Warwick Ventures News 2010


3 December 2010		Warwick develops new flower power A new technology that can be used to control flowering and crop yield in plants has been developed at the University of Warwick. Dr Yiguo Hong’s invention enables increased crop yields by increasing the number of flowers. Alternatively it can allow growers to delay or prevent plant flowering depending on the product and the circumstances. This breakthrough could lead to the development of high yield crops or enable control of flowering to meet local conditions. Warwick Ventures Ltd has been working in recent months with the bioscience management company, PBL, to promote some of the novel technologies arising from plant science research at the University of Warwick. As a result of that collaboration, an exclusive sub-licence has now been negotiated with a major agrochemical company, for certain applications of the technology in a number of important agricultural crops. contact: Dr. Suzanne Evans / +44 (0)2476 575486 for further details.
2 December 2010		Warwick turns up the heat in the war on plastic waste A solution to the problem of domestic plastic waste being poured into landfill sites is being developed by engineers at the University of Warwick. Millions of tonnes of plastic waste are dumped in EU landfill sites or incinerated each year, with only a small fraction being recycled. Household waste is a particular problem since so many different types of plastic are thrown away that processing the waste becomes uneconomic. more... The Engineer
2 December 2010		New Stroke Diagnostic Could Help Save Lives A University of Warwick spin out company has announced new investment by Mercia Technology Seed Fund. The investment together with an Advantage West Midlands Research Grant will enable it to move towards clinical trials of a pioneering stroke diagnostic system. The portable handheld system being developed by Sarissa Biomedical Ltd, is designed to improve diagnosis and aid treatment in the crucial early stages of stroke. It works by measuring levels of a biomarker, released during a stroke or mini stroke, called a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA). more...
30 November 2010		goHDR commended in Research Councils UK Business Plan competition A start-up company that is developing the next generation of TV imaging techniques has received a commendation in a national business plan competition. goHDR was a runner-up in the Research Councils UK Business Plan competition, which attracts entries from university start-up ventures from all over the UK. more...
30 November 2010		Warwick neck brace improves prospects for spinal injury patients An innovative neck brace that could reduce the risk of paralysis for spinal injury patients is being designed by researchers at the University of Warwick. The team, led by Professor Matthew Cooke, Director of Emergency Care and Systems Improvement Group at Warwick Medical School, is currently looking for collaborators to build a working prototype to be ready for manufacturing. more...
29 November 2010		Connect Midlands 10th Anniversary Celebration - 30th Nov @ WMG DigiLab Connect Midlands are marking 10 years of success by inviting friends and colleagues to a celebration at the £50m state-of-the-art Digital Lab, part of the Warwick Manufacturing Group. Since 2001 - when Connect Midlands was established by Warwick Ventures - the organisation has assisted 2,000 entrepreneurs, and over 250 companies have now raised around £200m of new investment, so there's a lot to celebrate! The evening will include awards, presentations, light hearted fun, networking, buffet and drinks and the rare opportunity to tour the state of the art facilities and technology at the Digital Lab. We're very proud of Connect Midlands' achievements and wish John Griffiths and his team every continued success in the future.
4 November 2010		Company Formation: Anvil Semiconductors Ltd Warwick Ventures is proud to announce its latest company formation; Anvil Semiconductors [Company No. 07300225]. It plans to be the leading supplier of IP to the SiC power semiconductor device manufacturing industry, working in many partnerships with existing and new SiC players. As such it will be responsive to the power system application industry and the mass producers. In order to be credible Anvil will market its skills across the spectrum of substrate manufacturing via device architectures to device manufacturing and plans to have a modest facility for prototyping devices and building high-value niche ultra-high voltage devices.
19 October 2010		Warwick Ventures supports Tech Transfer at EU level Warwick Ventures Business Development Manager Shum Prakash was recently invited to the European Parliament to give her views on how the EU can better support technology transfer activities.
