June 2008 Feature: Continuing the Conversation with Lee Fenicle, Creighton IRM Director (Part 2)
by Sharyn Alden
Lee Fenicle, director of Creighton Intellectual Resources Management, (formerly the Creighton Office of Technology Transfer) has been guiding Creighton’s successful technology transfer activities over the past 12 years. Following is the second installment in our continuing conversation with Lee about Creighton’s technology transfer success stories. 
Q: How does Creighton Intellectual Resources Management connect university academic research with the needs of people outside the university?
LF: One example is the work of the Osteoporosis Research Center (ORC) which has a 40-year history and is recognized worldwide for its excellence in bone research. As people live longer and baby boomers age, osteoporosis research and discoveries have become ever more important. One study reported that the number of osteoporosis-related fractures may increase by 50 percent as of 2025. That is huge, considering that even now annual healthcare costs attributable to these fractures runs more than $22 billion. The ORC discovered a genetic mutation in several groups of people who have an inordinately high bone density, the opposite of osteoporosis. That mutation is being used to identify a pharmaceutical agent that will mimic this mutation and, hopefully, not only counter the effects of losses in bone density, but may actually rebuild bone. This discovery would have a dramatic impact on the rising costs of osteoporosis and improve the quality of life for millions of older people throughout the world.
The public good is impacted by many Creighton discoveries including the recent work Creighton researchers have done with resistance mechanisms in bacteria. One discovery aids clinical laboratories to more accurately identify which antibiotics are really effective against a patient’s particular strain of infective bacteria. Another discovery helps researchers extract RNA from bacteria without the contamination that is common in current methods. Both of these products have been licensed to major players in this marketplace.
Q: We’ve heard that Creighton research may benefit those with breast cancer. What are the details?
LF: That’s right -- our researchers are responsible for an exciting discovery that should help breast cancer patients, and other estrogen-driven cancer patients, survive longer. Some women with breast cancer appear to be improving through drug therapy, when suddenly, some years down the road, the tumor blossoms. A Creighton researcher discovered a novel estrogen receptor that is responsible for this occurrence and started a new company to develop the diagnostic tools that will identify these particular patients. All of us are hopeful that a therapeutic agent will eventually be discovered based on this technology, because it will have a tremendous impact on cancer treatment. Food and Drug Administration regulations ensure that a therapeutic product is a long way off.
Q: Have any other discoveries resulted in the formation of start-up companies?
LF: In 2006, the university formed SafeStitch, which is based on endoscopic inventions developed by our researchers. Specifically, these are surgical tools utilizing endoscope technology, essentially going through the mouth and out of the stomach into the peritoneal cavity to perform a variety of surgeries without ever making an external incision.
SafeStitch has received two major rounds of financing and is now traded on the public market. Prominent investors who know the medical field and are successful at starting companies are a tremendous asset to Creighton in addition to the dollars they bring.
We also have two other start-up companies that have spun off from Creighton. One of them is now working on DNA vaccines, while the other is providing careet guidance for thousands of high school students each year.
Next in the series: Building strong ties with the business community
Previously in the series: Creighton IRM’s role