of Virginia Licensing & Ventures Group inventor Rebecca Pompano. For anybody who has worked with the UVA associate professor of chemistry, this was not a surprise. “Since joining UVA, Rebecca has been a prolific inventor who places an emphasis on the translational aspect of her research and appreciates the important role that commercialization has in disseminating the knowledge created at the University,” UVA Licensing & Ventures Group Director of Licensing Joshua Mauldin said.

Mark Kester, one of the nation’s top experts in the field of nanotechnologies for targeted drug delivery, and who played a key role in helping the University of Virginia Cancer Center achieve comprehensive status, passed away unexpectedly in 2022. He was 67.

Pompano’s latest invention is a biochemical system to map out protein secretion in live tissue biopsies, with the ability to reveal mechanisms of inflammatory disease and inform drug design for cancer and autoimmunity.

A professor in the UVA Department of Pharmacology for the past eight years, Kester was a principal investigator with Dr. Thomas Loughran on a P01 grant focused on targeting sphingolipid metabolism in acute myelogenous leukemia. He developed ceramide-based nanoliposomes that reached Phase I clinical trials in both solid tumors and AML.

Each fellow receives $825,000 over three years to drive their invention forward, including $50,000 per year from their home institution as a commitment to these outstanding individuals.

In addition, Kester was one of the many UVA researchers who joined the fight against COVID-19. In concert with engineering associate professor Dr. Peter Kasson, an FDA-approved experimental cancer drug was repurposed as a potential COVID-19 treatment, based on research in Kester’s lab showing effectiveness of the drug to limit flu infectivity.

“This Moore fellowship is a wonderful acknowledgement of her lab’s previous efforts, but more importantly it will provide tremendous support for her to continue making advances in the fields of immunology, chemistry and engineering,” UVA LVG Executive Director Richard W. Chylla said.

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National Academy of Inventors Honors UVA Duo

MARK KESTER

“Mark was a prolific inventor,” UVA Licensing & Ventures Group’s Director of Licensing Joshua Mauldin said. “Since coming to UVA, he submitted 21 invention disclosures, and he was a fixture at events promoting translational research around the University.”

ormer University of Virginia Licensing & Ventures Group Innovator of the Year John Hossack and fellow UVA professor Mool Gupta have been named to the National Academy of Inventors.

Kester worked with pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Steven Zeichner to repurpose a platform currently used for HIV vaccine development that could help accelerate the pace of vaccine development for COVID-19.

Hossack, a professor of biomedical engineering, develops ultrasound imaging approaches for cardiovascular disease. He has pioneered using gas-filled “microbubbles” in combination with imaging as a way of targeting drug delivery.

Kester was also instrumental in the creation of AgroSpheres, a biotech company launched by UVA students that is using a $25 million investment round to build a fermentation plant in Charlottesville (see page 20).

Hossack’s research has helped launch several start-up companies. He was one of the recipients of UVA LVG’s Edlich-Henderson Innovators of the Year award in 2016.

But above all, UVA School of Medicine Dean Melina R. Kibbe said Kester was an “extraordinary human being.”

MOOL GUP TA

“He was kind and passionate about all he did,” Kibbe said. “We will all greatly miss him, and his legacy will endure. Our thoughts are with Mark’s family members and his many friends here at UVA.”

Gupta, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, currently serves as a Langley Distinguished Professor. He founded the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Lasers and Plasmas at UVA. The National Academy of Inventors is a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging inventors in academia. This year, the academy invited 169 academics to be fellows.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Rebecca Pompano’s invention could fill the critical gap in science’s understanding of the immune system

Kind-Hearted Professor, ‘Prolific’ Innovator and Renowned Nanotechnologies Expert

JOHN HO S SACK

2023 PERFORMANCE

UVA Joins $15 Million NSF-Funded ‘Innovation Hub’ DAWN KIDD SERVES AS I - C ORP S HUB C OORDINATOR. IN THIS ROLE, SHE MANAGES THE DAY-TO - DAY OPER ATIONS OF THE UVA HUB, LIAISING WITH PARTNER ORG ANIZ ATIONS, AS SISTING WITH RECRUITMENT OF PARTICIPANT S AND SUPP ORTING ALL AC TIVITIES OF THE HUB.

he U.S. National Science Foundation announced last year that the University of Virginia is part of its new Mid-South Innovation Corps Hub, a consortium whose aim is to enhance innovation capacity, support promising research, generate economic value and create opportunities for diverse communities. One of five such NSF hubs spread throughout the country, the hub also includes Vanderbilt University, George Mason University, Jackson State University, Meharry Medical College, Tennessee State University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and the University of Tennessee.

