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University of Missouri faculty members were recognized for their involvement in the technology transfer and commercialization process at the sixth annual Technology Transfer Showcase held April 20 in Columbia.
Among the University of Missouri faculty members recognized were those who submitted invention disclosures, had patent applications filed by the University in their name, or had their inventions licensed during 2005.
The fifth annual Faculty Entrepreneur of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Jeffrey O. Phillips, research associate professor and head of applied research in the Department of Surgery at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The $15,000 award is given to a University of Missouri faculty member for a record of entrepreneurial innovation that demonstrates commercial utility, contributes to the public welfare, and brings visibility to the University.
Phillips holds a bachelor’s of science degree in pharmacy from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Utah.
He is known for his invention combining a buffer with a non-enteric coated proton pump inhibitor, or PPI —a class of drugs that prevent the production of excess stomach acid. His invention defied the conventional wisdom of the time that an enteric coating was essential to protecting the drug from the acid environment of the stomach.
Phillips’ invention was licensed in January 2001, to Santarus, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops therapies for gastrointestinal diseases. Marketed by Santarus and its marketing partner as Zegerid®, the product is the first immediate release PPI on the market.
Phillips continues to research novel combinations and uses of the drugs. He also developed, and the University has patented, a medical device that predicts outcomes of patients with closed head injuries within the first few days of hospitalization. In addition, he developed software for the early diagnosis, monitoring and endpoint attainment for nosocomial pneumonia.
The Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award was presented to Paul Pattison, a senior at UM-Columbia in mechanical aerospace engineering.
Pattison is the founder of Picture Cloud, LLC, which he started to improve the way objects are broadcast on the web by creating multi-angular images that require very little time or technical merit to create. As a client of the Missouri Innovation Center and with $100,000 in “angel” financing, Picture Cloud, LLC, was publicly launched in January 2006.
The $2,500 award honors a University of Missouri student who has shown entrepreneurial potential.
The Technology Transfer Showcase is coordinated by the University of Missouri Office of Technology & Special Projects.
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