At a time when opioid addiction represents a major public health crisis, researchers in the UA College of Medicine – Tucson have invented a new class of non-opioid drug candidates to treat pain. The University has licensed the compounds to startup Regulonix.

The UA has licensed a drug that aims to shorten the lives of cancer cells to startup Reglagene. The technology, invented at the UA College of Pharmacy and the BIO5 Institute by Laurence Hurley, PhD, and Vijay Gokhale, PhD, has been shown to be effective in inducing cancer cells to grow old and die.

UA College of Medicine – Tucson Professor Meredith Hay, PhD, and her colleagues started ProNeurogen to commercialize their inventions in neuroscience and cardiovascular neurophysiology. The UA has been awarded two patents for their approach to treating memory loss and cognitive impairment.

UAVenture Capital, LLC has announced the launch of a fund to support the commercialization of University of Arizona science, services and intellectual property. UAVC was formed by Fletcher J. McCusker, the business driver behind the UA College of Pharmacy startup SinfoníaRx.

UA startup SinfoníaRx has been acquired by Tabula Rasa HealthCare (NASDAQ: TRHC), provider of individualized, data-driven technology solutions. Spun out of the College of Pharmacy in 2013, SinfoníaRx pioneered modern medication therapy management (MTM) services.

In October, the Arizona Bioindustry Association, or AZBio, will honor industry leaders from across Arizona. This year, a majority of those to be honored have deep connections to the UA and have created impact through bringing UA ideas and inventions to the marketplace.