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The five hubs are being funded for up to $3 million for five years and will scale the NSF-led National Innovation Network, an organization of I-Corps Hubs that make up the program’s regional and national training programs. The goal of the network is to accelerate the translation of discoveries into new solutions that benefit society.

“Each regional I-Corps Hub provides training essential in entrepreneurship and customer discovery, leading to new products, startups and jobs,” said UVA alumnus Erwin Gianchandani, the NSF’s assistant director for the Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Directorate. “In this way, the I-Corps program will open up new economic opportunities throughout the United States.” The NSF’s Innovation Corps is a public-private partnership program designed to teach university graduate and faculty research scientists who have STEM-related technologies how to identify valuable product and service opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and to provide entrepreneurship training to participants. “We are excited for this partnership with NSF I-Corps,” said UVA Vice President for Research Melur K. Ramasubramanian. “This important entrepreneurial training will increase the economic impact of UVA research.”

The hubs will work to broaden participation by increasing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility through all of their activities and objectives. “Our students and faculty have fantastic ideas with great potential to help society,” Jennifer L. West, Dean of the UVA School of Engineering and Applied Science, said. “The NSF’s investment will allow us to further support their ventures.” Richard W. Chylla, the Executive Director of the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group, said his team is “thrilled to be partnering with eight great universities and their innovation ecosystems.” Chylla said training potential companies in the customer-discovery process (see page 38) is one of the hub’s driving forces. “At a place like UVA, where we have a lot of leading research and so much potential for startup companies based on UVA research, it’s a valuable service to be able to offer our faculty, our students and our potential entrepreneurs,” Chylla said. “It’s an important element for startups.”

I - C ORP S HUB S, NODES AND SITE MEMBERS FROM AROUND THE C OUNTRY C ONVENED FOR THE NATIONAL INNOVATION NE T WORK MEE TING IN ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA .

First I-Corps Cohort Gives Rave Reviews

The weekly sessions included training from certified I-Corps instructor Julie Collins, as well as networking opportunities with mentors and meetings with experts from LVG’s staff. Areas of focus included learning the basics of the business model canvas; best practices for customer discovery; developing a value proposition; defining customer segments; and communicating lessons learned.

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LVG Communications caught up with participants Helen Boyd and Suzanne Nguyen to hear more about their experiences.

Boyd is the CEO of Warm Health Technology, a company started by UVA LVG that has developed a platform to help improve the engagement in care and health outcomes of people with chronic conditions. Boyd’s I-Corps team included marketing guru Jenny Knizner and LVG Executive in Residence Jeff Tennery. Nguyen is an engineer for Carbon Pour, a company started by UVA civil and environmental engineering professor Andres Clarens that has created a low-carbon alternative cement. Joining Clarens and Nguyen on the team was UVA third-year student Alexander Edwards. Q. Why did your team want to be a part of the I-Corps program? Suzanne Nguyen: As a company, Carbon Pour is still in its infancy. As engineers, we wanted to be part of the program so that we could learn about the process of bringing our research from the lab to the market. The phrase, “Begin as you intend to go on,” springs to mind. By seeking assistance at the beginning stages, we hope to avoid some of the common pitfalls of entrepreneurship. Helen Boyd: Warm Health Technology was already at the stage where, five years since incorporation, we were evaluating our business model and trying to find new areas for growth, whether that be new customers, developing new functionality to the PL Cares® technology, or new products. The timing of this latest round of I-Corps was perfect, as participating in the program really forced the team, and me in particular, to carve out the time to sit down and look at our value

proposition and our customers and work out what questions we should be asking various stakeholders in our ecosystem in order to get the information we need to move forward.

success with a particular type of customer – largely due to how they are structured – which allows our partnership with them to be more effective and reach more patients. Knowing this, we can focus our marketing efforts on other similar organizations going forward.

