The Advancement of Invention Award was created by the Trustees of the Hall of Fame to honor institutions or individuals in the non-profit sector who are doing important work to promote invention. This year the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame recognizes the role the University if Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) has played in advancing biomedical technology transfer, especially its pivotal role in the creation of new biomedical companies.

Like most American universities, UMDNJ has been able to patent a substantial number of faculty inventions. And like many American universities, until recent years, UMDNJ devoted most of its attention to protecting the invention rather than marketing it.

In the last three years, UMDNJ has added significant business and marketing strengths to its office and is committed to develop technology by forming new companies. Of the seven new ventures that have been established recently, two deserve specific mention.

The first, BioDelivery Sciences, is a product of UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School. This company has developed novel methods for oral delivery of bimolecular substances—vaccines, insulin and other drug therapies—, which normally do not survive the journey through the gastrointestinal tract. The vaccine delivery system already has brought in more than $6 million in research funding over the past two years, primarily sponsoring UMDNJ- New Jersey Medical School research. The company is continuing to seek licenses in other technology areas.

The second example is in its formative stages at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. PTC Therapeutics has developed a novel approach to combat viral infections and to reverse the effects of many genetic diseases. This approach is a result of a series of breakthrough discoveries in the understanding of the mechanisms that regulate the conversion of RNA into proteins. This company was begun with a $1 million investment by the late Bob Swanson and other founders of Genentech. It will announce within a few weeks the closing of its first round of private financing, which will result in an additional $15 million. Again, a significant fraction of these dollars will support additional UMDNJ research.

This method of transferring technology to the private sector is very different from straight licensing to an established company. Forming new companies obviously keeps the University and its researchers involved more intimately in the development of the technology and begins to blur the lines between academic and commercial research. In these ventures, UMDNJ has made good use of funding through programs established by the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology, which was the recipient of this award last year. In this respect UMDNJ carries forward the proud tradition of technology transfer recognized this year and in the recent past.