The latest innovations being advanced by faculty researchers at Indiana University include technology that could improve pancreatic and colorectal cancer treatments; blood tests for depression and stress disorders; and an antiviral drug treatment for HPV infections.

Here are the most recent patents awarded for IU discoveries in January and February from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:

Inhibitor to treat pancreatic and colorectal cancers: The developer is Tao Lu, associate professor of biochemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology at the IU School of Medicine. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, a type of pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancers have high mortality rates and are resistant to treatments. The method Lu developed repurposes two FDA-approved drugs to inhibit PRMT5, a protein associated with pancreatic and colorectal tumor formation, to stop tumors and reduce mortality rates. This is the second patent awarded to the technology.

Method for assessing neurosensory function in subset of dry-eye patients: Developed by Ping Situ, an associate scientist at the IU School of Optometry in Bloomington, the method can quantify and monitor neurosensory abnormalities in dry-eye patients to connect symptoms and clinical signs of the condition.

Situ has also received a different patent for an esthesiometer to assess neurosensory function in dry-eye patients. The esthesiometer delivers a controlled stimulus to the front of the eye to test a patient response and can improve the performance of esthesiometers.

Antiviral drug treatment for HPV infections: The developers are Elliot Androphy, professor of dermatology at the IU School of Medicine, and Samy Meroueh, former professor at the IU School of Medicine. The drug treatment’s small molecule compounds specifically bind to the HPV E6 protein responsible for HPV-associated malignancies. This inactivates the protein to treat infections, including premalignant HPV infections and HPV-induced cancers. This is the third patent awarded to the technology.

New antibiotics to combat resistance: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a significant threat to human health worldwide, and in particular, six highly resistant bacteria known by the acronym ESKAPE pose a significant problem. Steven Johnson, associate professor of biochemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology at the IU School of Medicine, developed a new class of antibacterial candidates that can be used to treat bacterial infections that are resistant to current therapies.

Coordinated platinum hydrosilylation catalysts: The developer is Steve Tait, former professor of chemistry at the IU College of Arts and Sciences in Bloomington. Hydrosilylation is used to make silicones, electronic materials and coatings, but the current catalysts have numerous disadvantages. These new coordinated platinum hydrosilylation catalysts with carboxylic acids-based ligands improve hydrosilylation activity, selectivity and reusability to reduce cost and improve performance in industrial hydrosilylation processes.

Medical device to treat vascular complications: ADMA, asymmetric dimethyl arginine, is a cardiovascular toxin that impairs tissue perfusion and capillary regeneration, and promotes inflammation, fibrosis and renal damage. The device developed by Jaipal Singh, former research professor at the IU School of Medicine, lowers pathological levels of ADMA for the treatment of vascular complications associated with high ADMA, including preeclampsia, end-stage renal disease and heart failure. The technology is licensed to Vasculonics.

Blood tests for depression, stress disorders: Alexander Niculescu, former professor of psychiatry at the IU School of Medicine, developed blood tests that use RNA biomarkers to distinguish severity of a patient’s depression, as well as their future risk of severe depression. Blood tests for stress disorders also facilitate proper diagnosis and treatment, and the tests inform tailored medication choices for patients. This technology is licensed by MindX Sciences.

Multi-band audio coding networks: Minje Kim, former associate professor in the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering in Bloomington, developed the new neural audio coding network. It offers a mechanism for multi-band frequency encoding that processes audio in separate frequency bands, which allows for improved audio quality at lower bandwidth. This is the latest patent issued in collaboration with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.

These innovations were disclosed to the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office, which transfers IU innovations from lab to market for public benefit and global impact. The office files patents to facilitate commercialization of the innovations.