[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35964-35965]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15334]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Prospective Grant of Start-up Exclusive Evaluation Option 
License: A Novel HIV-1 Entry Inhibitor

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This is notice, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 
part 404, that the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health 
and Human Services, is contemplating the grant of a start-up exclusive 
evaluation option license agreement to practice the inventions embodied 
in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/791,885 (NIH Ref. No. E-
033-2013/0-US-01), filed March 15, 2013; International PCT Application 
No. PCT/US2014/024120 (NIH Ref. No. E-033-2013/1-PCT-01), filed March 
12, 2014; all entitled, ``Stabilized Single Human CD4 Domains and 
Fusion Proteins;'' and all

[[Page 35965]]

continuing applications and foreign counterparts to Absino Co., Ltd, a 
company having a place of business in Beijing, China.
    The patent rights in these inventions have (a) been assigned to the 
United States of America, as represented by the Secretary, Department 
of Health and Human Services who has delegated authority for the 
licensing of inventions to the National Institutes of Health or (b) 
been exclusively licensed to the National Institutes of Health.
    The prospective start-up exclusive evaluation option license 
territory may be China, the U.S., and Europe, and the field of use may 
be limited to the development of bispecific multivalent human 
immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) neutralizing fusion proteins as 
HIV entry inhibitors for the treatment of HIV infections.
    Upon the expiration or termination of the start-up exclusive 
evaluation option license, Absino Co., Ltd will have the exclusive 
right to execute an exclusive commercialization license which will 
supersede and replace the start-up exclusive evaluation option license 
with no greater field of use and territory than granted in the start-up 
exclusive evaluation option license.

DATES: Only written comments and/or applications for a license which 
are received by the NIH Office of Technology Transfer on or before July 
8, 2015 will be considered.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the patent application, inquiries, 
comments, and other materials relating to the contemplated start-up 
exclusive evaluation option license should be directed to: Sally Hu, 
Ph.D., M.B.A., Senior Licensing and Patenting Manager, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive 
Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, MD 20852-3804; Telephone: (301) 435-
5606; Facsimile: (301) 402-0220; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject technology is HIV-1 entry 
inhibitors that can neutralize many subtypes of HIV-1 isolates 
including clade A-E and tropism R5 and X4 (using either CCR5 or CXCR4 
co-receptor for entry). These entry inhibitors are fusion proteins and 
have a potency about 10-fold higher than that of the broadly 
neutralizing antibody VRC01 that is in Phase I clinical trial, or 50-
fold higher than that of the FDA approved HIV entry inhibitor Fuzeon. 
Therefore, these fusion proteins are promising drug candidates for HIV/
AIDS prevention and treatment.
    The prospective start-up exclusive evaluation option license will 
be royalty bearing and will comply with the terms and conditions of 35 
U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR part 404. The prospective start-up exclusive 
evaluation option license may be granted unless within fifteen (15) 
days from the date of this published notice, the 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 part 404.
    Applications for a license in the field of use filed in response to 
this notice will be treated as objections to the grant of the 
contemplated start-up exclusive evaluation option license. Comments and 
objections submitted 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: June 16, 2015.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Acting Director, Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of 
Health.
[FR Doc. 2015-15334 Filed 6-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P