[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 136 (Monday, July 16, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37039-37040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17750]


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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.

BRB Array Tools

Richard Simon (NCI)
DHHS Reference No. E-154-01/0
    Licensing Contact: Dale Berkley; 301/496-7735 ext. 223; e-mail: 
[email protected].

    The invention is a desktop software package that integrates into 
Microsoft Excel as an add-in for the analysis of DNA microarray data. 
The software incorporates numerous statistical analysis methods 
tailored to the analysis of DNA microarray data, providing a robust 
visualization capability for translating the data into biological 
knowledge that is lacking in currently available packages. The software 
is

[[Page 37040]]

oriented for use by biologists, but was developed by professional 
statisticians for this application. The invention is expected to find a 
wide range of applications throughout the biomedical sciences.

Real Time Interactive Volumetric Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Michael Guttman and Elliott McVeigh (NHLBI)
DHHS Reference No. E-082-01/0 filed Feb 16, 2001.

    Licensing Contact: Dale Berkley; 301/496-7735 ext. 223; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    The invention makes possible ``live'' volume renderings from a 
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. Previously, volume renderings 
from MRI data could only be generated off-line, some time after the 
image data was collected. In one embodiment of the invention, the time 
between data collection and volume rendering update (the latency) is 
approximately one third of a second at a frame rate of approximately 10 
updates per second. User interaction with the rendering, such as 
rotation and cut planes, are allowed during imaging. This gives a 
caregiver real-time three-dimensional feedback while manipulating 
devices within a patient's body. The invention may be of benefit to 
several types of image-guided interventional procedures, including 
cardiac catheterization, tumor removal, ablation or biopsies.

STATLAB--A Matlab  Toolbox for Advanced Statistical 
Modeling and Data Analysis

Philip S. Rosenberg (NCI)
DHHS Reference No. E-217-00/0 filed Apr 05, 2001

    Licensing Contact: Dale Berkley; 301/496-7735 ext. 223; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    The invention relates to a set of programs (a toolbox) to enhance 
Matlab's  statistical capabilities by utilizing an object-
oriented design that helps statistical scientists more rapidly design, 
build and debug sophisticated statistical applications entirely in the 
Matlab  environment. This saves researchers from the time and 
effort required to code algorithms in low-level languages such as 
Fortran or C. Matlab  is the commercially available premiere 
technical computing environment that is widely used by scientists and 
engineers to solve mathematical problems arising in diverse scientific 
and engineering disciplines. STATLAB is the name given by the inventor 
to the set of programs that make up the invention, a toolbox for 
advanced statistical modeling and data analysis. This toolbox offers 
advanced error checking, report generation and data management 
capabilities not found together in any other package.

Engineered Human Topoisomerase I

Gary S. Laco (NCI), Michael A. Eissenstat, and Tatiana Guerassina (NCI)
DHHS Reference No. E-052-01/0

    Licensing Contact: Sally Hu; 301/496-7056 ext. 265; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    This invention describes a recombinant form of human topoisomerase 
(top68c) that encodes human topiosomerase (top 1) minus its 
localization signals. This invention provides an expression and 
purification strategy that allows wild type and mutant forms of top68c 
to be over-expressed and easily purified in vitro. The expressed top68c 
is pure (>99%) and retains full activity with a high yield. This 
invention has overcome the problems of the existing production of human 
topiosomerase 1 in insect cells such as low yields of difficult to 
purify protein. Therefore, this invention makes more research 
opportunities possible, such as screening for inhibitors, and providing 
sufficient quantities of the protein to do X-ray crystallography 
studies of top68c complexed with substrates and inhibitors. Such 
research is very important for determining the mechanism of top 1 
activity and for finding future therapeutics related to top1. Finally, 
inhibiting this enzyme has possible anti-cancer and anti-HIV usage. 
This invention is available for licensing through a Biological 
Materials License because no patent applications exist.

Glycosylation-resistant Cyanovirins and Related Conjugates, 
Compositions, Nucleic Acids, Vectors, Host Cells, Methods of 
Production and Methods of Using Nonglycosylated Cyanovirins

Michael R. Boyd (NCI)
DHHS Reference No. E-074-99/7 filed Mar 22, 2001
    Licensing Contact: Sally Hu; 301/496-7056 ext. 265; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    This invention has two major aspects. The first is that cyanovirin-
N (CV-N) and homologous proteins and peptides potently inhibit diverse 
laboratory and clinical isolates of influenza viruses A and B. Since 
influenza A and B are the two major types of influenza virus that 
infect humans, an agent that has anti-influenza virus activity against 
both influenza A and B, like CV-N, would be particularly useful in 
prevention or treatment of influenza virus infection. The second aspect 
provides CV-N mutants called glycosylation-resistant mutants. These 
mutants code sequences to enable ultra large-scale recombinant 
production of functional cyanovirins in non-bacterial (yeast or insect) 
host cells or in transgenic animals or plants. Therefore, these 
glycosylation-resistant mutants may allow industry to produce CV-Ns on 
a large scale and make CV-Ns cheap enough for developing countries to 
benefit from this invention.

    Dated: July 6, 2001.
Jack Spiegel,
Director, Division of Technology, Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 01-17750 Filed 7-13-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P