8 October 2010		Warwick Ventures Ltd - Enterprise Champion - Prof. Nick Dale Professor Nick Dale Ted Pridgeon Professor in Neurosciences in the School of Life Sciences. Professor Nick Dale, is Head of the Neurosciences Research Group in Warwick’s School of Sciences. In 2007 he was awarded a Milstein Award by the Medical Research Council for his innovative work into glucosensing (how the brain senses the level of glucose in the fluid that surrounds it). He is technical director of Sarissa Biomedical Ltd
7 October 2010		Warwick Ventures Ltd - Enterprise Champion - Prof. Dave Hutchins Prof David Hutchins, who leads the Advanced Instrumentation and Measurement (AIM) Lab within the School of Engineering. He worked as an academic in Canada for some years, before joining Warwick. He has been involved in a series of spin-out companies, in association with other members of staff within the School of Engineering. Prof Hutchins is an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control, and leads the Warwick input to RCNDE, an EPSRC-funded consortium of university research groups.
6 October 2010		Warwick Ventures Ltd - Enterprise Champion - Dr. Steve Dixon Dr Steve Dixon who leads the Physics Department's Ultrasonics group. That group specializes in ultrasonic measurements of material properties, non-contact ultrasound, non-destructive evaluation and testing, ultrasonic transduction, ultrasonic measurement of metallurgical microstructure.
5 October 2010		Warwick Ventures Ltd - Enterprise Champion - Prof. Dave Haddleton Professor Haddleton obtained his DPhil in Chemistry from the University of York and after periods of post-doctoral research in Toronto and the USA, he joined ICI's Corporate polymer chemistry group. After six years with ICI, he joined the University of Warwick and was appointed to a Chair in 1998. He is now Editor-In-Chief of the RSC Journal "Polymer Chemistry" and Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Warwick Effect Polymers Ltd. Warwick Effect Polymers (WEP) is a polymer specialist company that develops and manufactures novel functional polymers for high value applications. WEP designs, develops and manufactures novel polymers to meet the specific requirements of the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Speciality Polymer Industry sectors.
5 Ocotber 2010		Warwick Ventures Ltd Launch - champagne winner... Following our very successful Warwick launch on Monday 4th October, we are very pleased to share our 10 year anniversary with one of our friends at the University of Warwick Science Park, Bill Taylor. He was picked at random from all our guests who left their business card at the registration desk. Apparently Bill's colleagues would like to thank him in advance for sharing it with them back at the Science Park... An extended thanks to Bill and all those who attended and helped launch Warwick Ventures Ltd. Thank you all for making it such a successful event.
4 October 2010		Warwick Ventures Limited is Go! We are proud to announce that Warwick Ventures Limited [company number: 07293167] is now open for business! after a decade of helping University of Warwick researchers commercialise their research, the University of Warwick's technology transfer office has now a become a spin-out company in its own right. Warwick Ventures Ltd's Director Dr Ederyn Williams said: "In 10 years we have made over 100 patent applications, founded 49 companies and raised over £30 million in funding for those companies from venture capitalists and business angels. "That was achieved simply as an office within the University. "As a company in our own right we can empathise even more with the companies we create and the partners we seek for them and win not just more respect but more funding and more opportunism to create new knowledge based businesses."
4 May 2010		Advantage Proof of Concepts (APOC) EXPO The West Midlands has demonstrated that it continues to lead the world in innovation and manufacturing excellence. More than 150 beneficiaries of the £5.7m Advantage Proof of Concept Fund have gathered to show off their projects at the University of Warwick Science Park’s Innovation Centre, in Coventry. The entrepreneurs, investors and professionals took part in the Advantage Proof of Concept Fund Expo 2010 to celebrate the success of the Fund which was launched by the University of Warwick Science Park in 2008 with the aim of allowing businesses to prove the viability of new and innovative products. more...
