[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75121-75122]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-29146]


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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.

Discovery of Novel Pharmacophores Inhibiting the Growth of 
Mycobacterium tuberculosis

    Description of Technology: Tuberculosis (TB) caused by 
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects roughly one third of the world 
population and approximately 8 million people develop TB annually. The 
emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant 
(XDR) TB strains highlight the need for new drugs against TB. The 
inventions described herein are small molecules with drug-like 
properties that inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The 
compounds were discovered utilizing high-throughput screening of a 
101,000 compound library. Three hundred active compounds inhibit 
Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth by 90% or greater in in vitro assays 
with MIC values ranging from 1.6 to less than 0.1 micrograms/ml, and 
showing minimal toxicity in tissue culture cells. Structure similarity 
analyses of the compounds reveal 44 chemical clusters representing 250 
active compounds.
    Applications: Treatment of TB infections.
    Advantages: Novel drug candidates against TB.
    Development Status: In vitro data can be provided upon request.
    Market: TB therapeutics.
    Inventors: Robert C. Goldman (NIAID) et al.
    Publications: Manuscript in preparation.
    Patent Status: U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/092,710 filed 28 
Aug 2008 (HHS Reference No. E-310-2008/0-US-01).
    Licensing Status: Available for exclusive or non-exclusive 
licensing.
    Licensing Contact: Kevin W. Chang, Ph.D.; 301-435-5018; 
[email protected].

[[Page 75122]]

    Collaborative Research Opportunity: The NIAID, OTD, is seeking 
statements of capability or interest from parties interested in 
collaborative research to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize 
this ``Discovery of Novel Pharmacophores Inhibiting the Growth of 
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis''. Please contact Anna Amar at 301-451-3525 
for more information.

A Varicella-Zoster Virus Mutant That Is Markedly Impaired for Latent 
Infection Available for the Development of Shingles Vaccines and 
Diagnostics

    Description of Technology: Reactivation of latent Varicella-Zoster 
virus (VZV) infection is the cause of shingles, which is prominent in 
adults over the age of 60 and individuals who have compromised immune 
systems, due to HIV infection, cancer treatment and/or transplant. 
Shingles is a worldwide health concern that affects approximately 
600,000 Americans each year. The incidence of shingles is also high in 
Europe, South America, and India; the latter having an estimated two 
million individuals affected, yearly. Recent research studies show that 
VZV vaccines have a significant effect on decreasing the incidence of 
shingles in elderly.
    The current technology describes compositions, cells and methods 
related to the production and use of a mutant VZV and the development 
of vaccines against the infectious agent. Latent VZV expresses a 
limited repertoire of viral genes including the following six open 
reading frames (ORFs): 4, 21, 29, 62, 63, and 66. The present invention 
describes an ORF29 mutant VZV that demonstrates a weakened ability to 
establish latency in animal studies. The current technology provides 
methods for using the mutant in the development of live vaccines and 
diagnostic tools. A related invention is described in PCT/US05/021788 
(publication number WO2006012092).
    Applications: Development of vaccines and diagnostics for 
prevention of shingles.
    Development Status: Pre-clinical studies have been performed to 
demonstrate the reduced latency of the ORF29 mutant VZV in animals.
    Inventors: Jeffrey Cohen (NIAID) and Lesley Pesnicak (NIAID).
    Patent Status: U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/857,766 filed 09 
Nov 2006 (HHS Reference No. E-029-2007/0-US-01); PCT Application No. 
PCT/US2007/084331 filed 09 Nov 2007, which published as WO 2008/079539 
on 03 Jul 2008 (HHS Reference No. E-029-2007/0-PCT-02).
    Licensing Status: Available for licensing and commercial 
development.
    Licensing Contact: Kevin W. Chang, Ph.D.; 301-435-5018; 
[email protected].
    Collaborative Research Opportunity: The NIAID Laboratory of 
Clinical Infectious Diseases is seeking statements of capability or 
interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further 
develop, evaluate, or commercialize vaccine strains of VZV vaccine with 
impaired latency. Please contact Kelly Murphy, J.D., M.S., at 301/451-
3523 or [email protected] for more information.

Anti-Plasmodium Compositions and Methods of Use

    Description of Technology: The present invention comprises 
peptides/antibodies specific for the binding proteins of Plasmodium, a 
parasite responsible for malaria, hence in effect blocking the 
parasite's binding to the erythrocytes. Also included are methods for 
their use in preventing, diagnosing or treating the related infections.
    Although malaria is virtually eradicated in the United States, it 
continues to be one of the most serious infectious diseases in the 
world, killing millions of people each year in the countries throughout 
Africa, Asia and Latin America. In fact, over 41% of the world 
population lives in the regions affected by malaria. In vitro studies 
using the antibodies described in the current technology showed ~80% 
reduction in the number of blood cells infected with Plasmodium 
parasite. Infectivity studies using peptides demonstrated that they are 
also specifically able to prevent binding of parasites to blood cells. 
The claimed antibodies and peptides can also be used for immunization 
of humans and animals, or for development of diagnostic kits capable of 
detecting the presence, localization and quantity of the Plasmodium 
parasites in tissues and cells.
    Applications: Diagnostics development; Vaccines development.
    Inventors: David L. Narum and Kim Lee Sim (NIAID).
    Relevant Publications:
    1. Sim BK, Narum DL, Liang H, Fuhrmann SR, Obaldia N 3rd, 
Gramzinski R, Aguiar J, Haynes JD, Moch JK, Hoffman SL. Induction of 
biologically active antibodies in mice, rabbits, and monkeys by 
Plasmodium falciparum EBA-175 region II DNA vaccine. Mol Med. 2001 
Apr;7(4):247-254.
    2. Narum DL, Haynes JD, Fuhrmann S, Moch K, Liang H, Hoffman SL, 
Sim BK. Antibodies against the Plasmodium falciparum receptor binding 
domain of EBA-175 block invasion pathways that do not involve sialic 
acids. Infect Immun. 2000 Apr;68(4):1964-1966.
    3. Liang H, Narum DL, Fuhrmann SR, Luu T, Sim BK. A recombinant 
baculovirus-expressed Plasmodium falciparum receptor-binding domain of 
erythrocyte binding protein EBA-175 biologically mimics native protein. 
Infect Immun. 2000 Jun;68(6):3564-3568.
    Patent Status: HHS Reference No. E-004-2004/2--
     U.S. Patent No. 7,025,961 issued 11 Apr 2006
     Australian Patent No. 20042011615 issued 11 May 2007
     Canadian Application No. CA236247
     Japanese Application No. JP2000-602280 (published as 
JP,2002-540770,A)
    Licensing Status: Available for exclusive or non-exclusive 
licensing.
    Licensing Contact: RC Tang, JD, LLM; 301-435-5031; 
[email protected]

    Dated: December 1, 2008.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E8-29146 Filed 12-9-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P