WARF enters licensing agreements with vaccine, life-science firms

Madison, Wis. - The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has entered into licensing agreements for flu vaccine and embryonic stem cell technology with local and national companies, respectively.

WARF, the patenting and licensing arm of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has reached agreements with FluGen, a local start-up company founded by UW-Madison professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka, and Invitrogen Corp., a California life-science company.

FluGen, which develops influenza vaccines, has signed a license agreement for a technology that may increase the speed and reduce the expense involved with manufacturing flu vaccines, according to WARF. The company has received more than $2 million in angel investments and will collaborate with the new UW-Madison Influenza Research Institute, which is led by Kawaoka.

Invitrogen, which is developing products for the regenerative medicine market, has signed a license to use human embryonic stem cells in the development of research and drug-discovery tools.

WARF holds several patents on human embryonic stem cells, and now has completed 24 stem cell licensing agreements with 18 companies. Related stories

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