[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 152 (Tuesday, August 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38711-38712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16841]


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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 invention listed below is owned by an agency of the U.S. 
Government and is available for licensing 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: Barry Buchbinder, Ph.D., 240-627-3678; 
[email protected]. Licensing information and copies of the U.S. 
patent application listed below may be obtained by communicating with 
the indicated licensing contact at the Technology Transfer and 
Intellectual Property Office, National Institute of Allergy and 
Infectious Diseases, 5601 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852; tel. 301-
496-2644. A signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be required 
to receive copies of unpublished patent applications.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Technology description follows.

Self-Assembling Insect Ferritin Nanoparticles for Display of Co-
assembled Trimeric Antigens Description of Technology

    Antigens on the surface of virus particles are displayed in a 
regular, repetitive pattern which facilitates B cell activation. 
Presenting trimeric antigens on engineered particles that mimic the 
geometric patterns observed for native viral proteins can lead to an 
improved host antibody response.
    Self-assembling globular ferritin nanoparticles have previously 
been used to display multiple copies of a co-assembled trimeric antigen 
to the immune system. However, prior ferritin nanoparticle technologies 
only permit a random co-assembly of diverse trimeric antigens, and 
therefore cannot guarantee the pattern and ratio of diverse trimeric 
antigens on a single ferritin nanoparticle.
    Researchers at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National 
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases are developing novel 
recombinant ferritin nanoparticles that are based on insect ferritin 
proteins, and that have been engineered to display two different 
trimeric antigens in a defined ratio and geometric pattern. This system 
has been tested with antigens derived from HIV-1 envelope (Env) and 
influenza hemagglutinin (HA). Interestingly, when guinea pigs are 
immunized with ferritin nanoparticles displaying two different trimeric 
antigens, induced B cells could simultaneously recognize both trimeric 
antigens, thus leading to an immune response with improved 
neutralization breadth.
    This technology can be used as a platform for multimerized display 
of trimeric antigens such as viral type I fusion glycoproteins, and may 
be applied to many high-priority vaccine targets, such as HIV-1, 
influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza viruses, and 
coronaviruses.
    Potential Commercial Applications:
     Platform for multimerized immunogen presentation and 
vaccine design.
     Vaccines for pathogens that use genetic diversity to 
escape the immune response.
    Competitive Advantages:
     Particles have equal fractions of two different antigens 
in a specific configuration on the nanoparticle surface (unlike regular 
ferritin used previously)
     Designed particles have a geometry that allows for 
attachment of trimeric antigens (unlike the native insect ferritin).
    Development Stage:
     In vivo testing (rodents).
    Inventors: Peter Kwong (NIAID), Ivelin Georgiev (NIAID), Michael 
Gordon Joyce (NIAID), Masaru Kanekiyo (NIAID), Aliaksandr Druz (NIAID), 
Ulrich Baxa (NIAID), Joseph Van Galen (NIAID), Rita Chen (NIAID), Cheng 
Cheng (NIAID), John Mascola (NIAID), Yaroslav Tsybovsky (Leidos 
Biomedical Research, Inc), Yongping Yang (NIAID), Paul Thomas (NIAID), 
Barney Graham (NIAID).
    Publications: Georgiev, Ivelin S., et al., ACS Infectious Diseases 
(2018) 4 (5), 788-796.
    Intellectual Property: HHS Reference Number E-270-2015: U.S. Patent 
Application No. 62/355,212 filed 06/27/

[[Page 38712]]

2016; PCT Application No. PCT/US2017/039595 filed 06/27/2017 (pending).
    Related Intellectual Property: HHS Reference Number E-531-2013, E-
293-2011, E-060-2015.
    Licensing Contact: Barry Buchbinder, Ph.D., 240-627-3678; 
[email protected].

    Dated: July 20, 2018.
Suzanne M. Frisbie,
Deputy Director, Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Office, 
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
[FR Doc. 2018-16841 Filed 8-6-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P