[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11137-11138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4310]


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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.

Polyclonal Antibodies Useful for the Detection of Vangl1 and Vangl2 
Proteins Which Play a Role in Developmental Processes

    Description of Technology: Vangl1 (Van Gogh like 1) and Vangl2 (Van 
Gogh like 2) are two core proteins mediating establishment of Planar 
Cell Polarity (PCP), which refers to the polarity of epithelial cells 
within a plane orthogonal to their apical-basal axis. Disruption of 
core PCP proteins leads to many developmental defects, including open 
neural tube, misorientation of sensory hair cells in the inner ear, 
polycystic kidney disease and skeletal deformations. In humans, 
mutations in Vangl1 and Vangl2 have been identified in patients with 
neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, the most common permanently 
disabling birth defect in the United States. NHGRI researchers have 
recently generated rabbit polyclonal antibodies against Vangl1 and 
phosphorylated Vangl2 proteins that are suitable for endogenous Vangl1 
and Vangl2 detection.
    Potential Commercial Applications: Anti-Vangl1 and Vangl2 
antibodies could be used in the development of diagnostic and 
therapeutic treatments for PCP-related developmental defects.
    Development Stage:
     Pre-clinical.
     In vitro data available.
    Inventors: Yingzi Yang and Bo Gao (NHGRI); Yingzi Yang and Hai Song 
(NHGRI).
    Publications:
    1. Gao B, et al. Wnt signaling gradients establish planar cell 
polarity by inducing Vangl2 phosphorylation through Ror2. Dev Cell. 
2011 Feb 15;20(2):163-176. [PMID 21316585]
    2. Song H, et al. Planar cell polarity breaks bilateral symmetry by 
controlling ciliary positioning. Nature. 2010 Jul 15;466(7304):378-382. 
[PMID 20562861]
    Intellectual Property: HHS Reference Nos. E-135-2011/0 and E-136-
2011/0--Research Tools. Patent protection is not being pursued for 
these technologies.
    Licensing Contact: Suryanarayana (Sury) Vepa, Ph.D., J.D.; 301-435-
5020; [email protected].

Novel Biomarkers for Alcohol-Induced Liver Disease (ALD)

    Description of Technology: Alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD) is a 
leading cause of non accident-related deaths worldwide. ALD is 
reversible if identified in the early stages, but early diagnosis is 
difficult with existing tools. One problem associated with developing a 
new diagnostic tool is the genetic background associated heterogeneity 
in physiological responses to chronic alcohol consumption. The 
inventors of the present technology have solved this problem and have 
discovered background-independent novel biomarkers for ALD. In the 
current studies, the inventors generated two genetically distinct lines 
of PPARalpha-null mice and evaluated the levels of urine metabolites 
after alcohol exposure. The inventors have identified indole-3-lactic 
acid and phenyllactic acid as putative biomarkers for ALD. Indole-3-
lactic acid and phenyllactic acid levels were significantly elevated in 
both lines of PPARalpha-null mice after two to three months of alcohol 
administration. The inventors had identified indole-3-lactic acid and 
phenyllactic acid to be background independent markers for ALD.
    Potential Commercial Applications: Useful for early non-invasive 
screening of ALD in large numbers of subjects irrespective of their 
genetic background.
    Competitive Advantages:
     Easily adaptable for the development of highly sensitive 
spectroscopy-based assay kits.
     Amenable for the development of high-throughput mass 
spectrometric analysis of urine samples to detect early onset of ALD.
    Development Stage:
     Early-stage.
     Pre-clinical.
     In vivo data available (animal).
    Inventors: Soumen Kanti Manna and Frank J. Gonzalez (NCI).
    Publications:
    1. Manna SK, et al. UPLC-MS-based urine metabolomics reveals 
indole-3-lactic acid and phenyllactic acid as conserved biomarkers for 
alcohol-induced liver disease in the Ppara-null mouse model. J Proteome 
Res. 2011 Sep 2;10(9):4120-4133. [PMID 21749142]
    2. Manna SK, et al. Identification of noninvasive biomarkers for 
alcohol-induced liver disease using urinary metabolomics and the Ppara-
null

[[Page 11138]]

mouse. J Proteome Res. 2010 Aug 6;9(8):4176-4188. [PMID 20540569]
    Intellectual Property: HHS Reference No. E-172-2011/0--U.S. 
Provisional Application No. 61/507,573 filed 13 Jul 2011.
    Licensing Contact: Suryanarayana (Sury) Vepa, Ph.D., J.D.; 301-435-
5020; [email protected].

Biomarkers for Niemann-Pick Disease Type C and Related Disorders of 
Oxysterol Accumulation

    Description of Technology: Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is a 
lethal lysosomal storage disorder characterized by liver disease and 
progressive neurodegeneration. Lysosomal storage is impaired by 
oxidized cholesterol (oxysterol) accumulation. Presenting signs and 
symptoms are nonspecific, and the diagnosis is frequently difficult and 
delayed. The inventors established a rapid ELISA assay to evaluate 
biomarker levels in serum. The ELISA assay tests a novel combination of 
two biomarkers significantly elevated in NPC patients, Cathepsin D and 
Galectin-3. Other diseases can cause oxysterol accumulation, including 
other lysosomal storage diseases, cholesterol trafficking diseases, and 
neurodegenerative diseases. At least for the lysosomal storage 
diseases, the combination of elevated Cathepsin D and Galectin-3 
appears specific for NPC. Cathepsin D is a lysosomal enzyme involved in 
protein degradation. The secreted Galectin-3 is mostly known as a 
chemoattractant for immune cells.
    Potential Commercial Applications:
     NPC diagnosis.
     NPC patient disease progression monitoring.
     NPC therapeutic efficacy testing in Clinical Trials.
     Application of above methods to related diseases.
    Competitive Advantages:
     Fast and non-invasive ELISA serum assay.
     Potential for high sensitivity.
     Cost effective.
    Development Stage:
     Pilot.
     Early-stage.
     In vivo data available (animal).
     In vivo data available (human).
    Inventor: Forbes D. Porter (NICHD).
    Intellectual Property: HHS Reference No. E-302-2011/0--U.S. 
Provisional Application No. 61/576,062 filed 15 Dec 2011.
    Licensing Contact: Betty B. Tong, Ph.D.; 301-594-6565; 
[email protected].

     Dated: February 21, 2012.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2012-4310 Filed 2-23-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P