Media Interview - Cure for Diabetes Through Adult Stem Cell Research

INTRO facilitated and managed the agreement that was signed between the NUS Department of Surgery and Stem Cell Technologies (i) Pte Ltd to jointly collaborate on research to find a cure for diabetes through adult stem cells. An briefing was held on April 5, 2004 at the Shangri-la Hotel for the key collaborators to meet the media.

This research project, which will entail creating insulin-secreting cells from adult stem cells derived from self, brings together a group of prominent leaders in basic research, clinical applications, industry collaboration and surgery. The main focus of the research will be in the use of adipose tissue, but other sources of adult stem cells may also be investigated.

The collaborators include Professor Bernat Soria, who holds the Chair as Professor of Physiology and Director of the Institute of Bioengineering, Alicante, Spain, and is presently an Adjunct Professor with the NUS Department of Surgery, Professor Sir Roy Calne, who is the Professor of Surgery Emeritus, Cambridge University, UK. He was knighted by the Queen in 1996 for his pioneering work in the field of Medicine, Associate Professor John Isaac, who is currently Acting Head of the NUS Department of Surgery. He is also concurrently Senior Consultant, Head of Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Surgery Division, and Post Graduate Education Director at the Department of Surgery, and Senior Consultant, Liver Transplantation Service at the National University Hospital, and Dr Susan Lim, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Stem Cell Technologies (i) Pte Ltd, who is an accomplished general surgeon in active surgical practice and is known in Singapore and Asia as the first surgeon to have successfully pioneered and performed liver transplantation in this region.

MOU between NUS INTRO and Edinburgh Research & Innovation Ltd

INTRO signed an agreement with its counterpart in the University of Edinburgh – Edinburgh Research and Innovation Ltd (ERI) - to promote joint activities which will be of mutual interest to both universities. One of the key areas of cooperation is the joint marketing of technologies from both universities, and the sharing of resources and best practices.

This partnership will create new inroads for both INTRO and ERI into the Scotland/UK/Europe and Singapore/ Asia-Pacific technology commercialization markets, respectively. Ultimately, this will also see a greater number of innovations developed from university research being translated into useful products that can benefit markets in Scotland, Singapore and globally.

SimTech-IHPC-NUS Agreement Signing Ceremony

On February 11, 2004, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) and NUS met and signed the research collaboration agreement for Modelling and Self Assembly of Molecular Semiconductors for Nanoscale Electronic Integration. The purpose of the ceremony was to gather some momentum for the project, and to reinforce the parties’ commitments to the project.

BizVenture Evening – A Seminar & Exhibition of Technologies for Commercialisation

NUS Enterprise, NUS Business School Alumni Association and the NUS Office of Alumni Relations partnered to organise this seminar which took place on April 2, 2004.

Professor Jacob Phang, CEO, NUS Enterprise, announced the launch of the NUS Technology-to-Market Fund during his welcome speech. This Fund is jointly administered by NUS INTRO and NUS Venture Support. It aims to facilitate the transfer of NUS technologies to industry, including NUS start-up companies. It will provide financial support that helps bring selected NUS technologies closer to market, making them more attractive to investors and licensees. For more information on the Fund, please email intquery@nus.edu.sg.

The other highlight of the evening was the presentation of business plans based on NUS technologies, which gave a good overview of the technologies, as well as potential pathways of commercialising them. This attracted great interest from the audience, who later approached the presenters after the seminar to further their discussions.

The mini-exhibition that took place concurrently with the seminar showcased various other NUS technologies, business plans and venture support funds, as well as entrepreneurship programmes that are available.

Managing IP

INTRO ran two seminars on managing intellectual property. The first seminar, held on February 20, 2004 focused on design, and how intellectual property in design can be protected, managed and commercialised. The second, held on March 5, 2004, was jointly organised with the Singapore-MIT Alliance. Speakers for the seminars came from law, IP and industry backgrounds and shared their knowledge and practical experience with the audience.

At the seminar on designs, Mr Soh Kar Liang, who leads the operations of the Singapore office, and who is also the Head of the Patents & Designs department of Ella Cheong Sprusons & Ferguson (ECSF), gave a good insight into the difference between patents and registered designs, drawing examples from known cases and personal experience.

Mr Ban YJ, CEO of Stikfas, not only shared nuggets of his own experiences in protecting the intellectual property of his products, but also distributed Stikfas toys to the audience.

The second seminar featured Ms Ang Su-Lin from Harry Elias Partnership who gave an overview on intellectual property, and Mr Ng Kim Tean from Alain A. Johns Partnership who made a presentation on IP in IT. Both, together with Dr Peter Kew from INTRO, shared their experiences with the audience during a panel session. They drew laughs when Mr Ng cited an example of how information from a particular company was misused, and Ms Ang later wryly mentioned that coincidentally, she was representing that company he brought up.

Both seminars were well-received with many participants giving accolades to the speakers who made the event interesting and memorable.