ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2014, Dr. George Georgiou and Dr. James W. McGinity were announced as the 2014 UT Austin Inventors of the Year at the Inventor Award Ceremony. Representatives from UT Austin and business and technology leaders from the Austin community joined the celebration. UT Austin researchers with U.S. patents issued in the past fiscal year were also recognized for their achievements. This program concludes the 2014 Commercialization Series, a series designed for UT faculty who are interested in exploring the discovery and commercialization process.

Message from the President

If necessity is the mother of invention, then surely education is its father. When the two come together in a place like The University of Texas at Austin, magnificent things happen. Tonight, we honor two great inventors.

George Georgiou is one of the most prolific inventors at UT Austin, with 29 issued U.S. patents and 46 patent applications. The importance of his inventions to commerce and also to society is what sets him apart. He has invented 15 distinct technologies that have been licensed to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and that have had a true impact in the world of therapeutics. He co-founded Æglea Biotherapeutic Holdings, LLC. The venture-funded company is pursuing clinical evaluation of two protein therapeutics discovered at UT Austin.

James McGinity, a chair emeritus in pharmacy, is the inventor of a technology that deters the abuse of orally delivered opioid medications. The highly effective pain reliever OxyContin® had previously been pulled from the market due to its susceptibility to abuse, but Dr. McGinity’s invention has made OxyContin® virtually tamperproof. His has been the only abuse-deterrence technology endorsed by the FDA. This invention has influenced the university, pharmaceutical industry, and healthcare communities.

Congratulations to you both on this prestigious award. I also honor the efforts of all the University’s many inventors. It is never more evident than on occasions like this that what starts here changes the world.

Bill Powers, President
The University of Texas at Austin

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Previous winners

Agenda

5:30-7:00pm	Inventor award reception
7:00-7:15pm	Welcome remarks Dan Sharp, Associate Vice President for Research and Director, Office of Technology Commercialization Dr. Juan Sanchez, Vice President for Research, The University of Texas at Austin
7:15-8:00pm	Inventor award ceremony Recognition of inventors with U.S. patents issued in FY14: Dan Sharp Inventor of the Year announcement: Dr. Juan Sanchez Inventor of the Year tribute remarks: Linda Hicke, Dean, College of Natural Sciences Sharon Wood, Dean, College of Engineering Presentation of award: Dr. Juan Sanchez, Dean Linda Hicke, Dean Sharon Wood, and Dan Sharp Inventor of the Year acceptance remarks: Dr. George Georgiou, Professor, Colleges of Engineering and Natural Sciences Inventor of the Year video tribute Inventor of the Year announcement: Dr. Juan Sanchez Inventor of the Year tribute remarks: M. Lynn Crismon, Dean, College of Pharmacy Presentation of award: Dr. Juan Sanchez, Dean M. Lynn Crismon, and Dan Sharp Inventor of the Year acceptance remarks: Dr. James McGinity, Professor Emeritus, College of Pharmacy Inventor of the Year video tribute
8:00pm	Program concludes

Dr. George Georgiou

One of the most prolific researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, with 29 issued U.S. patents and 46 patent applications, George Georgiou is recognized as UT Austin’s 2014 Inventor of the Year because of the societal and commercial significance of his health care-related inventions. This honor follows Georgiou’s recognition as one the world’s top 20 translational researchers by Nature Biotechnology in 2013. Over 50 percent of Georgiou’s 75 issued and pending patents have been licensed or optioned to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. By comparison, only approximately 5 percent of patent applications from U.S. academic institutions result in commercialized products. In all, Georgiou has invented 15 technologies (comprising one or more patents each, for a total of 41 licensed patents/patent applications) that are used by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and are having a major impact in the field of therapeutics.

Georgiou began his career with UT Austin in 1986 as an assistant professor of chemical engineering. He holds the Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering #9 and has appointments in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Engineering within the Cockrell School and in the Department of Molecular Biosciences in the College of Natural Sciences, as well as in the Institute of Molecular Biology.

