Company to Commercialize UA-Invented Microvessel Technology
Tucson, Ariz. – A technology developed at the University of Arizona offers an innovative way to grow vascularized human tissue – an advance that has applications in testing potential drug therapies and the development of treatments for cardiovascular disease.
The invention recently was licensed and commercialized with the help of Tech Launch Arizona, the UA unit dedicated to commercializing inventions born of UA research. Tech Launch facilitated the development of the exclusive license agreement between the UA and Angiomics Inc., which is based in Louisville, Kentucky.
"At the UA, our mission is to take the inventions born of University research and get them out to the world where they can have an impact," said Doug Hockstad, director of technology transfer at Tech Launch Arizona. "In this case, the potential impact we're talking about is saving lives. In light of that goal, we are excited to see this technology move on to its next phase of development."
Stuart Williams, division chief of Bioficial Heart, and James Hoying, division chief of cardiovascular therapeutics – both at the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, a collaboration between the University of Kentucky and the Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare – were at the UA in the 1990s when they developed the technology. At the time, Williams was in the Department of Surgery at the College of Medicine and founded the UA's biomedical engineering program. Hoying earned his doctorate at the UA and became an associate professor in the UA's Arizona Research Laboratories.
Hoying is CEO of Angiomics, which develops innovative solutions for three-dimensional vascular and vascularized tissue systems for research, pharmaceutical and therapeutic applications. Using the breakthrough technology that he and Williams created, the company is developing off-the-shelf and customized vascularizing solutions for human 3-D tissue and disease models with the potential to advance tissue biology and accelerate drug discovery efforts.
Modern drug discovery takes one of two general routes: phenotypic screens and target-based screens. The first looks at the effects that compounds create in cells and systems, while the second examines the effects of compounds on specific target proteins via in vitro tests. While target-based screening generally yields compounds more quickly, phenotypic screens yield higher quality compounds due to creating a broader understanding of the potential systemic effects. They offer a more holistic approach to drug discovery, more closely representing what occurs naturally in the complex system that is the human body.
The technology licensed to Angiomics is focused on delivering phenotypic screens with the goal of more quickly and effectively discovering new compounds.
"We are delighted to enter into this agreement with the University of Arizona to realize the full potential of the human microvessel system in drug discovery and tissue replacement," Hoying said. "The ability to fully vascularize a 3-D tissue mimic with an intact, functional microvasculature will set the new standard in tissue mimic vascularization, particularly in drug discovery arena and provide our customers with a more informative assay platform."