[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 5346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1286]


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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, HHS.

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.

Rapid Anti-Depressant Response Produced by Low Dose Treatment with 
Anti-Muscarinic Drugs

Maura Furey and Wayne Drevets (NIMH).
U.S. Patent Application No. 11/137,114 filed 25 May 2005 (HHS Reference 
No. E-175-2004/0-US-01).
Licensing Contact: Norbert Pontzer; 301/435-5502; 
[email protected].

    Available for licensing are new methods of rapidly treating 
depression. The drugs currently used to treat depression work by 
increasing the activity at serotonin, norepinephrine and perhaps 
dopamine receptors in the CNS. However these drugs are effective in 
only 60-70% of patients, require 3-4 weeks of treatment before clinical 
improvement and have many side effects. These inventors have shown that 
in human patients, the administration of anti-muscarinic agents 
produces a rapid, prolonged alleviation of depressive symptoms. 
Beginning the day following administration of the anti-muscarinic 
agent, a majority of patients show significant improvements in mood, 
anxiety, sleep and other depressive symptoms that last days or weeks. 
The very slow dissociation of some muscarinic agents from their 
receptors may account for the prolonged therapeutic effects.
    In addition to licensing, the technology is available for further 
development through collaborative research opportunities with the 
inventors.

    Dated: January 23, 2006.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
 [FR Doc. E6-1286 Filed 1-31-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P