Q. What specific things have you learned? HB: We have heard that our customers’ main challenges revolve around access to the right (useful) data and finding ways to reduce the social determinants of health barriers patients face in accessing healthcare. While we were already aware of these challenges, hearing how customers are (not) able to address them currently gave us a few ideas for where WHT could enhance our PL Cares® technology to better support them. We certainly have some ideas to research further. In addition, we have been able to identify some key actions that WHT should take to improve how we market our product, such as focusing more on how PL Cares® supports patient communication with their care team. We can also build in some of the questions we developed for our I-Corps interviews into our initial meetings with prospective customers, so we can better address how PL Cares® might meet their needs. In reviewing our current business model, we have identified that we have better

SN: I think the intense, immersive, and targeted program was a great opportunity to apply scientific principles to understanding market drivers. Through group meetings and office hours, we developed testable hypotheses, which led to strong question sets for the various stakeholders who agreed to be interviewed. We gathered and processed data from these conversations, allowing us to identify where our technology might be most useful to the industry. I found the ecosystem mapping exercise to be beneficial as it showed us that we needed to branch out from our original set of interviewees, both laterally and vertically. Q. Did anything surprise you throughout the process? SUSAN NGU Y EN, LEF T, BR AINSTORMS WITH HELEN BOY D IN THE LVG INCUBATOR.

SN: One of the things that I found surprising was the willingness of the industry to consider alternatives to OPC, provided the necessary specifications for cost, durability, and strength are met. Every conversation gave us not only answers to our questions, but a much better

understanding of what “jobs” our solution could be hired for: the pinch points and top-ofmind problems. HB: There were a few comments that hit home and made me think a little harder about what Warm Health Technology could be doing differently as we move forward. Specifically: Just because a team’s invention addresses a need the team has identified, it doesn’t mean that everyone else, or indeed anyone else, sees the same need for that invention; To be able to sell something, you have to be able to demonstrate the value of your product to a potential customer, not just the features of the product; More startups fail because of lack of customers than from failure of the product or technology developed. Q. Overall, how has the I-Corps experience been valuable? SN: We had access to an incredible group of talented professionals both from NSF at the national and regional levels and from UVA with the LVG and EIRs. They listened thoughtfully, asked discerning questions that allowed us to develop a much more refined vision for our future steps, and provided guidance with patience. Our cohort’s projects ranged from medical software to surgical implants to fast-charging batteries. I-Corps shows the entrepreneurial commonalities of building a structured plan to collect and measure data to show an opportunity within the ecosystem during market discovery. HB: I think the program was of great value. In addition to continuing to interview stakeholders to gather more information, we have a number of next steps to work on. For more information about the I-Corps program, visit lvg.virginia.edu or email icorps@virginia.edu.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

his past summer the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program officially launched at the University of Virginia when LVG hosted its first cohort of companies.

G ROW T H PAT H S

Attendees learn the ins and outs of the technology commercialization process One by one, the University of Virginia students rolled into the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group’s offices inside the old Coca Cola building on Preston Ave. this past fall, taking a seat at tables that had been set up inside a spacious meeting room. It wasn’t long before there were no seats left.

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There were undergraduate and graduate students, research residents, postdoctoral fellows. They hailed from the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

In all, a record 29 students registered. They had one thing in common: A desire to understand the technology commercialization process. From how to disclose and patent an invention, to how to market it, license it and all of the many other steps along the way. For students who have spent most of their time in labs, and even ones who haven’t, commercialization can often be a daunting desk. This is what has made the annual LVG workshops so attractive, according to LVG Director of Licensing Joshua Mauldin. “Whether they choose to pursue a career in intellectual property or continue to work in research, they come away with a stronger understanding of intellectual property, and appreciation for the important role of intellectual property in translating new ideas and

inventions into the marketplace,” Mauldin said, “so that if they come up with an invention, or one of their colleagues or friends come up with an invention, they reach out to us to capitalize on the idea before it’s too late, as there is a finite window of time during which IP protection can be pursued.” LVG Licensing Manager Cortney Mushill says the workshops also provide an understanding of why technology transfer is necessary, and their benefits to UVA and the Charlottesville community. “They prompt the students to engage with us or encourage their PIs to engage with us,” Mushill said, “and provide a perspective of life outside of the lab – a way they can apply their technical knowledge outside of the lab.” That was precisely why Jack Whitewolf decided to attend the workshops that took place over two nights at LVG headquarters. Whitewolf, a biomedical engineering graduate student, is part of a team planning to pursue a patent for a novel material system that can help generate complex vasculature without the need for advanced instruments. “Currently, modeling the vasculature tends to be a challenging process only done in labs with specific technical prowess and resources,” Whitewolf said. “We want to create in our system complex vasculature that better captures the characteristics of human vasculature, at the same time making the process accessible and reproducible, in hopes of helping the field better understand vasculature and the events that affect it.”

