[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3534-3535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1279]


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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.

Closed-Circuit Flow Obturator for Laparoscopy Port

Jason Wynberg (NCI)
U.S. Provisional Patent Application filed 24 Nov 2004 (DHHS Ref. No. E-
237-2004/0-US-01)
Licensing Contact: Michael Shmilovich; (301) 435-5019; 
[email protected].

    Available for licensing, manufacturing and commercial development 
is a laparoscopic surgical device. This device is an obturator with a 
cylindrical shape (diameter about 11mm, length about 4.5 inches) with 
hollow inflow and outflow channels running through the obturator to 
allow for the transfer of fluids or gas into the interior of the 
laparoscopic working space in a closed-circuit fashion. At the top and 
bottom ends of the obturator, flexible hollow tubings are coupled to 
the end holes of the obturator's hollow channels. In working position, 
the obturator traverses the inner space of the previously placed 
laparoscopic port, with the outside diameter of the obturator, creating 
an airtight seal with the port's diaphragm seal. The flexible tubings 
that continue from the bottom/intracorporeal end of the obturator would 
rest inside the operative working space, for connection to any number 
of end-pieces that would complete the intracorporeal closed-circuit 
flow path. Applications of this device include transmission of 
chemotherapeutics, thermoregulated fluids for organ cooling/warming, 
and possibly even gas media. This obturator can also be designed to 
include a working channel among its hollow channels, so that a 5 mm 
laparoscopic instrument can be used through the obturator, at the same 
time as it is

[[Page 3535]]

transmitting fluids or gas through its other channels.
    In addition to licensing, the technology is available for further 
development through collaborative research with the inventors via a 
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).

Monoclonal Antibodies to HIV-1 Vpr

Jeffrey Kopp (NIDDK), Terence Philips (ORS), Schubert Ulrich (NIAID), 
John Yewell (NIAID)
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/585,282 filed 01 Jul 2004 (DHHS 
Reference No. E-141-2003/0-US-01)
Licensing Contact: Michael Shmilovich; (301) 435-5019; 
[email protected].

    Available for licensing are monoclonal antibodies against HIV-1 
viral protein R (Vpr) and the respective hybridoma cell lines 
expressing the same. The antibodies provide a means for detecting HIV-1 
Vpr. Currently, the mechanism of HIV pathogenesis believe d to involve 
viral replication inside immune cells and other cells. At present, 
there are no clinical assays for detecting HIV-1 Vpr. Vpr circulates at 
detectable levels in the blood and is likely derived from degraded 
virions or released from infected cells. Vpr facilitates viral 
replication and disrupt normal cell function. Thus measurement of Vpr 
levels in blood, extracellular fluid, and tissue may be of benefit in 
understanding the pathogenesis of HIV-1 infection and its myriad 
complications.
    The hybridoma cell line s (9F12 and 10F2) were selected from a 
group of hybridoma cell lines. These antibodies can be used for 
detection, including immunoasssays (ELISA) and immunoaffinity-capillary 
electrophoresis. The amount of detected HIV-1 Vpr is compared to a 
standardized control sample for determining the progress of disease or 
the presence of known complications like neuropathy, dementia, 
metabolic syndrome, or nephropathy.
    In addition to licensing, the technology is available for further 
development through collaborative research with the inventors via a 
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).

    Dated: January 14, 2005.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 05-1279 Filed 1-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P