[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 154 (Wednesday, August 9, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48721-48722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20036]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, DHHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by agencies of the U.S. 
Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance 
with 35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results 
of federally-funded research and development. Foreign patent 
applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage 
for companies and may also be available for licensing.

ADDRESSES: Licensing information and copies of the U.S. patent 
applications listed below may be obtained by writing to the indicated 
licensing contact at the Office of Technology Transfer, National 
Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852-3804; telephone: 301/496-7057; fax: 301/402-0220. A 
signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be required to receive 
copies of the patent applications.

Methods for Reducing Tumor Growth and Metastasis by Inhibiting MCP-
1 Activity

WJ Murphy, JJ Oppenheim, and R Salcedo (all of NCI)
Serial No. 60/205,757 filed 19 May 2000
Licensing Contact: Susan S. Rucker; 301/496-7056 ext. 245; e-mail: 
[email protected]

    This application relates to methods for the inhibition of tumor 
growth and metastasis. The inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis is 
based on the demonstration that certain inhibitors of the chemokine 
MCP-1 (monocyte chemotactic protein 1 also known as JE) inhibit 
angiogenesis in in vitro and in vivo model systems. In addition, 
methods for identifying other inhibitors are described. In addition to 
this application the NIH has other intellectual property related to 
MCP-1 which is available for license, including U.S. Patents 5,714,578, 
5,532,144, 5,179,078, 5,212,073 and 5,278,287.
    This work has been published, in part in Blood 96(1): July 1, 2000.

The Use of an Inducible Plasmid Vector Encoding for Active TGF-
 for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases

A Kitani, I Fuss, K Nakamura and W Strober(NIAID)
DHHS Reference No. E-096-00/0 filed 20 Apr 2000
Licensing Contact: Susan S. Rucker; 301/496-7056 ext. 245; e-mail: 
[email protected]

    This application describes a composition and method for treating 
inflammatory bowel disease or other autoimmune diseases. The 
composition utilizes a vector which contains a first

[[Page 48722]]

promoter which controls the expression of a regulatory transcription 
factor and a second inducible promoter which controls the expression of 
the gene of interest. The preferred gene of interest encodes an isoform 
of TGF- such as TGF-1 or TGF-
3. The isoform of TGF- does not have to be 
hTGF- and can be a latent or active isoform of TGF-. 
The preferred inducible promoter is TRE-CMV which can be induced using 
doxycycline. The usefulness of the composition for treating autoimmune 
diseases is demonstrated in the application in a murine model of 
inflammatory bowel disease in which intestinal inflammation was 
abrogated by the administration of a plasmid vector encoding active 
TGF-. The composition may be administered by a variety of 
delivery systems and intranasal delivery is exemplified.

Serum Free Medium

F Luyten, L Erhlacher (NIDCR)
Serial No. 09/468,562 filed 21 Dec 1999
Licensing Contact: Susan S. Rucker; 301/496-7056 ext. 245; e-mail: 
[email protected]

    The technology described and claimed in this application relates to 
the development of a serum-free medium which is particularly useful for 
the culture, both growth and expansion, of chondrocytes. More 
particularly, the medium allows chondrocytes to maintain their 
cartilaginous phenotype. Chondrocytes cultured in this medium may be 
used to repair joints having cartilage damage from diseases such as 
rheumatoid arthritis.
    This work has been published, in part, at L Erhlacher, et al. 
``Presence of cartilage-derived morphogenetic proteins in articular 
cartilage and enhancement of matrix replacement in vitro'' Arthritis 
Rheum. 1998 Feb;41(2):263-73. The material found in the patent 
application has been published as WO 98/59035 (Dec 30, 1998).
    PHS also owns additional intellectual property, related to 
cartilage derived morphogenetic proteins 1 and 2 (CDMP-1/GDF5 and CDMP-
2/GDF6) which may be used in conjunction with this technology. The work 
related to CDMP-1 and CDMP-2 has been published as WO 96/14335 (May 17, 
1996) and at originally at Chang, et al., ``Cartilage-derived 
morphogenetic proteins. New members of the transforming growth factor-
beta superfamily predominantly expressed in long bones during human 
embryonic development'' J Biol Chem. 1994 Nov 11;269(45):28227-34.

Mutant of RAD51 Gene and Its Use in the Diagnosis of Predisposition 
to Breast Cancer

Jeffery P. Struewing, Weiching Wang (NCI)
DHHS Reference No. E-231-99/0 filed 10 Sep 1999
Licensing Contact: Vasant Gandhi; 301/496-7056 ext. 224; e-mail: 
[email protected]

    This invention relates to a mutant of the RAD51 gene and its use in 
diagnosing individuals predisposed to breast cancer involving BRCA1 
and/or BRCA2. The mutant contains a guanine-to-cytosine transversion at 
nucleotide position 135 in the 5' untranslated region of the RAD51 
gene. The invention relates to the nucleotide sequence of the mutant 
RAD51 gene, associated vector constructs and host cells, and diagnostic 
methods. Epidemiological and in vitro biochemical characterization 
studies are in progress.

    Dated: July 31, 2000.
Jack Spiegel,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 00-20036 Filed 8-8-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P