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

A Thirst for Knowledge

Record-Breaking 29 Students Signed Up for LVG Workshop

Whitewolf added: “Vasculature is the primary source of nutrient and oxygen supply to all parts of the body tissues, so pathological changes and traumatic events that affect the vasculature can mean huge effects and damages to the body. Understanding how vasculature is influenced by drugs, treatments and the presence of disease are necessary to designing better therapies for a range of diseases.” In her lab work, biology graduate student Sarah Hunter-Chang is studying Wallerian Degeneration, a process that results when a nerve fiber is cut or crushed and degenerates. During Wallerian Degeneration, bubble-like “spheroids” form and rupture, releasing inflammatory content into the surrounding area. “If that content is able to reach other cells in the nervous system, it could drive the progression of any neurodegenerative disease or pathology, including both ALS and Alzheimer’s,” Hunter-Chang explained. “We’re trying to understand if and how the body controls inflammatory signal release from spheroids using phagocytes, cells that can eat bits of dead or dying cells, including spheroids. If we understood this process, we would have a whole new avenue of potential treatment options for neurodegeneration. Then we

G ROW T H PAT H S

LVG LICENSING MANAGER C ORTNE Y MUSHILL , LEF T, LE AD S THE WORKSHOP S WITH STUDENT S FROM VARIOUS UVA SCHOOL S.

could try targeting spheroids or their interactions with phagocytes, which nobody has known to do before.” Hunter-Chang said she is working on an innovation that can be applied to a number of neurodegeneration pathologies. “I can’t say too much about it here, though, because the Licensing & Ventures Group workshop taught me to avoid premature disclosures!” Hunter-Chang said. “I’m still figuring out what the process of patenting these would look like in the context of what we learned at the workshop, but it would thrill me to try patenting them and even seeing them on the market someday.”

Understanding the patent process was precisely why School of Engineering undergraduate Colin Halligan came to the workshops. Halligan has aspirations of becoming a patent attorney. “I really enjoy being able to understand how new technologies work,” Halligan said. “Additionally, I am a firm believer in sustainability, and becoming a patent attorney grants me the opportunity to advocate and promote sustainable technologies.” Halligan, Hunter-Chang and Whitewolf say the workshops were a godsend. “They gave me a great foundation and have led me to a place where I now know what questions to ask,” Halligan said. “I have a better understanding of how the whole process works.” Since the workshops, Whitewolf said he has found himself thinking about commercialization potential of projects more than ever.

“I think this is something that often gets overlooked in many academic research projects but are inherent to the products that eventually make it to the public,” Whitewolf said. “This will definitely help me shape and think about my future projects and make my research more impactful.” Hunter-Chang was extremely grateful for the advice she received. “I thought it was amazing to have access to so much expertise in so many topics all in the same room,” she said. “How often does a patent lawyer just say, ‘Ask me anything,’ and it’s all free to you? “And having someone walk us through a road map of the research-to-patent-to-market process was great. Since the workshop pointed out the importance of finding the right corporate partners for the right stages of development, I’ve definitely been thinking more about what that means for me and how I can find those partners when I’m ready.”

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

G ROW T H PAT H S

LVG offers experiential learning opportunities for students to engage in business processes which require broad scientific expertise, business insight and legal acumen to convert scientific research into practical applications. Using real examples from our pipeline, students gain hands-on professional experience while providing tangible support to our team.

In collaboration with UVA’s School of Law and the Darden School of Business, LVG offers accredited curriculum coursework opportunities and internships for professional students throughout the year.

LVG Summer Internships Darden Students Learn Finer Points of Investing Through LVG Program After graduating from Bates College in Maine, Charlie Wilmerding took a job as a financial institutions’ insurance underwriter and risk analyst in New York City. While Wilmerding enjoyed the work, he wanted to expand his perspective and learn new skills that would allow him to become an effective manager. That led him to the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. “I applied to Darden because I knew that it was the only program where I could learn the real-world managerial skills that I was lacking,” Wilmerding said.

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

But there was an unforeseen bonus.

