[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 185 (Friday, September 24, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58415-58416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23975]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Prospective Grant of Exclusive License: Prevention, Prophylaxis, 
Cure, Amelioration, and/or Treatment of Infection and/or the Effects 
Thereof of Chikungunya Infections in Humans

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, is contemplating the grant of 
an exclusive license to practice the invention embodied in Patent 
Applications USSN 61/118,206, filed on November 26, 2008, and 61/
201,118, filed on December 5, 2008; and PCT/US2009/006294, filed 
November 24, 2009; entitled ``Virus Like Particle Compositions and 
Methods of Use'', to Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. having a place of 
business in 770 Sumneytown Pike, West Point, PA 19486. The patent 
rights in this invention have been assigned to the United States of 
America.

DATES: Only written comments and/or application for a license that are 
received by the NIH Office of Technology Transfer on or before October 
25, 2010 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: Cristina Thalhammer-Reyero, PhD , M.B.A., Office 
of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive 
Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, MD 20852-3804; E-mail: 
[email protected]; Telephone: 301-435-4507; Facsimile: 301-402-
0220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The prospective worldwide 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 30 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 invention relates to compositions and methods of use as 
vaccines of virus-like particles (VLPs) expressing one or more 
alphavirus capsid or envelope proteins, and in particular Chikungunya

[[Page 58416]]

virus (CHIKV) envelope proteins. The invention also describes DNA, 
viral or other gene-based vector and VLP vaccines, methods of making 
and methods of their use in inducing immunity to alphavirus infection. 
Alphaviruses are RNA-containing viruses that cause a wide variety of 
mosquito-transmitted diseases, including equine encephalitis. CHIKV, an 
alphavirus in the family Togaviridae, was first isolated in Tanzania in 
1952 and is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. The disease caused by 
CHIKV resembles infection by dengue virus, characterized by rash, high 
fever, and severe, sometimes persistent arthritis.
    The field of use may be limited to ``Prevention, prophylaxis, cure, 
amelioration, and/or treatment of infection and/or the effects thereof 
of Chikungunya infections in humans''.
    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 20, 2010.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development & Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2010-23975 Filed 9-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P