[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 7242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3164]



[[Page 7242]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Prospective Grant of Exclusive License: Probe Using Diffuse-
Reflectance Spectroscopy

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This is notice, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 
CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i), that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 
Department of Health and Human Services, is contemplating the grant of 
an exclusive worldwide license to practice the invention embodied in 
DHHS Ref. No. E-309-2000, for which a patent is pending under U.S. 
Patent Application Serial No. 09/972,700 filed October 5, 2001 entitled 
``Probe Using Diffuse-Reflectance Spectroscopy,'' to Apogee Ventures, 
Inc., a company having its principle place of business in Washington, 
DC. The United States of America is the assignee to the patent rights 
of these inventions.
    The contemplated exclusive license may be limited to the field of 
use of measuring inflammation in oral epithelial tissue.

DATES: Only written comments and/or applications for a license received 
by the NIH Office of Technology Transfer on or before April 13, 2004 
will be considered.

ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the patent application, inquiries, 
comments and other materials relating to the contemplated license 
should be directed to: Michael A. Shmilovich, J.D., Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive 
Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, MD 20852-3804; Telephone: (301) 435-
5019; Facsimile: (301) 402-0220; E-mail: [email protected]. A signed 
Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be required to receive copies of 
the patent application.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The patent application covers a device using 
oblique angle reflectance spectroscopy to non-invasively quantify the 
thickness of the epithelium as a means for quantifying inflammation. 
The device can be a toothbrush-sized probe used to direct photon 
sources at two or more oblique angles and measure the scattered spectra 
to determine the thickness of the epithelial layer. Analysis of the 
spectra provides the location of the stroma/epithelium interface. The 
device provides a non-invasive means for determining the efficacy of 
drugs used to treat cancerous lesions and promises to replace the need 
for uncomfortable punch biopsies.
    The prospective exclusive license will be royalty bearing and will 
comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7. 
The prospective exclusive license may be granted unless, within 60 days 
from the date of this published Notice, NIH receives written evidence 
and argument that establishes that the grant of the license would not 
be consistent with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.
    Properly filed competing applications for a license filed in 
response to this notice will be treated as objections to the 
contemplated license. Comments and objections submitted in response to 
this notice will not be made available for public inspection, and, to 
the extent permitted by law, will not be released under the Freedom of 
Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

    Dated: February 5, 2004.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 04-3164 Filed 2-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P