Posted on April 6, 2004 at 11:01 a.m.
BIRMINGHAM, AL — The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Research Foundation has entered into a an agreement with BioElectroSpec Inc. to license a biosensor technology based on the combination of total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) with electrochemistry (EC).
The technology was developed jointly between UAB and Mississippi State University (MSU). This biosensor technology is the subject of United States Patent Number 6,511,854 and provides an improved method for the investigation of interactions between biomolecules. An understanding of these interactions and the ability to control them is critical for a variety of scientific objectives and important in drug discovery and design. Drugs work by binding to molecules in the body. This technology can help identify the best binding sites for the drug to the target.
BioElectroSpec, Inc., based in Delaware, pioneered the development of TIRF-EC technology and holds other patents in this area. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) awarded BioElectroSpec more than $2 million in Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grants to further develop and commercialize TIRF-EC biosensors. BioElectroSpec rapidly expands its TIRF-EC product lines and markets them via its Internet site, www.bioelectrospec.com.
The company plans to include the UAB-MSU biosensor technology in its current and future biosensor equipment and will market the products to biotech, pharmaceutical companies and academic research institutions.
“Because BioElectroSpec, Inc. holds patents in this area, BioElectroSpec and the UABRF saw the opportunity to jointly strengthen their intellectual property positions and to secure a stronger position in the biosensor market,” said Lucy Hicks, UAB Research Foundation director. Alane Barnes, license associate for this transaction added. “The company has been successful in obtaining funding and moving their technology forward, and this proven track record was an important factor in our decision to license the UAB-MSU technology to them.”
“We are pleased that we were able to enter into an agreement with the UAB Research Foundation and we look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship,” said Alexander Asanov, Ph.D., one of the inventors on the patent and the founder of BioElectroSpec, Inc.
For more information about BioElectroSpec log on to www.bioelectrospec.com.