What is an ICU?
The Investigational Collaboration Unit (ICU) centers around a teams of researchers who collaborate on a vascular research project funded and centrally managed by FAVR. The acronym is an intentional play on “intensive care unit” to underscore that every research project we undertake will be patient-focused and managed with a sense of urgency toward reaching specified research objectives. Each ICU provides a highly collaborative research infrastructure to accelerate the most promising therapies to treat disorders of the vascular system. Seeded by venture philanthropy from individuals, foundation, or corporations, an ICU is focused on a patient-centered research problem. Each research entity with the ICU has a shared Intellectual Property agreement with FAVR that allows it to out-license intellectual property to private industry, in turn, generating licensing fees and royalties back to the foundation over time. In concert with the recommendations of its Scientific Advisory Board, FAVR’s B
An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a special facility within a hospital which is dedicated to treating patients who are critically ill. Patients in an ICU may be experiencing multiple organ failure, respiratory arrest, or other serious problems which require intensive monitoring. The ICU staff are specially trained to administer critical care, and there are sometimes several staffers to each patient to ensure that patients get the care they need. Intensive care medicine focuses on the major systems of the body, including the cardiovascular system, the gastrointestinal tract, the central nervous system, and the respiratory tract. Intensive care providers try to keep these important bodily systems running smoothly so that the patient remains stable. As the patient’s underlying condition is treated, smoothly running bodily systems will greatly improve the patient’s prognosis. In a very unstable patient, ICU care may require constant adjustment of medications and treatment programs, along wit
