[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 197 (Friday, October 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47757-47758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22157]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Prospective Grant of Exclusive Patent License: Devices and 
Systems For Treating Valvular Regurgitation

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National 
Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, is 
contemplating the grant of an Exclusive Patent License to Cook Medical 
Technologies, LLC, located in Bloomington, Indiana, to practice the 
inventions embodied in the patent applications listed in the 
Supplementary Information section of this notice.

DATES: Only written comments and/or applications for a license which 
are received by the NHLBI Office of Technology Transfer and Development 
October 30, 2017 will be considered.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the patent applications, inquiries, 
and comments relating to the contemplated exclusive patent license 
should be directed to: Michael Shmilovich, Esq., Senior Licensing and 
Patent Manager, 31 Center Drive Room 4A29, MSC2479, Bethesda, MD 20892-
2479, phone number 301-435-5019, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following and all continuing U.S. and 
foreign patents/patent applications thereof are the intellectual 
properties to be licensed under the prospective agreement to Cook 
Medical Technologies, LLC: NIH Ref. No. E-027-2013/0 ``Devices And 
Methods for Treating Functional Triscupid Valve Regurgitation'' U.S. 
Provisional Patent Application 61/785,652 filed March 14, 2013, 
International Patent Application PCT/US2014/025300 filed under the 
Patent Cooperation Treaty on March 13, 2014, European Patent 
Application 14723540.2 having an international filing date of March 13, 
2014, and U.S. Patent Application 14/776,488 also having an 
international filing date of March 13, 2014. NIH Ref. No. E-115-2013/0 
``Encircling Suture Delivery System For Flexible Circumferential 
Suture,'' U.S. Provisional Patent Application 61/834,357 filed June 12, 
2013, International Patent Application PCT/US2014/040716 filed under 
the Patent Cooperation Treaty on June 3, 2014, European Patent 
Application 14735030.0 having an international filing date of June 3, 
2014 and U.S. Patent Application 14/898,020 also having an 
international filing date of June 3, 2014. The patent rights in these 
inventions have been assigned to the Government of the United States of 
America. The prospective exclusive patent License territory may be 
worldwide and a field of use limited to valvular regurgitation.
    The invention embodied in NIH Ref. No. E-027-2013/0 relates to 
devices and methods for treating functional tricuspid valve 
regurgitation and related conditions. The devices are adapted for 
applying force to an area of a patient's heart along or near the 
atrioventricular groove and can include a tensioning element configured 
to be delivered by a flexible member guided through a catheter and 
positioned generally along or near the atrioventricular groove, and a 
compression member that can be positioned along the tensioning element 
and over a desired segment of the atrioventricular groove to develop 
force to be applied to an adjacent area of the heart by selective 
tensioning of the tensioning element.
    The invention embodied in NIH Ref No. E-115-2013/0 relates to 
devices for delivering encircling implants that can include two 
separate limbs held together at a distal articulation by the implant 
being delivered. The implant can comprise a suture and/or a braided

[[Page 47758]]

tube. The implant can extend through or over the limbs. The implant and 
at least a distal portion of the limbs can be compressible into a 
delivery shape that allows for advancement through the lumen of a 
delivery catheter. When the distal portion of the limbs move out of the 
delivery catheter, the limbs and implant can resiliently assume a loop 
shape that is complementary to a shape of a target around which the 
encircling implant is to be placed. The limbs are then retracted from 
along the implant to leave the implant in the desired delivery 
position. The delivery device can be used to place encircling implants 
around the heart or other targets, and the implant can be tightened to 
exert compressive force on the target.
    This notice is made in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 
part 404. The prospective exclusive patent license will be royalty 
bearing and may be granted unless within fifteen (15) days from the 
date of this published notice, the NHLBI 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.
    Complete applications for a license in the prospective field of use 
that are timely filed in response to this notice will be treated as 
objections to the grant of the contemplated exclusive patent 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: September 22, 2017.
Michael Shmilovich,
Senior Licensing and Patenting Manager, National Heart, Lung, and Blood 
Institute, Office of Technology Transfer and Development.
[FR Doc. 2017-22157 Filed 10-12-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P