[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 191 (Thursday, October 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56846-56847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24969]


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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.

HLtat Cell Line

Barbara K. Felber and George Pavlakis (NCI).
DHHS Reference No. E-273-2003/0 (NIH AIDS Research & Reference Reagent 
Program catalog number 1293).
Licensing Contact: Susan Ano; 301/435-5515; [email protected].

    This cell line contains stably integrated copies of the HIV-1 LTR 
promoter linked to a synthetic one-exon tat gene. HLtat was generated 
by cotransfection of HeLa cells with pSV2neo and with pL3tat, which 
contains the HIV-1 LTR promoter, synthetic first tat exon, and the SV40 
polyadenylation signal. Clone HLtat was selected in G418 on the basis 
of high-level production of the one-exon Tat. The cell line is stable 
and does not need to be routinely maintained under G418 selection. When 
transfected with HIV DNA or with any plasmid expressing the gene of 
interest driven by the HIV LTR promoter, high-level of gene expression 
is achieved. This cell line is further described in J. Virol 64:3734, 
1990; AIDS Res. Ref. Reagent Program Courier 91-01:8, 1991; and J. 
Virol 64:2519, 1990. This cell line is available for licensing through 
a Biological Materials License Agreement.

Novel Anti-Tumor and Anti-Fungal Compounds Isolated From Plants of the 
Genus

Aniba

R. Shoemaker, E. Sausville, G. Cragg, D. Newman, M. Currens, T. 
McCloud, P. Klausmeyer, K. Tucker, M. Baseler, G. Chnurny, and W. 
Bancroft (NCI).
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/433,489 filed 28 Jan 2003 (DHHS 
Reference No. E-224-2002/0-US-01).
Licensing Contact: Brenda Hefti; 301/435-4632; [email protected].

    The invention describes separate and combined extracts from two 
plants of the genus Aniba, and a specific compound possessing and 
indolizinium

[[Page 56847]]

core. Both the purified extracts and the pure substituted inolizinium 
compound were found to inhibit the growth of the azone-resistant fungi 
C. albicans, certain bacteria, as well as demonstrating a differential 
response across the NCI human tumor cell line panel with a special 
sensitivity observed in several leukemia cell lines.

Cloning and Characterization of VIAF in Several Organisms

Colin S. Duckett, Bettina M. Richter (NCI).
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/163,748 filed 05 Nov 1999 (DHHS 
Reference No. E-016-2000/0-US-01), PCT/US00/20576 filed 28 Jul 2000 
(DHHS Reference No. E-016-2000/0-PCT-02), U.S. Patent Application No. 
10/129,424 filed 03 May 2002 (DHHS Reference No. E-016-2000/0-US-03).
Licensing Contact: Matthew Kiser; 301/435-5236; e-mail: 
[email protected].
    The process of apoptosis, or programmed cell death, can be utilized 
to eliminate unwanted cells, and it can occur during embryogenesis, 
turnover of senescent cells or metamorphosis. It can also be part of a 
defense mechanism against pathogens, e.g., viruses, by allowing the 
host organism to eliminate infected cells. In an attempt to circumvent 
this defense mechanism, pathogens can produce gene products that block 
these apoptotic pathways. For example, O. pseudotsugata expresses a 
family of inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAP), and experimental data 
suggests that these IAPs can play a role in the protection from 
cellular apoptosis. This application claims nucleic acid and amino acid 
sequences corresponding to a viral IAP-associated factor, or VIAF. The 
gene and its product may enhance the anti-apoptotic properties of IAPs 
although the exact mechanism of this interaction is not clear. This 
technology could be used to treat disease states where VIAF is under-
expressed, e.g., breast adenocarcinomas, where there is an over-
expression of VIAF, e.g., neurodegenerative diseases and where 
apoptosis is undesired, e.g., AIDS and autoimmune diseases. Additional 
information may be found in Duckett, CS, ``Novel modulators of the 
apoptotic cell death pathway,'' Mol. Biol. Cell 12: 732 Suppl. S Nov 
2001.

    Dated: September 26, 2003.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Acting Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, 
Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 03-24969 Filed 10-1-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P