Baylor Licensing Group

The Baylor Licensing Group maximizes the impact of Baylor College of Medicine’s research through commercial relationships that lead to agreements supporting the development of new products and services that benefit patients and the public.

The Baylor Licensing Group maximizes the impact of research at Baylor College of Medicine through commercial relationships that lead to agreements to support the development of new products and services that benefit patients and the public.

Negotiate and execute agreements with commercial partners:

• Exclusive and non-exclusive license agreements
• Sponsored research agreements (SRAs)
• Material transfer agreements (MTAs)
• Confidential disclosure agreements (CDAs)

• Evaluate technologies for commercial viability
• Evaluate patentability; arrange for patent prosecution if needed - typically around novel therapeutics and devices
• Market technologies to industry
• Educate the Baylor research community about technology commercialization
• Coordinate legal review and approval of agreements
• Distribute license income and monitor licensee compliance
• Communicate our results to the Baylor community and beyond

The Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor College of Medicine is a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designated cancer center. This is a significant designation that places the Duncan Cancer Center among the best in the nation and provides critical program funding to combat cancer. NCI-designated cancer centers play an important role in their communities and regions and serve to influence standards of cancer prevention and treatment. The Duncan Cancer Center at Baylor brings together all of the cancer-related activities from across these institutions under one umbrella, fast-tracking our efforts to prevent and ultimately cure cancer in all its forms. Selected research programs include:

• Cancer Biology Program
• Cancer Evolvability Program
• Nuclear Receptor Program
• Breast Cancer Program
• Cancer Cell and Gene Therapy Program
• Pediatric Cancer Program
• Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences Program

The Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, and Houston Methodist Hospital provides an infrastructure to rapidly translate novel cell and gene therapy protocols from the laboratory to the clinic. The comprehensive approach of the center brings a wide variety of scientists and clinicians together to develop strategies for the treatment of cancer, HIV and cardiovascular disease. Selected areas of research focus include:

• Hematopoiesis
• Stem cell biology
• Hemopoietic stem cell transplantation
• Gene therapy
• Immunotherapy
• Vector development

The Dan L Duncan Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) supports and promotes translational & clinical research efforts and education at Baylor College of Medicine and its partner institutions. The major goals of the ICTR are to: 1) Catalyze interdisciplinary, collaborative clinical and translational research; 2) Create a robust, readily accessible infrastructure to support multidisciplinary, collaborative clinical and translational research; 3) Attract, educate and train individuals in clinical, translational, and collaborative research; and 4) Improve human health and healthcare practice. Areas of services include:

• Regulatory and Administrative Assistance
• Quality Assurance and Quality Control Services
• Clinical Trials Support and Coordination
• Biostatistics and Epidemiology
• Research Informatics and Data Management
• Grants, Contracts & Sponsors Assistance
• Business Development Services
• Research Ethics Consultations
• Department of Pharmacy Services - Investigational Support
• Scientific Editing and Grant Consulting Services provided by BioScience Writers

The overall goal of the Diabetes Research Center is to support and facilitate innovative research towards the elucidation of the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and the pathophysiologic basis of diabetic complications, development of new treatments and the implementation of translational research in diverse diabetes populations. Selected areas of research focus include:

• Human research in diabetes, metabolism and nutrition
• Pathobiology and pathophysiology of diabetes and its complications
• Lipid, glucose and energy homeostasis at the molecular level
• Molecular endocrinology - nuclear receptors and co-regulators

The mission of the Center for Drug Discovery is to promote lead compound discovery and the creation of novel drugs for a wide range of illnesses, ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to infectious diseases to cancer. To reach these goals, the Center for Drug Discovery is recruiting outstanding investigators with diverse experiences in academia and industry to develop several seamless yet independent platforms. Four state-of-the-art platforms that are being created within the center:

• Platform-1 DNA-Encoded Chemistry: Utilizing DNA-encoded, small-molecule library technology to create nearly 1 billion novel chemical compounds that are each uniquely linked to a DNA “tag”.
• Platform-2 Fragment-Based Ligand Discovery: Using fragment-based, diversity-oriented synthesis technology to create a small, highly sophisticated library.
• Platform-3 Assay Confirmation: Involving assay development and high-throughput primary screening, including biophysical, biochemical, and cell-based screens of lead compounds.
• Platform-4 Medicinal Chemistry: Using the center’s expertise in medicinal chemistry to make more potent analogs of the promising lead compounds.