21 April 2010		Queens Award for Director of Warwick Ventures It was announced today, Wednesday 21^st April, that Warwick Ventures Director Ederyn Williams has been given a Queen's Award for Achievement in Enterprise Promotion. For the last 18 years, Ederyn Williams has played a key role in developing knowledge transfer from universities to business in the UK. His major activities have included managing the technology transfer company of the University of Leeds for 9 years. In 2000 he became the founding Director of Warwick Ventures, the university technology transfer office of the University of Warwick, which he is still running today. more...
10 March 2010		Bright future for University of Warwick Science Park firm Circadian Solar Circadian Solar, based at Sovereign Court at the University of Warwick Science Park, specialises in developing, manufacturing and marketing solar energy systems which can be used in regions of the world with strong direct sunlight for on-grid and off-grid power generation as well as for water treatment applications. The company, which is a spin-out from the University of Warwick, is in the research and development stage of several projects that could shape the face of energy production across the globe in years to come. more...
9 March 2010		Research Councils offering more follow-on funds Warwick Ventures has helped many academics to win "follow-on funds" from the EPSRC, BBSRC and MRC. These schemes fund further work which takes an interesting research finding through the next stage of development, with a view to future commercialisation. These schemes are less competitive than the classic research grants, but require Warwick Ventures to write a large section of the bid, covering intellectual property and future commercialisation plans. So let us know very early if you are thinking of applying for one of these. See more at: http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/funding/grants/business/Pages/followonfund.aspx http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/business/commercialisation/follow-on.aspx http://www.mrc.ac.uk/Fundingopportunities/Grants/DPFS/Specification/index.htm
9 March 2010		Finance Wales invests £1.5m in Warwick Spinout, Warwick Audio Technologies University of Warwick spin-out company Warwick Audio Technologies (WAT) has secured a £1.5 million investment to develop their innovative FFL, ‘flat flexible laminate’, loudspeaker technology. WAT was set up with support from the University’s technology transfer office, Warwick Ventures, and funding from Porton Capital Inc and the Birmingham-based Mercia Technology Fund. The company plans to launch its first commercial product using the technology this year. more...
6 March 2010		New £8 million investment fund for the West Midlands launched Advantage West Midlands’ £8 million Early Advantage fund is open for business. The new investment fund has been created to support the region’s brightest and most innovative companies. Managed by Birmingham-based Midven, the Early Advantage Fund is backed by Advantage West Midlands and the European Regional Development Fund. more...
2 March 2010		Pioneering Warwick University/UCHW hip replacement tool launched in U.S. A pioneering invention that can accurately measure patients for hip replacements has been developed by the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW). The device, called KingMark, will see its commercial launch in the US this month. It will be manufactured and distributed by the orthopaedic specialists Voyant Health, following a deal set up with the support of Warwick Ventures, the University of Warwick’s technology transfer office. more...
10 February 2010		Base4Innovation gets Royal Society backing A University of Warwick spin-out company developing ultra-fast DNA sequencing technology has benefitted from investment from the Royal Society Enterprise Fund. Base4Innovation was set up in 2008 with assistance from Warwick Ventures, the University of Warwick’s technology transfer office. It is now based in Cambridge, and working to develop a radically new method of ultra-fast DNA sequencing using techniques based on silicon chip technology which can easily be scaled up. more...
26 January 2010		Warwick Effect Polymers Key PolyPEG® Patent Granted in Europe Warwick Effect Polymers (WEP), the biopolymer specialist company focusing on technologies to enhance biological drugs, announces that the key patent covering its PolyPEG®, next generation PEGylation technology has been granted in Europe. more...
7 January 2010		goHDR Ltd Celebrates National Technology Award Warwick Spin-Out, goHDR, has beaten off stiff regional competition in the ICT Excellence Awards 2009. goHDR was Highly Commended in the Technology Strategy Board’s Special Award for High Growth Potential 2009 category. The judges were impressed by the company’s High Dynamic Range (HDR) video compression technology. HDR techniques are currently used in medical and creative industries where there is a requirement to visualise high quality imagery, in different lighting situations. more...