Release date: August 13, 2024
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The U.S. Army is a powerhouse of medical research, producing medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and software for both warfighters and civilians. Our guest today is integral to turning that cutting-edge research into life-saving technologies for military members as well as the public. Edward Diehl, PhD, is a commercialization officer in the Office of Medical Technology Transfer for the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), which operates under the Defense Health Agency.
He has spent decades evaluating and developing life science technologies, and his career spans academia, industry and entrepreneurship. In our conversation, we explore the array of amazing technologies emerging from Army research and how they're poised to revolutionize healthcare for everyone. Edward also explains his office’s partnership-focused approach to commercialization, called assistive technology transfer.
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In This Episode:
[03:02] We dive right in talking about the lab's commercialization success including Artesunate, an antimalarial drug and IXIARO, a Japanese Encephalitis vaccine.
[03:52] 2B-Alert is a smartphone alertness app that uses AI to learn how individuals respond to sleep deprivation. ArmedXpert is DNA deconvolution software for forensics.
[05:42] Research in DOD and DHA is directed towards things that affect the warfighter.
[06:55] Assistive T2 works with technologies that need a partner. They need partners that will develop the product, so that they can buy it back.
[07:52] Prospective licenses have to apply and share information about financing and their development plan for the technology.
[08:52] Tech transfer is a three-dimensional environment of science, business development, and commercialization. They also work with their partners to help them find funding.
[10:35] We've come a long way in computer technology. Now AI is helping predict drug and antibody design.
[10:53] Data security is also a major issue for researchers and tech transfer personnel.
[11:57] The process of finding the right industry partners to license products is about the same although it's a challenge.
[12:53] Eddie shares the approach of the US AMRDC invention evaluation committee and how they evaluate disclosures.
[13:26] The committee is quite robust with many different members. It's a great group of people that can evaluate the technology and make the right business decisions.
[14:39] Vaccines are going to be very important in the future. There are many infectious diseases that they're working on. Brain health, treating burns, and blood health are also important things that they're working on.
[16:11] Eddie and his team won a 2023 FLC award for excellence in tech transfer for the estimated core temperature or EC temp individual heat acclimation training tool or IHAT invention.
[17:10] Heat stress is deadly to the military and many civilians. EC temp and IHAT work together to measure core temperature.
[21:02] The money goes to the inventors first.
[21:47] Eddie was blown away by the knowledge that the DOD has about genomics.
[23:24] A team of researchers also came up with a way to look at sepsis and burn patients. They use biomarkers and an algorithm that can predict sepsis days before it actually starts.
[24:37] The biggest challenge of the federal tech transfer community today is getting early stage technologies to the point where industry partners are willing to license them. [
26:05] One of the big advantages they have is access to unique equipment and facilities.