[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 165 (Friday, August 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42919-42920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18397]


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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: Vince Contreras, Ph.D., 240-669-2823; 
[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to receive copies of unpublished patent applications.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.

Prefusion HPIV F Immunogens and Their Use

    Description of Technology: Human parainfluenza virus (hPIV) is an 
RNA-based paramyxovirus that causes respiratory infections in children 
and adults. There are four serotypes that can result in a myriad of 
diseases of the respiratory tract including croup, bronchitis, and 
pneumonia (Mao et al., 2012). hPIV is a leading cause of respiratory 
tract infection and hospitalization among children under 5, only 
surpassed by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Currently, there 
are limited treatment options and no approved vaccines. Recently, 
studies showed that a large proportion of neutralizing antibodies 
preferentially recognize exposed epitopes in the prefusion conformation 
of the RSV F protein, which together with other evidence suggests that 
creation of stabilized prefusion F protein immunogens might be a 
universal strategy to develop vaccine candidates for inducing 
protective immune responses in RSV and other related viruses, such as 
hPIV.
    Researchers at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National 
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases created immunogenic PIV 
fusion (F) glycoproteins for types 1,2,3 and 4 (hPIV1, hPIV2, hPIV3 and 
hPIV4) that have been modified to stabilize the prefusion conformation.
    These stabilized prefusion F immunogens, especially hPIV3, induced 
high titer neutralizing responses in mice and rhesus macaques, and 
should thus serve as promising candidates for the prevention of PIV 
infection in humans.
    This technology is available for licensing for commercial 
development in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR part 404.
    Potential Commercial Applications:
     hPIV vaccines for people of all ages;
     Specific focus on the elderly and young children.
    Competitive Advantages:
     Use as a multivalent hPIV vaccine;
     Use in combination with influenza or RSV vaccine 
compositions;
     hPIV3 neutralizing titers induced in both mice and rhesus 
macaques were substantially higher than the highest PIV3 neutralizing 
titers observed in a cohort of over 100 humans.
    Development Stage:
     In vivo testing (primates and mice).
    Inventors: Peter Kwong (NIAID), Gwo-Yu Chuang (NIAID), Kai Xu 
(NIAID),Tongqing Zhou (NIAID), Yaroslav Tsybovsky (Leidos Biomedical 
Research, Inc), Aliaksandr Druz (NIAID), Antonio Lanzavecchia 
(Institute for Research in Biomedicine), Davide Corti (Institute for 
Research in Biomedicine), Guillaume BE Stewart-Jones (NIAID), Baoshan 
Zhang (NIAID), Yongping Yang (NIAID), Paul Thomas (NIAID), John Mascola 
(NIAID), Li Ou (NIAID), Wing-pui Kong (NIAID).
    Intellectual Property: HHS Reference Number E-215-2016 includes 
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Number 62/412,699 filed 10/25/2016 
and PCT Application Number PCT/US2017/058322 filed 10/25/2017 
(pending).
    Related Intellectual Property: HHS Reference Number: E-064-2016.
    Licensing Contact: Vince Contreras, Ph.D., 240-669-2823; 
[email protected].


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    Dated: August 10, 2018.
Suzanne M. Frisbie,
Deputy Director, Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Office, 
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
[FR Doc. 2018-18397 Filed 8-23-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P