University of Florida Innovators Honored at 4th Annual Standing InnOvation Event
On a sunny and fresh fall afternoon, UF Innovate | Tech Licensing hosted its annual event to recognize top innovations stemming out of the University of Florida. More than 150 innovators and entrepreneurs attended the in-person event, and around 40 joined the livestream to celebrate their achievements in fiscal year 2021.
University of Florida Health Ophthalmology Researcher Awarded Prestigious Prize for Pioneering Work
University of Florida Health ophthalmology researcher William W. Hauswirth, Ph.D., whose long and distinguished career includes developing and testing treatments for multiple forms of genetic blindness, is among the scientists being recognized for their pioneering work to eradicate vision loss.
Roche Makes $4.8 Billion Bid for Spark Therapeutics and Its Gene Therapy Programs
Research by UF’s Dr. William Hauswirth is behind the gene therapy that resulted in Spark Therapeutics’ Luxturna, an FDA-approved gene therapy for a rare, genetic form of blindness. Shares of Spark Therapeutics have skyrocketed more than 120 percent this morning after Swiss pharma giant Roche announced plans to acquire all outstanding shares of the gene therapy company’s stock at $114.50 per […]
Ophthotech Expands Gene Therapy Pipeline in Orphan Retinal Diseases with Exclusive Option for Novel Product Candidates to Treat Best Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy (Ophthotech)
Ophthotech Corporation announced that it has entered into an exclusive option agreement with the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and the University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) for rights to negotiate to acquire an exclusive global license to develop and commercialize novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy product candidates for the treatment of Best vitelliform macular […]
UF Health Researcher, Collaborators Share $1.2 Million International Award for Vision Treatment (UF Health)
University of Florida Health ophthalmology researcher William Hauswirth, Ph.D. and his collaborators are sharing in a $1.2 million international award for developing a sight-restoring treatment for people who have a genetic form of vision loss. The 2018 Antonio Champalimaud Vision Award recognizes Hauswirth and his colleagues for developing the first successful gene therapy to cure […]
Researchers Find Potential New Gene Therapy for Blinding Disease (National Institutes of Health)
UF researchers Dr. Alfred Lewin and Dr. William Hauswirth, in collaboration with UPenn researchers, reported a gene therapy that may slow or prevent vision loss in people with a genetic blinding condition called autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (AdRP). Scientists funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) report a novel gene therapy that halts vision loss […]
U of Florida and Penn Ink Licensing Deal for Gene Therapy to Treat Retinal Disease (Tech Transfer eNews Blog)
Biotech company Ophthotech Corporation has entered into an exclusive global license agreement with the University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to commercialize a treatment for a disease that causes blindness. The licensed technology is an adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy to treat rhodopsin-mediated autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RHO-adRP), an […]