[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 192 (Monday, October 5, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60159-60160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-25197]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Government-Owned Invention; Availability for Licensing

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The invention listed below is 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 contacting 
Jasmine Yang, Ph.D., at the Technology Advancement Office, National 
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Building 12A, 
Suite 3011 (MSC 5632), Bethesda MD 20892; Telephone: 301-451-7836; 
Email: [email protected]. A signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement 
will be required to receive copies of the patent applications.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Technology description follows.

[[Page 60160]]

Cannabinoid Receptor 1 (CB1) Inverse Agonists for the Treatment of 
Diabetes, Obesity and Their Complications

    Description of Technology: Cannabinoid (CB1 and CB2) receptors 
recognize and mediate the effects of the active compound 
tetrahydrocannabinol found in marijuana. CB1 receptor activation plays 
a key role in appetitive behavior and metabolism.
    Dr. Kunos and colleagues have designed a set of CB1 receptor 
inverse agonists that are effective at reducing obesity and its 
associated metabolic consequences while not causing the adverse 
neuropsychotropic side effects linked to earlier antagonists such as 
rimonabant. The CB1 receptor compounds were developed with the goals of 
(1) limiting their brain penetrance without losing their metabolic 
efficacy due to CB1 inverse agonism, and (2) generating compounds whose 
primary metabolite directly targets enzymes involved in inflammatory 
and fibrotic processes associated with metabolic disorders. The patent 
application of this technology are to the composition of matter and 
methods of use to the cannabinoid receptor (CB1) blocking compounds for 
the treatment of obesity, diabetes, fatty liver disease and a variety 
of obesity-related metabolic syndromes. The technology has the 
potential to be the next generation of safer CB1 receptor therapeutics 
for treating obesity.
    Potential Commercial Applications:
     Treatment for obesity
     Treatment for metabolic syndrome
     Treatment of diabetes
     Treatment of fibrosis
     Treatment of Fatty Liver Disease such as Nonalcoholic 
steatohepatitis (NASH)
    Competitive Advantages:
     Inhibits metabolic activity without causing psychiatric 
side effects
     Offers improved anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic 
efficacy
    Development Stage:
     In vitro data available
     In vivo data available (animal)
    Inventors: George Kunos (NIAAA), Malliga Iyer (NIAAA), Resat Cinar 
(NIAAA), Kenner Rice (NIDA)
    Intellectual Property:
     HHS Reference No. E-282-2012/0-US-01--US Provisional 
Patent Application No. 61/725,949 filed November 13, 2012
     HHS Reference No. E-282-2012/0-PCT-02--PCT Application No. 
PCT/US2013/069686 filed November 12, 2013
     HHS Reference No. E-282-2012/0-US-03--US Patent 
Application No. 14/442,383 filed May 12, 2015
     HHS Reference No. E-282-2012/0-CA-04--Canadian Patent 
Application No. 2889697 filed April 27, 2015
     HHS Reference No. E-282-2012/0-EP-05--European Patent 
Application No. 13802153.0 filed June 01, 2015
     HHS Reference No. E-282-2012/0-IN-06--Indian Patent 
Application No. 3733/DELNP/2015 filed May 01, 2015
     HHS Reference No. E-282-2012/0-JP-07--Japanese Patent 
Application No. 2015-542015 filed May 11, 2015
     HHS Reference No. E-282-2012/0-CN-08--Chinese Patent 
Application No. 201380069389.9 filed July 3, 2015
     HHS Reference No. E-282-2012/1-US-01--US Provisional 
Application No. 62/171, 179 filed June 04, 2015
    Licensing Contact: Jasmine Yang, Ph.D.; 301-451-7836; 
[email protected].
    Collaborative Research Opportunity: The National Institute on 
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Laboratory of Physiologic Studies, is 
seeking statements of capability or interest from parties interested in 
collaborative research to further develop, evaluate or commercialize 
peripherally restricted CB1 receptor blockers with improved efficacy. 
For collaboration opportunities, please contact George Kunos, M.D., 
Ph.D. at [email protected] or 301-443-2069.

     Dated: September 29, 2015.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Acting Director, Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of 
Health.
[FR Doc. 2015-25197 Filed 10-2-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P