[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 184 (Thursday, September 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 57196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24243]


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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.

A Combined Growth Factor-Deleted and Thymidine Kinase-Deleted 
Vaccinia Virus Vector for Cancer Therapy

J. Andrea McCart (NCI), David L. Bartlett (NCI), and Bernard Moss 
(NIAID)
    DHHS Reference Nos. E-181-99/0 filed 28 May 1999 and E-181-99/1 
filed 26 May 2000 (PCT/US00/14679)
    Licensing Contact: Elaine White; 301/496-7056 ext. 282; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Tumor-selective, replicating viruses may infect and kill cancer 
cells and efficiently express therapeutic genes in cancer cells. The 
current invention embodies mutant vaccinia virus expression vectors. 
These vectors, which are vaccinia virus growth factor-deleted and 
thymidine-kinase deleted, are substantially incapable of replicating in 
non-dividing cells, and as such have specificity for cancer cells. It 
is therefore believed that the vectors will be of value for cancer 
therapy either by directly killing cancer cells or by expressing 
therapeutic agents in cancer cells while sparing normal, non-dividing 
cells.

Retroviral Vectors

MA Eglitis JA Thompson WF Anderson (NHLBI)
    Serial No. 08/340,805 filed Nov 17, 1994, now US Patent 5,672,510 
issued Sep 30, 1997, which is a continuation of 07/919,062 filed July 
23, 1992, which is a CIP of 07/686,167 filed April 16, 1991, which is a 
CIP of 07/467,791 filed Jan 19, 1990.
    Licensing Contact: Susan S. Rucker; 301/496-7056 ext. 245; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    This patent relates to the field of gene therapy. More, 
particularly the patent claims two different retroviral vectors which 
may be used to deliver heterologous genes in gene therapy or other 
applications requiring the delivery of a heterologous gene to a host. 
The patent also claims a cloning system which utilizes the vectors to 
accomplish the transfer of genes from a shuttle vector to the 
retroviral vector.
    The first retroviral vector utilizes a multiple cloning site (MCS) 
comprising at least four restriction enzyme sites and a length of about 
70bp. The restriction enzyme sites are preferably rare restriction 
enzyme sites. The second vector, known as a SIN (self-inactivating) 
vector, contains mutations, rather than deletions, in the promoter or 
the promoter and enhancer regions of the 3' LTR and may also contain a 
MCS such as that found in the first vector.

    Dated: September 11, 2000.
Jack Spiegel,
Director, Division of Technology, Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 00-24243 Filed 9-20-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P