University hopes to do well while it does good

Leaders of the University of Nevada, Reno, say they hope to make some money while also providing a benefit to the world when they license intellectual property for commercial development.

The deal they announced last week with Immuno-Mycologics Inc. of Norman, Okla., shows how they can pull it off.

The technology-transfer agreement with Immuno-Mycologics it calls itself "IMMY" for short already is generating revenue. But it's also structured in a way that allows IMMY to meet its goal of providing a low-cost diagnostic tool to battle a disease that kills as many as 600,000 people a year in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Oklahoma company specializes in medical diagnostic products that meet the often-challenging environment of the developing world.

One of the toughest diseases faced in sub-Saharan Africa these days is cryptococcosis, an otherwise rare form of meningitis that's a common cause of death among people with AIDS. Early detection is critical to save lives, but tests for the disease involve expensive and painful spinal taps or time-consuming blood tests.

Thomas Kozel, a professor of microbiology at the University of Nevada, Reno Medical School, collaborated with Sean Bauman, president and chief executive officer of IMMY, to develop a field test that will use a drop of blood from a finger-stick or a urine sample to immediately identify if people have the disease.

The test is expected to cost only about $1, doesn't require water and doesn't require refrigeration. Essentially, Kozel said, it works as simply and quickly as a home pregnancy test.

Kozel, part of a 15-person team of researchers, students and technicians working to develop diagnostic tools at the medical school, has spent the better part of 40 years in research that led to the cryptococcosis test.

A version of the test one that still requires a spinal tap or blood draw has been submitted by IMMY for approval by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States, and it's won the OK for sales in the European Union and much of the developing world.

The less expensive finger-stick version needs more funding for more tests before it's available to patients, IMMY's top executive said.

Ryan Heck, a patent attorney who heads the university's Technology Transfer Office, said the school's royalty-on-sales agreement with IMMY respects the company's need to keep the product affordable so it can reach the largest number of people.

"We're trying to make sure they are successful with this agreement," Heck said.

He said the contract with IMMY marks one of the most substantial recent agreements for commercialization of technology developed at the university.