The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research was founded in 2011 and is directed by Dr. Joseph Petrosino. Its purpose was to establish itself as an extension to Baylor College of Medicine’s involvement in the Human Microbiome Project funded by the National Institute of Health, in order to help the College maintain its position as a leader in the area of Metagenomic and Microbiome Research, as well as enable metagenomic and microbiome researchers to continue exploring deeper aspects of the human microbiome and the host-microbe interactions that impact health and disease. Key research activities include:

• Support existing metagenomic research programs that are ongoing at Baylor
• Provide support for new investigators/clinical collaborators who have ideal model systems for metagenomic applications
• Expand metagenomic research into animal and molecular model systems for hypothesis-driven studies
• Provide a critical mass in bioinformatic expertise for analyzing and providing statistical support for metagenomic data
• Translate novel discoveries from microbiome studies to effective clinical therapeutics and diagnostics

The Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology is recognized internationally for research in regulation of gene expression, hormone action, cancer biology, molecular genetics, and gene therapy. The department’s research interests of the large, multidisciplinary faculty focus on the molecular basis of gene regulation and the regulation of normal and abnormal cellular differentiation and growth in many animal and transgenic mouse models. Selected areas of research focus include:

• Reproductive biology
• Developmental biology
• Neurobiology
• General translational cancer biology

The Alkek Center for Molecular Discovery is committed to improving human health by development and application of metabolomics, proteomics and integrated informatics for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The center’s vision is to use molecular methods to define genome integrity, protein expression and metabolic function, and the metabolic state of individuals in order to diagnose disease mechanisms and apply personalized medicine.

Selected research projects include:

• Cryoelectronic microscopy proteomics
• CaMKK2 signaling in liver cancer
• Reverse-phase protein array analysis of urine samples
• Metabolic signatures in breast cancer and mTOR in breast cancer
• Progesterone receptor in ductal breast cancer progression and therapeutic targets in breast cancer
• Metabolic regulation by SHP and circadian rhythm and metabolism
• SRC-1/NCOA1 in metabolism and SRC-2/NCOA2 in cancer metabolomics

The Department of Molecular and Human Genetics integrates basic research in genetic and genomic mechanisms; translational research in disease models; observational and therapeutic clinical trials in rare and common genetic diseases; and prenatal, pediatric, and adult medical genetics care. Selected areas of research focus include:

• Molecular Basis of Human Disease and Behavior
• Neurological Disorders
• Nutrition and Metabolism
• Chromosomes, Chromatin, and DNA Biology
• Genome Biology, Genomics, and Systems Biology
• Imprinting and Epigenetics

The Department of Pathology and Immunology at Baylor College of Medicine enjoys a national reputation for setting the standards for clinical practice, education of residents and fellows, and research. The department offers a wide range of expertise in anatomic and clinical pathology, and a wide variety of laboratory tests. Selected areas of research focus include:

• Cancer
• Development
• RNA splicing
• Reproduction
• Infectious diseases

The Department of Pediatrics ranks as one of the nation's largest, most diverse, and most successful pediatric programs as it plays a preeminent role in providing the highest quality comprehensive pediatric healthcare, research and education available. The department received annual research funding of more than $100 million, including approximately $40 million from the National Institutes of Health. Selected areas of basic science research focus include:

• The genetics and epigenetics, factors outside the genome, of cancer
• Proteomics - the roles played by proteins, the building blocks of life, in the activities of the cell
• Understanding the basic mechanisms of heart disease at a molecular and genetic level and understanding why children are born with heart abnormalities
• Understanding both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and the effects of both diseases on children and their future development
• Developing ways to prevent and combat secondary diseases after pediatric organ transplant