[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 130 (Friday, July 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40076-40077]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16499]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
Prospective Grant of Exclusive License: Use of the Citrus
Flavanones Hesperetin, Hesperidin, and Naringenin in Nutrition for
Endothelial Function, Vascular Health, Diabetes, and Insulin Resistance
AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This is notice, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37
CFR part 404.7(a)(1)(i), that the National Institutes of Health,
Department of Health and Human Services, is contemplating the grant of
an exclusive patent license to BioActor B.V., a company having a place
of business in Maastricht, Netherlands, to practice the inventions
embodied in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/369,229, filed
July 30, 2010 (HHS Ref. No. E-148-2010/0-US-01) and PCT Patent
Application No. PCT/US2011/045898, filed July 29, 2011 (HHS Ref. No. E-
148-2010/0-PCT-02), both entitled ``Treatment of Metabolic Syndrome and
Insulin Resistance with Citrus Flavanones.'' The patent rights in these
inventions have been assigned to the United States of America. The
prospective exclusive license territory may be ``worldwide'', and the
field of use may be limited to ``hesperidin, naringenin, and any
derivatives thereof for use in nutrition relating to endothelial
function, vascular health, diabetes, and insulin resistance, wherein
the Licensed Products are marketed under an approved Health Claim or
GRAS designation from the FDA, under an approved Health Claim or Novel
Food designation from the EFSA, or a foreign regulatory equivalent of
the above.''
DATE: Only written comments and/or applications for a license which
are received by the NIH Office of Technology Transfer on or before
August 6, 2012 will be considered.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for copies of the patent
application(s), inquiries, and comments relating to the contemplated
exclusive license should be directed to: Tara L. Kirby, Ph.D., Senior
Licensing and Patenting Manager, Office of Technology Transfer,
National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325,
Rockville, MD 20852-3804; Telephone: (301) 435-4426; Facsimile: (301)
402-0220; Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Hesperidin is a flavonoid compound found in
citrus fruits. Large epidemiological studies have linked increased
consumption of flavonoid-rich foods, such as citrus, with reduced
cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Investigators from the National
Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine have demonstrated
that administration of oral hesperidin to patients with metabolic
syndrome attenuates biomarkers of inflammation and improves blood
vessel relaxation, lipid cholesterol profiles, and insulin sensitivity
when compared to controls. Thus, hesperidin and its active aglycone
form, hesperetin, may be effective agents for the treatment of
diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemias, and their
cardiovascular complications including hypertension, atherosclerosis,
coronary heart disease, and stroke. This technology discloses methods
for using a hesperetin or hesperidin composition to treat metabolic
syndrome and insulin resistance. Also described is the use of the
related citrus polyphenol, naringenin.
The prospective exclusive license will be royalty bearing and will
comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.
The prospective exclusive license may be granted unless within thirty
(30) 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 404.7.
Only applications for a license in the field of use set forth in
this notice and filed in response to this notice will be treated as
objections to the grant of the
[[Page 40077]]
contemplated exclusive 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 29, 2012.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2012-16499 Filed 7-5-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P