In 2013, Georgiou and Cockrell School research scientist Everett Stone co-founded Æglea Biotherapeutic Holdings LLC, an Austin-based, venture-funded company that is pursuing clinical evaluation of two protein therapeutics discovered at UT Austin. Georgiou’s group developed technologies for the molecular-level analysis of the human immune responses to disease or vaccination. Earlier studies by Georgiou’s laboratory led to the development of methods used for the manufacturing of protein drugs for macular degeneration and osteoporosis. These drugs are approved and used widely to treat these diseases.

Georgiou is one of only 37 scientists and engineers to be elected a member of both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine. Additionally, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Institute for Biological and Medical Engineers. He has received numerous awards, including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Professional Progress Award, which is awarded for outstanding contributions to chemical engineering by an individual under the age of 45. AlChE also named Georgiou one of the Top 100 Eminent Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era.

Dr. James W. McGinity

James W. McGinity, Ph.D., is the Johnson & Johnson Centennial Chair Emeritus in Pharmacy and previously was a professor and division head of pharmaceutics in the College of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin. He joined the UT Austin faculty in 1976 and was a professor for 37 years before retiring in 2013.

Born in Brisbane, Australia, Dr. McGinity earned his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy in 1967 from the University of Queensland prior to earning his Ph.D. in physical pharmacy from the University of Iowa in 1972. Before joining the UT Austin College of Pharmacy, he was a research investigator for E.R. Squibb and Sons in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and was an associate professor of pharmacy at Texas Southern University.

Dr. McGinity’s research is focused on drug delivery through thermal processing technologies, including hot-melt extrusion and KinetiSol® processing. One of his most significant contributions is the application of his hot-melt extrusion patent, with Dr. Feng Zhang as a co-inventor, for the delivery of opioid medications in an abuse-deterrent formulation.

This abuse-deterrence technology made OxyContin® virtually tamperproof. The highly effective pain reliever had previously been withdrawn from the market due to its susceptibility to abuse. The technology was granted a U.S. patent in 2003, based on research conducted in his laboratories at UT Austin in the late 1990s and has received favorable comments in the press from representatives of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

During his tenure at UT Austin, Dr. McGinity supervised a total of 72 Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting scholars. He has published 196 research articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has authored or co-authored 30 book chapters and has edited three books. He is a named inventor on 24 issued U.S. patents. Dr. McGinity was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) in 1990. He has received several prestigious national and international awards: the Takeru & Aya Higuchi Memorial Lectureship presented by the Academy of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology Japan (2004), the AAPS Research Achievement Award in Pharmaceutical Technologies (2005), the University of Iowa’s Distinguished Alumni Award (2009), and the “Ralph Shangraw Memorial Award” by the IPEC Foundation (2010).

Dr. George Georgiou

Dr. James McGinity

Download it: Georgiou video | McGinity video

Inventors awarded U.S. patents in FY13-14

Venue

The Four Seasons Hotel Austin

98 San Jacinto Boulevard
Austin, Texas 78701-4039
512-478-4500

A resort-like haven just steps from Austin’s central business and entertainment districts, Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Austin boasts an unrivalled setting on the banks of Lady Bird Lake. Four Seasons Hotel Austin is widely recognized for its outstanding conference and banquet facilities, the sites of many of Austin’s most prestigious events. The Hotel’s spectacular lakeside setting also offers unrivalled opportunities for outdoor receptions or functions—access from the ballrooms to the lawns and terraces is effortless.

The story of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, which opened its first hotel in 1961, is a tale of continual innovation, remarkable expansion and a single-minded dedication to the highest of standards. The Canadian-based company has, for nearly 50 years, transformed the hospitality industry by combining friendliness and efficiency with the finest traditions of international hotel keeping. In the process, Four Seasons has redefined luxury for the modern traveler.

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