UNeMed Corporation, the technology transfer arm for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, has named Michael Dixon, Ph.D., as its new president.
Dr. Dixon was named to the position by James Linder, M.D., who was president and CEO of UNeMed and who will continue to serve as CEO.
“Michael brings to the position a unique understanding of both science and intellectual property. He’s become nationally recognized in key groups, such as the Association for University Technology Managers and the Licensing Executive Society,” Dr. Linder said.
After receiving his doctorate degree in molecular biology from the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center in 2003, Dr. Dixon became the faculty liaison/technology transfer associate in UNMC’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO).
He was named director of the IPO in 2006 and helped lead the merger of the IPO and UNeMed that same year. Dr. Dixon was named vice president and chief operating officer of UNeMed in 2008.
“In the past few years he has earned the respect of faculty at UNMC and has established strong internship and postdoctoral programs at UNeMed. He has built educational relationships with Creighton University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha and has developed a close working relationship with the Office of Technology Development at the University of Nebraska Lincoln,” said Dr. Linder, who as CEO will be involved in business development outreach and venture capital development.
Dr. Dixon said he is proud of the significant increase in technology transfer activity on campus. “In the past three years, we’ve seen more than a 50 percent increase in licenses and inventions going through UNeMed,” he said. “Our staff has been able to keep up with the pace and increase our efficiency to become a valuable resource for the campus.”
One of his long-term goals is to have UNeMed bring in as much revenue as the $5 million to $6 million a year that comes to UNMC from the tobacco settlement. “The result of the influx of the tobacco settlement money has been fantastic to the research enterprise at UNMC,” he said.
It takes seven to 10 years to stream royalties from the time a license agreement is signed before it becomes an FDA approved diagnostic or therapeutic agent. UNeMed now generates more than $1 million in revenues – the bulk of which is from the Leveen probe, a non-surgical tumor ablation device that was invented in the early 1990s.
Dr. Dixon points to other technologies that will help build the research revenue stream:
- StayActiv, sold as a capsule or cream, provides fast pain relief and also promotes repair of muscles, joints and tissue. It is the only product on the market that targets inflammation and lactic acid – the two main sources of pain. It was licensed to Vireo Systems, Inc, and has subsequently spawned the birth of a new company in Plattsmouth, Neb., called Vireo Resources, which processes and packages nutritional products.
- Addrenex contracted with UNeMed to rapidly acquire new drug candidates by tapping into UNMC’s considerable scientific expertise and its pre-existing library of alpha-2 adrenergic compounds. The library and associated intellectual property was gifted to UNMC by Proctor and Gamble in 2002. Two of the compounds have been tested in clinical trials involving 700 patients with either nasal congestion or migraine headache. If successful, the value of potential sales from these products could exceed $2 billion.
A Presho, S.D., native, Dr. Dixon earned his undergraduate degree from Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., prior to beginning his five-year Ph.D. program through the UNMC Eppley Cancer. His dissertation examined the mechanism behind a unique class of human genetic diseases.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources now exceeds $82 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,600 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.