[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 244 (Friday, December 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70822-70823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-31327]


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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 invention listed below is owned by an agency of the U.S. 
Government and is 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 any 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.

Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) Taste Receptor

Dennis Drayna, Un-Kyung Kim, Mark Leppart (NIDCD)
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/306,991 filed 20 Jul 2001 (DHHS 
Reference No. E-169-2001/0-US-01); International Publication No. W0 03/
008627 (DHHS Reference No. E-169-2001/0-PCT-02)
Licensing Contact: Susan Carson; 301/435-5020; [email protected]

    Bitter taste has evolved in mammals as a central warning signal 
against ingestion of poisonous or toxic compounds. However, many 
beneficial compounds are also bitter and taste masking of bitter 
tasting pharmaceutical compounds is a billion dollar industry. The 
diversity of compounds that elicit bitter-taste sensations is vast and 
more than two dozen members of the TAS2R bitter taste receptor gene 
family have been identified. How individuals are genetically 
predisposed to respond or not to respond to the bitter taste of 
substances like nicotine and certain foods like broccoli may have broad 
implications for nutritional status and tobacco use. Large individual 
differences in the taste perception of bitter compounds have been well 
documented, and phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), the subject of this 
invention by scientists at the NIH and the University of Utah, has been 
widely used for genetic and anthropological studies.
    The PTC receptor encodes a novel member of the G protein-coupled 
TAS2R bitter taste receptor family (Science (2003) 299, 1221-1225). 
Three coding SNPs in this gene were identified as giving rise to five 
haplotypes which accounted for the bimodal distribution of PTC taste 
sensitivity worldwide. Distinct phenotypes are associated with distinct 
genotypes and SNPs such as these identifying variations in the PTC 
receptor would allow taste masking of bitter tasting compounds tailored 
to the population genetics profile of different groups and populations.
    The invention available for licensing includes composition of 
matter claims for a bitter taste receptor for PTC, antibodies to the 
receptor and methods

[[Page 70823]]

of detecting nucleic acid and amino acid sequences as well as 
modulators of such PTC taste receptors. The ability to taste PTC has 
been shown to be correlated with the ability to taste other bitter 
substances, many of which are toxic. Thus variation in PTC perception 
and knowledge of the genetic basis of these variants can be used to aid 
the development of a variety of taste improvements in foods and orally 
administered medications.

    Dated: December 10, 2003.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 03-31327 Filed 12-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P