[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 243 (Monday, December 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75991-75992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-27780]


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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 an agency 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.

Methods and Compositions for Protecting Cells From Ultrasound-Mediated 
Cytolysis

Joe Z. Sostaric (NCI), Norio Miyoshi (EM), Peter Riesz (NCI).
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/620,258 filed 19 Oct 2004 (DHHS 
Reference No. E-311-2004/0-US-01).
Licensing Contact: Michael Shmilovich; 301/435-5019; 
[email protected].

    Available for licensing and commercial development are methods for 
protecting cells from ultrasound-mediated cytolysis. Therapeutic uses 
of ultrasound (e.g., sonoporation, thrombolysis, HIFU, sonophoresis, 
acoustic hemostasis) may induce changes in tissue state, including 
apoptosis and cytolysis, through thermal effects (e.g., hyperthermia), 
mechanical effects (e.g., acoustic cavitation or through radiation 
force, acoustic streaming and other ultrasound induced forces), and 
chemical effects (via sonochemistry or by the activation of solutes by 
sonoluminescence). Furthermore, ultrasound exposure conditions in 
biological processes, e.g. ultrasound bioreactors, are limited by the 
need to decrease cytolysis of microbes or animal and plant cells. 
Accordingly, the protecting molecules used to carry out the methods of 
the invention possess the ability to protect cells against ultrasound 
mediated cytolysis, without hindering ultrasound induced physical 
effects that could be utilized to create beneficial effects. The 
protecting solutes are surface active and possess at least one 
``carbohydrate unit'' as described. The solutes include, but are not 
limited to: alkyl-[beta]-D-thioglucopyranoside, alkyl-[beta]-D-
thiomaltopyranoside, alkyl-[beta]-D-galactopyranoside, alkyl-[beta]-D-
thiogalactopyranoside, or alkyl-[beta]-D-maltrioside, hexyl-[beta]-D-
glucopyranoside, heptyl-[beta]-D-glucopyranoside, octyl-[beta]-D-
glucopyranoside, nonyl-[beta]-D-glucopyranoside, hexyl-[beta]-D-
maltopyranoside, n-octyl-[beta]-D-maltopyranoside, n-octyl-[beta]-D-
thioglucopyranoside, 2-propyl-1-pentyl-[beta]-D-maltopyranoside, 
methyl-6-O-(N-heptylcarbamoyl)-[alpha]-D-glucopyranoside, 3-cyclohexyl-
1-propyl-[beta]-D-glucoside, 6-O-methyl-n-heptylcarboxyl-[alpha]-D-
glucopyranoside.
    In addition to licensing, the technology is available for further

[[Page 75992]]

development through collaborative research with the inventors via a 
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).

Treatment of Human Viral Infections (Imatinib)

Drs. Steven Zeichner and Vyjayanthi Krishnan (NCI).
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/588,015 filed 13 Jul 2004 (DHHS 
Reference No. E-281-2004/0-US-01).
Licensing Contact: Sally Hu; 301/435-5606; [email protected].

    This application describes the methods for treating or preventing a 
HIV infection by the administration of abl-kinase inhibitor called 
imatinib and its derivatives. Several available agents can inhibit HIV 
replication by targeting one or another viral protein, such as the 
viral reverse transcriptase, protease, envelope fusion process, or 
integrase, or by targeting the interaction of a viral component with a 
host cell component, for example the host cell viral receptor or co-
receptor. However, HIV can readily become resistant to these drugs, and 
new therapeutic approaches for HIV infection are needed. The studies 
described in the application show that the expression of many host cell 
genes changes in response to HIV replication, and show that targeting 
one of these changes with imatinib can inhibit viral replication. Thus 
targeting the host cell, and making the host cell less hospitable to 
the virus can inhibit viral replication. The application thus describes 
a new agent that inhibits viral replication by acting on the host cell, 
which may offer new approaches to therapy for HIV infection. These 
approaches may be less likely to engender rapid resistance in the virus 
to the therapy.
    This abstract replaces one published in the Federal Register on 
Friday, October 22, 2004 (69 FR 62060).

    Dated: December 13, 2004.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 04-27780 Filed 12-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P