Patent Law & Licensing Clinic Each semester, LVG – under the direction of Senior Patent Attorney & General Counsel Robert Decker and licensing team members -- runs a UVA School of Law clinic in which students learn how to evaluate inventions and computer software for patentability and commercial value; counsel investors regarding patentability; determine inventorship; and prepare, file and prosecute provisional U.S. and international patent applications.

Due Diligence in Seed Fund Due Diligence in Seed Fund Investing is an elective course offered within the entrepreneurship, innovation and strategy discipline of Darden’s MBA curriculum. Each year, 12 second-year students join the class led by Robert Creeden, Managing Director of the LVG Seed Fund & New Ventures. Students gain exposure to the operations of the LVG Seed Fund and learn an industry-proven diligence process using real examples from our pipeline.

While participating in a Darden workshop last year, Wilmerding connected with UVA Licensing & Ventures Group Seed Fund Managing Director Robert Creeden, and subsequently pursued a summer internship at LVG. “I wanted to work with seed-stage companies that were commercializing breakthrough technology,” Wilmerding said, “and I knew that Bob was a fantastic teacher. “My previous experience was so focused on huge financial institutions, and I wanted to get exposure to the other end of the spectrum.” LVG Communications sat down with Wilmerding and fellow Darden students Ellie Jamison and Christy Patterson to learn more about their LVG internships.

Q. What were some specific skills you learned during your LVG internship? CW: One of the great aspects of the internship is that you’re given some autonomy in what you allocate your time toward. I wanted to improve my technical financial skills, and work directly with founders. I created financial projections and worked with our team to ensure we were optimizing our equity positioning in all our prospective investments. I conducted due diligence and worked closely with entrepreneurs to ensure we understood their businesses fully. The team made professional development a priority. We were encouraged to ask questions and make mistakes. I really appreciate how conducive the environment was for learning. Bob and Matt [Rannals] also included us on their calls and made time to ensure that we fully comprehended the subject at-hand. CP: We performed diligence for a number of potential investments, as well as attended investment committee meetings and founder discussions. We worked closely with Bob and Matt [Rannals] to learn more about LVG’s investment philosophy, which helped inform the research we pursued to complete our diligence. We also had the opportunity to meet and work with a handful of the entrepreneurs and executives in residence. EJ: I specifically conducted due diligence on a few potential investments, which included market research, founder references, customer and patient calls and financial forecasts.

INTERNS ELLIE JAMISON, CHRIST Y PAT TERSON AND CHARLIE WILMERDING WITH SEED FUND MANAGING DIREC TOR ROBERT CREEDEN, FAR LEF T, AND SENIOR VENTURE AS SOCIATE MAT THE W R ANNAL S, FAR RIGHT.

Q. What’s the biggest thing that surprised you about interning at LVG? CP: This was my first foray into tech transfer, and I feel I had underestimated the quality and volume of research that comes out of the University. There were a lot of exciting opportunities we reviewed this summer, and it was fascinating to learn more about the various stakeholders and processes on the licensing side of the house. EJ: Venture capitalists must strike a healthy balance between optimism and skepticism in order to properly evaluate a potential investment. There is never an investment with 100% confidence; everything carries a risk. It’s about doing the research and taking the time to understand the risks. CW: I was surprised to learn how consistently important it is to strike a balance between technical expertise and emotional intelligence – both for entrepreneurs and VCs. The most persuasive founders are the ones who can take a complex topic and explain it in a way that anyone can understand. On the other side of the table Matt and Bob both display empathy and understanding while maintaining an impressive technical understanding of the matters at hand. It was shocking how consistently this held true.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Growth Paths

I N S I D E LV G

Entrepreneurs in Residence L I SA B OW E R S Lisa advises executives of both large and small biotech companies on corporate strategy, commercial strategy, leadership and management, board management, and overall job performance. She was formerly the Chief Commercial Officer of Day One, and, prior to that role, was the CEO and founder of Rhia Ventures, a social venture investment organization focused on reproductive health.

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

Lisa has had an extensive career at Genentech/Roche, where she held P&L accountability for Genentech’s $400M+ cystic fibrosis business and was the head of the North American supply chain region, accountable for $20B+ of medicine across the United States and Canada.

