[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44667-44668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15348]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

[[Page 44668]]

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.

A32 Monoclonal Antibody Fusion Protein for Use as HIV Inhibitors and 
Vaccines

Dimiter S. Dimitrov and Mei-yun Zhang (NCI).
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/618,820 filed 14 Oct 2004 (HHS 
Reference No. E-302-2004/0-US-01).
Licensing Contact: Sally Hu; 301/435-5606; [email protected].

    The invention provides composition claims of a fusion protein, 
which comprises an antigen binding portion of a human antibody called 
A32 and one of the following: (a) An antigen-binding portion of a 
second antibody that binds to an epitope of an envelope protein (i.e., 
gp120) of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that is exposed upon the 
HIV binding to a CD4 receptor, (b) an immunogenic portion of an 
envelope protein of a HIV such as gp120, or (c) a soluble CD4 (sCD4) 
polypeptide capable of binding to HIV. The invention also provides the 
method claims to use the above fusion proteins as inhibitors of HIV 
infection and those containing gp120 such as A32-gp120 as vaccine 
immunogens for the treatment and prevention of HIV. Further development 
of the fusion proteins may yield novel therapies and methods in the 
prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, treatment of 
accidental exposure to HIV, and chronic infection in patients with 
resistance to current therapies.
    In addition to licensing, the technology is available for further 
development through collaborative research opportunities with the 
inventors.

Plasmid and Viral Vectors Expressing a Microtubule-Directed Fluorescent 
Fusion Protein for Cellular Imaging

Dr. Michael J. Iadarola et al. (NIDCR).
HHS Reference No. E-153-1999/0--Research Tool.
Licensing Contact: Marlene Shinn-Astor; 301/435-4426; 
[email protected].

    This technology is a fluorescent protein for discrete tracing of 
intra- and intercellular connections and for sorting and isolation of 
cells. This recombinantly engineered protein can be expressed from 
viral vectors for use in living animals and in ex vivo situations 
involving primary cultured cells or from a plasmid for use in cell 
lines. The new protein consists of a fusion between the tau protein, 
which binds to microtubules, and enhanced green fluorescent protein 
(tau-eGFP). When cloned into adenovirus, the contrast can be used for 
transducing primary cultures for ex vivo gene therapy and for use as an 
anterograde tracer in brain circuit analysis. These uses can be a 
valuable research tool to help scientists find out how the brain works, 
investigate Alzheimer's disease, and to identify specific cells for 
treating disease via cell transplantation.

    Dated: July 19, 2005.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 05-15348 Filed 8-2-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P