[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 194 (Friday, October 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 58728]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20242]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Prospective Grant of Exclusive License: North-2'-Deoxy-
Methanocarbathmydines as Antiviral Agents Against Poxvirus

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

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 (HHS), is contemplating the 
grant of an exclusive license to practice the following invention as 
embodied in the following patent applications: HHS Ref. No. E-047-2005; 
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Number 60/684,811, filed on May 25, 
2005 to N&N Scientific, having a place of business in Maryland but 
incorporated in Illinois. The patent rights in these inventions have 
been assigned to the United States of America.

DATES: Only written comments and/or application for a license which are 
received by the NIH Office of Technology Transfer on or before December 
6, 2005 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: Robert M. Joynes, Office of Technology Transfer, 
National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, 
Rockville, MD 20852-3804; E-mail: [email protected]; Telephone: (301) 
594-6565; Facsimile: (301) 402-0220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. The field of use may be limited to the 
treatment of poxviruses.
    The subject invention relates to a method for the prevention or 
treatment of poxvirus infection by administering an effective amount of 
an antiviral agent comprising a carbocyclic 2'-deoxynucleoside analog 
(as described in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,629,454 and 5,869,666) to an 
individual in need thereof. North-methanocarbathymidine (N-MCT), a 
thymidine analog with a pseudosugar moiety locked in the northern 
conformation, which was previously shown to exert strong activity 
against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, has been identified as 
exhibiting potent activity against poxviruses. N-MCT effectively blocks 
poxvirus synthesis through its phosphorylated metabolite, which is more 
efficiently produced in poxvirus-infected cells. This compound is 
approximately seven times more potent than cidofovir against vaccinia 
and cowpox in cell culture. The higher potency and target specificity 
of N-MCT against poxvirus, as well as its high margin of safety, makes 
it a highly desirable agent against the poxviridae family. In addition, 
the mechanism of N-MCT may be different from that of cidofovir, making 
it even more desirable due to the scarcity of the potential available 
efficacious anti-pox agents currently under development.
    The licensed territory will be exclusive worldwide.
    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: September 27, 2005.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 05-20242 Filed 10-6-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P