JEFF MYERS

J I M P OW E R S

MIKE RAKER

Jeff has nearly 15 years of experience in biotech. He has served in a number of leadership roles in drug and device development, with both Portola and SteadyMed eventually being acquired. Jeff has held critical positions in clinical and business development, regulatory and other key functions.

Jim has more than 30 years of experience launching and building life science companies, evolving their business strategies, leveraging platform technologies and recruiting outstanding teams. Jim recently retired after 13 years serving as HemoShear Therapeutics’ first Chairman and CEO.

Mike is a technology executive with experience in large defense primes to startups/scaleups in markets across the globe, including but not limited to the U.S., the U.K., Australia and NATO, including FOCI mitigation. He is experienced in developing innovative technology-driven business strategies to transform businesses.

Prior to his career in industry, Jeff was a pediatric cardiac and transplant surgeon, with his last appointment being at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University. During that time, he also ran a research lab studying the mechanism of pulmonary hypertension in newborns.

Jim led the transformation of HemoShear from a human disease modeling, platform-based, R&D services company to a drug discovery and development company that now has a multidisease, multi-product pipeline of rare disease programs in areas of high unmet need.

Mike is the CTO of Defence at Improbable, a British metaverse tech company. He is also a UVA Engineering Foundation Trustee, advising on various elements of the school’s strategy and operations.

RO B I N H U M E

A N D R E W K RO U S E

J E F F T E N N E RY

LESLIE J. WILLIAMS

J I M Z U F FO L E T T I

Helen has nine years of experience in the energy industry, working in various finance positions at different subsidiaries of the Royal Dutch / Shell Group in both the U.K. and the U.S. Helen’s experience at Shell included working in corporate strategy, shipping, and as finance advisor, finance manager and risk control manager in several different trading subsidiaries.

Robin has more than 20 years of deep scientific, strategic and operational experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, including early and late-stage drug development and commercialization. Robin is recognized as a forward thinker in R&D strategy, identifying and incorporating innovative regulatory strategies to rapidly advance new drug and biologic product development to approval in the U.S. and globally.

Jeff is an innovative technology executive with more than 30 years of leadership in mobile and digital media. He is the founder and visionary of Moonlighting, a leading blockchain on-demand hiring platform and one of the fastest growing freelance marketplaces in the world.

Leslie is a 25-year biopharmaceutical veteran and an experienced biotech CEO and board of directors’ member. She has experience in healthcare, management, business development, commercial product development and marketing and venture capital.

Jim is a serial founder and executive with broad leadership and operating experience from co-founding businesses, business units and foundations from zero to one and beyond. He has experience with exits ranging from asset sale, divestiture to deka-corn IPO.

Helen currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Warm Health Technology, a Charlottesville-based company started by UVA LVG (see page 36). The startup has developed a platform to help improve the engagement in care and thereby the health outcomes of people with a chronic condition.

Andy has more than a decade of biotech investing and leadership experience with a track record of success as the founder and CEO of Tau Therapeutics, LLC, Xdynia LLC and venturebacked Cavion, Inc. Andy has been recognized for his leadership in the industry as a CIT GAP 50 Entrepreneur in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a member of the Board of SEBIO and is the immediate past Chairman of the Virginia Biotechnology Association.

Robin has a passion for building and leading high-performing product teams focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of new drugs and biologics and empowering teams to navigate, problem solve and bring high impact new medicines to patients with unmet needs.

Jeff is an industry expert on emerging mobile and on-demand technologies. Jeff has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Fast Company, Inc. Magazine, Fox Business and the Huffington Post.

Leslie is the founder, director, president and CEO at hC Bioscience, which is focused on developing tRNA based therapeutics for oncology and rare disease. Prior to this, she spent 10 years at ImmusanT developing immunotherapies for autoimmune disease. She was the founder, director, president and CEO until the reverse merger in 2019.

Jim has led fundraising efforts exceeding $80 million through investment rounds (angel, corporate and venture), institutional grants, awards, debt and government programs. He works to advance entrepreneurship at the Society For Effectual Actions, which was founded by Professor Saras Sarasvathy.

H E L E N B OY D

Prior to his experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Andy worked as an analyst for Goldman Sachs, NYC, and served as Vice President of the UVA Darden Graduate School of Business.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

Our cohort of EIRS includes leaders who are UVA alumni, founders and investors who possess business acumen, industry experience with early tech commercialization, strategic planning and fundraising. Two of the EIRs in our first cohort have successfully launched and sold UVA startup companies in the last decade.

