[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42527-42528]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16947]


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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, 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. 209 and 37 CFR part 404 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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 patent applications.

Islet Beta Cell Only M3 Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor Knockout 
Mouse

    Description of Technology: Researchers at NIH have developed islet 
beta cell M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor knockout mouse. The mice 
were generated by crossing floxed mouse M3 muscarinic acetylcholine 
receptor mice with mice in which Cre recombinase was controlled by the 
beta-cell specific rat insulin promoter (RIP-Cre mice).
    Potential Commercial Applications: Study of the physiological role 
of beta-cell M3 muscarinic receptors in the regulation of glucose 
homeostasis and insulin release in vivo.
    Competitive Advantages: Allows for study of the role of the M3 
receptors in the pancreas without whole body effects confounding the 
results.
    Development Stage: In vivo data available (animal)
    Inventor: J[uuml]rgen Wess, Ph.D. (NIDDK)
    Publication: Gautam D, et al. A critical role for beta cell M3 
muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in regulating insulin release and 
blood glucose homeostasis in vivo. Cell Metab. 2006 Jun;3(6):449-61. 
[PMID 16753580]
    Intellectual Property: HHS Reference No. E-452-2013/0--Research 
Tool. Patent protection is not being pursued for this technology.
    Licensing Contact: Jaime M. Greene, M.S.; 301-435-5559; 
[email protected].

Transgenic Mice With Constitutively Active M3 Muscarinic Receptor in 
Islet Beta Cells

    Description of Technology: Q490L point mutation was introduced into 
the rat M3 muscarinic receptor cDNA to confer persistent, constitutive 
(ligand-independent) activity. Expression of the M3 receptor mutant was 
placed under the control of a 650 bp fragment of the rat insulin 
promoter II (RIP II) to limit expression to the islet beta cell.
    Potential Commercial Applications: Diabetes research, especially 
type II Diabetes.
    Competitive Advantages: Beneficial metabolic effects of this mouse 
model include high basal insulin secretion, improved glucose tolerance, 
increased serum insulin, and resistance to high-fat diet-induced 
glucose intolerance and hyperglycemia.
    Development Stage: In vivo data available (animal)
    Inventor: J[uuml]rgen Wess, Ph.D. (NIDDK)
    Publication: Gautam D, et al. Beneficial metabolic effects caused 
by persistent activation of beta-cell M3 muscarinic acetylcholine 
receptors in transgenic mice. Endocrinology. 2010 Nov;151(11):5185-94. 
[PMID 20843999]
    Intellectual Property: HHS Reference No. E-453-2013/0--Research 
Tool. Patent protection is not being pursued for this technology.
    Licensing Contact: Jaime M. Greene, M.S.; 301-435-5559; 
[email protected].

Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Islet Beta Cell M3 Muscarinic 
Acetylcholine Receptors

    Description of Technology: Researchers at NIH have generated 
transgenic mice in which the M3 muscarinic receptor is overexpressed in 
pancreatic beta cells. This was done by placing the receptor gene under 
the control of the 650 bp rat insulin promoter II (RIP II). The 
resulting mice show a pronounced increase in glucose tolerance and 
enhanced plasma insulin levels. Strikingly, these mutant mice were 
resistant to diet-induced glucose intolerance and hyperglycemia.
    Potential Commercial Applications: Diabetes research, especially 
type II Diabetes.
    Competitive Advantages: These transgenic mice overexpress the M3 
muscarinic acetylcholine receptor only in pancreatic beta cells but 
notably are resistant to diet-induced glucose intolerance and 
hyperglycemia.
    Development Stage: In vivo data available (animal).
    Inventor: J[uuml]rgen Wess, Ph.D. (NIDDK).
    Publication: Gautam D, et al. A critical role for beta cell M3 
muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in regulating insulin release and 
blood glucose homeostasis in vivo. Cell Metab. 2006 Jun;3(6):449-61. 
[PMID 16753580].
    Intellectual Property: HHS Reference No. E-455-2013/0--Research 
Tool. Patent protection is not being pursued for this technology.
    Licensing Contact: Jaime M. Greene, M.S.; 301-435-5559; 
[email protected].

An Improved System for Production of Recombinant Baculovirus

    Description of Technology: Baculoviruses have been used for decades 
to produce proteins in insect cell hosts. Current systems for 
generating recombinant baculovirus have several shortcomings which 
prevent their easy use in high-throughput applications. The present

[[Page 42528]]

invention discloses an improved system to quickly and efficiently 
generate recombinant baculoviruses which produce recombinant proteins. 
In the new system, the baculovirus transfer vector, transposition 
helper plasmid and E. coli strain carrying the bacmid DNA were modified 
to eliminate the need for screening positive clones and improve the 
efficiency of baculovirus production. Taken together, these 
improvements permit facile high-throughput recombinant baculovirus 
production at reduced cost and improved speed over the currently 
available systems.
    Potential Commercial Applications:
     High-throughput protein production
     Generation of virus-like particles in insect cells
    Competitive Advantages:
     Elimination of background plasmid DNA during recombinant 
baculovirus production
     Elimination of nonproductive transposition events leading 
to false positives
     Lower cost production of baculovirus
     Increased speed of baculovirus production (allowing high-
throughput production with limited screening)
     Higher efficiency cloning of baculovirus constructs
    Development Stage:
     Prototype
     Pilot
     In vitro data available
    Inventor: Dominic Esposito (NCI).
    Intellectual Property: HHS Reference No. E-287-2012/0--Research 
Tool. Patent protection is not being pursued for this technology.
    Related Technology: HHS Reference No. E-164-2011--Combinatorial 
Cloning Platform.
    Licensing Contact: Susan Ano, Ph.D.; 301-435-5515; 
[email protected].

    Dated: July 9, 2013.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2013-16947 Filed 7-15-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P