July 8, 2008

Innovationedge client Inventor receives award for klenzpod™

Remember my post last month about one of my inventor clients, Mick Gordon?  He is back in the news again, and I couldn’t be more pleased! Mick is a very prolific innovator–he is passionate about his inventions.

We’ve been helping him in the development of KlenzPod™ which recently won the inaugural Innovation Award at the annual World of Wipes (WOW 2008) Conference. Mick was honored for his innovative approach and elegant solution to the lack of efficient wet wipe disposal facilities on the market.

The KlenzPod system was developed for offices and public buildings to provide employees and customers easy access to single wet wipes. Mick’s invention was inspired by his experience with his dying father in a British hospital where he saw poor hygiene being practiced, and realized that medical staff really needed some easily-available wipes to keep their hands clean.

It has taken years of development. Mick refined the invention based on feedback from other experts and corporations, but numerous innovations have now come together to provide a really useful, economical, and aesthetically-pleasing solution that can be used almost anywhere.

Way to go, Mick!

June 16, 2008

Father and son team up to combat hospital infections

Here’s a fantastic article on one of my clients! Innovationedge has been working with an inventors Gene Gordon and his son Peter Gordon of Germgard Lighting, LLC. They’ve invented a product called Glovegard, a medical exam glove sterilization device that efficiently kills bacteria. It works by exposing a gloved hand to Ultraviolet C light to kill pathogens on the glove. In only three seconds, the gloves are sterilized with safety and speed.

The idea came about in the fall of 2005 after Gene reflected back on an infection he had contracted during a hospital stay for a back operation. His ultimate goal was to prevent others from going through the ordeal he experienced, and I’m excited that he is achieving that dream.

Check out the video here.

January 22, 2008

An update on our Russia partnership

I promised to update you on Innovationedge’s collaboration with Russia’s International Science and Technology Center (ISTC). As you know, we announced our partnership with InnovationPoint to work on a multi-year contract to help some of the most innovative minds in Russia –many of whom are former U.S.S.R. weapons scientists and engineers—to redirect their talents and bring new science and technology capabilities to the United States.

These scientists are highly skilled in biotechnology, agriculture, biomass, health care, nanotechnology and bioengineering. We formally launched our partnership with ISTC in Moscow last November, and have since had several opportunities to advance our mission. To date we have identified and set up meetings with key U.S. partners who could leverage the knowledge and capabilities of our Russian innovators. We’ve also developed marketing materials such as ISTC partnership brochures.

Last month, Innovationedge’s Jeff Lindsay, Director of Solution Development, traveled to Moscow for its Drug Design and Development Conference. The two-day international conference included reps from the World Health Organization, CDC, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology businesses from Europe, the U.S. and Canada who shared their vision of novel therapeutics to combat emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and cancer.

The symposium was an opportunity for us to get an overview of the biotech work of many Russian scientists. From the perspective of commercializing technologies, most of the technologies shown represented early stage exploratory work. When a biotech company has parallel interests and sees a fit with a particular chemistry being studied, it is a chance for licensing. Some of the capabilities, such as modeling of drug properties for improved activity, may have potential to find a variety of interested partners.

We are exploring specific projects and existing technologies in these areas so that we can make our efforts to find commercial partners. Some of these projects may already have enough data developed to create interest in drug companies that may wish to further explore and develop these exciting opportunities.