I N S I D E LV G

Life of an EIR

BY LISA BOWERS

Lisa Bowers gives an inside look into LVG’s WorldRenowned Entrepreneur in Residence program

But that’s not the point.

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

The point is: I am on a personal journey to learn whatever I can learn about this topic of how science becomes a company – and not just so that I could write my own kind of swingy animated poem, “I’m just a pill….” that worms its way into your head.

To orient you on the journey, I recently agreed to spend some time with the very smart people at the University of Virginia’s Licensing & Ventures Group. This organization has a team of folks who invest a University-funded venture fund in promising UVA-originated science and engineering. They are just one step in the delicate, fraught and amazing process of pulling science out of an academic setting, supporting its path to turn these ideas from a couple of academic papers into a product, and then helping to determine whether that product is just a product -- which can be licensed to another pharma company -- or whether that product is a company. So, basically the questions every day for these guys are: is the science a product? And is the product a company? And if we think the answers to both are “yes” (which is rare, I should add) — how do we support the academic team as they transition across these categories? This space – the very, very, very early, “It’s a project, not a product,” space – is new to me. In my past life, I’ve been given an existing product and asked to define the commercial parameters of the future of that product – what it means to the types of clinical trials we should run, which countries are the right countries, etc. I’ve been at tables discussing whether Company A should buy an existing product from Company B. I’ve hashed through whether Company C should sell just a product or the whole company to Company D. I’ve had to decide how to maximize the revenue from an existing product – or an about-to-be-launched product – for Company E. And I’ve made decisions about whether to invest venture capital into start-ups

(Companies F, G, H and I) that have decided that they are going to try to be companies. But in none of those conversations have I been at the table where the question, “Is this even a product?” has been asked. And by “product” I mean that it is ready to be invested in by people outside of a university with the intention of ultimately helping humans. Suddenly I’m sitting in the midst of a massive, world-class research institution and talking to scientists and engineers about their ideas and inventions and helping them decide (and deciding myself) whether or not this is ever going to be a product and whether that product should leave UVA as its own venture or not. In my first month in the role, I’ve been exposed to ideas related to green construction materials, electric vehicle components, technologies for joints and pelvic surgery, software for the operating room, platforms for people with an infectious disease, and a new way to treat breast cancer. And that’s just the smallest possible slice of what is sitting nestled here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, inside of a very cool, old Coca-Cola bottling warehouse in downtown Charlottesville, waiting to be discovered and shared with the world. It’s an adventure. I’m already enjoying the ride. THROUGHOUT THE Y E AR, LVG TE AM MEMBERS TAKE PART IN VARIOUS C OMMUNIT Y AC TIVITIES, ON GROUNDS AND OFF.

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

I wish there were a “Schoolhouse Rock!” episode on how science becomes a company. It would be great if it could be like a “How a bill becomes a law” tutorial, but for my world. Maybe the animated guy isn’t a rolled-up piece of paper with a snazzy ribbon around him but instead a pill … with her own snazzy ribbon? Hang on. Maybe I’m onto something.

I N S I D E LV G

LVG Staff Leadership

Richard W. Chylla Executive Director

Licensing

Robert J. Creeden Managing Director, UVA LVG Seed Fund & New Ventures

Joshua P. Mauldin Director, Licensing

Jill Simandl Director of Finance and Operations

Cortney L. Mushill Licensing Manager

Jonathan Rudd Licensing Manager

Legal

Robert J. Decker Senior Patent & General Counsel

Paul Coaker Legal Assistant

Jay Hyun-Jung Lee Licensing Associate

Johnathon Dooley Licensing Analyst

Lakshmi Narayanan Licensing Analyst

Seed Fund & New Ventures

Operations

Matthew D. Rannals Senior Venture Associate

Whitelaw Reid Manager of Strategic Communications

Dawn Kidd I-Corps Hub Coordinator

Sari Rizek Information & Compliance Manager

Mary Anderson Royalties & Compliance Analyst

Maggie Hyde Executive Assistant/ Office Manager

2023 ANNUAL REPORT

UNIVERSIT Y OF VIRGINIA LICENSING & VENTURES GROUP

THE LVG STAFF AT UVA’S ANNUAL INNOVATOR OF THE Y E AR E VENT.

UVA LVG ANNUAL REPORT