[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17189-17190]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-9177]
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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, Public Health Service, DHHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by agencies of the U.S.
Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance
with 35 U.S.C. 207 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.
ADDRESSES: Licensing information and copies of the U.S. patent
applications listed below may be obtained by writing to the indicated
licensing contact at the Office of Technology Transfer, National
Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville,
Maryland 20852-3804; telephone: 301/496-7057; fax: 301/402-0220. A
signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be required to receive
copies of the patent applications.
A Human Cell Line Which Constitutively Expresses the Nonstructural
(NS) Proteins of Hepatitis C Virus
G Sherman, S Feinstone (FDA)
DHHS Reference No. E-012-98/0
Licensing Contact: Carol Salata, 301/496-7735 ext. 232
Currently there are no good animal models or tissue culture systems
which can be used in assaying compounds directed against HCV. A cell
line has been developed which may represent a valuable tool in the
identification of potential therapeutic agents against hepatitis C.
This permanent human cell line contains an expression vector which
directs cells to synthesize 5 nonstructural (NS) hepatitis C proteins:
NS3, NS4a, NS4b, NS5a, and NS5b. Two of these proteins provide
enzymatic activities crucial to virus replication (NS3: protease,
helicase; NS5b, RNA polymerase). The cell line will permit the
evaluation of antivirals directed against these enzymes.
Plasmodium Falciparum Gene Linked to Chloroquine Resistance in
Human Malaria
TE Wellems, X-Z Su (NIAID)
Serial No. 60/058,895 filed 15 Sep 97
Licensing Contact: Carol Salata, 301/496-7735 ext. 232
Malaria infects over 200 million people annually worldwide, causing
at least one million deaths yearly. Particularly affected areas of the
world include Africa, Asia, the Indian subcontinent and South America.
Malaria is caused by systemic infections with the parasite Plasmodium
which infects blood and other tissues. Of the four species of
Plasmodium that can infect humans, P. falciparum is the most deadly.
Therapeutic and preventive approaches to control malaria include the
use of drugs, particularly drugs that are chemically related to
quinine, and the attempted development of vaccines that confer
immunological resistance to infection.
Chloroquine, once a first-line drug for control of malaria, now
fails frequently against P. falciparum. This invention relates to
methods and reagents for diagnosis of chloroquine-resistant malarial
infections caused by P. falciparum, and the development of new
antimalarial drugs against these infections. These diagnostics are
based on a unique and heretofore unknown gene and its protein product
linked to chloroquine resistance in P. falciparum malaria. Because of
the worldwide incidence of chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum, there
is a need for diagnostic methods for detecting chloroquine-resistant
malaria, thus allowing such infected individuals to be treated with
alternative drugs. Furthermore, there is a need to design and/or screen
for new antimalarial agent that can take the place of chloroquine. Use
of alternative drugs may prevent further spread of chloroquine-
resistant P. falciparum in infected individuals.
Phage Display of Intact Domains at High Copy Number
AC Steven (NIAMS)
Serial No. 08/837,301 filed 11 Apr 97
Licensing Contact: Carol Salata, 301/496-7735 ext. 232
Filamentous phage-based display systems have found widespread use
in molecular biology, including many immunologic applications such as
antigen presentation and the immuno-isolation of desired recombinants
by ``biopanning''. The present invention relates to a phage display
system in which the molecules to be displayed (i.e., molecules of
interest) are covalently connected to dispensable capsid polypeptides
such as SOC (small outer capsid) and HOC (highly antigenic outer
capsid) polypeptides that are, in turn, bound to a surface lattice
protein, such as those on the surface of a virion or polyhead.
Polyheads are tubular capsid variants containing much longer numbers of
the surface lattice protein. Molecules of interest may be displayed in
various ways. For example, a chimeric polypeptide that includes a
dispensable polypeptide and a polypeptide of interest can be expressed
in Esherichia coli, purified, and then bound in vitro to separately
isolated surface lattice proteins. The surface lattice proteins can be
those on the surface of a capsid or polyhead from which the wild type
dispensable polypeptides have been deleted. Similarly, a chimera that
contains a
[[Page 17190]]
dispensable polypeptide and a synthetic molecule of interest can be
prepared in vitro and bound to surface lattice proteins. In another
embodiment, a positive selection vector forces integration of a gene
that encodes a dispensable polypeptide and a polypeptide of interest
into the genome of a phage from which the wild type dispensable
polypeptide is deleted. For example, a modified soc gene can be
integrated into a soc-deleted T4 genome, leading to in vivo binding of
the display molecule on progeny virions. More than one type of
dispensable polypeptide can be used as part of the chimera for
displaying one or more molecules of interest. For example, the surface
lattice proteins of a phage may be bound to a chimera that contains SOC
and a chimera that contains HOC.
The display system has been successfully demonstrated for three
molecules of interest that vary in their length and character: (1) a
tetrapeptide; (2) the 43 amino acid residue V3 loop domain of gp120,
the human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein;
and (3) poliovirus VP1 capsid protein (312 residues).
Ultrasound-Hall Effect Imaging System and Method
H Wen (NHLBI)
DHHS Reference No. E-067-96/0; PCT/US97/11272 filed 03 Jul 97 Licensing
Contact: John Fahner-Vihtelic, 301/496-7735 ext. 270
The present application provides for a new ultrasound-based imaging
modality that is based on the interaction among a static magnetic field
and conductive moieties in the imaged sample under electrical
excitation. The application also provides a new ultrasound-based
imaging modality that provides a contrast mechanism which reflects the
conductivity distribution of the medium being imaged. The disclosed
methods and system are advantageous over other ultrasonic imaging
systems in the following aspects: it provides a method which is not
limited to contrast based solely on acoustic properties; it dispenses
with acoustic beam excitation, and therefore is suitable for fast 2D
and 3D image formation with wide angle signal reception. A working
prototype system is in testing and the present invention is suitable
for development into commercial computed imaging products for
biomedical imaging and industrial non-destructive testing.
Multideterminant Peptide Antigens That Stimulate Helper T
Lymphocyte Response to HIV in a Range of Human Subjects
JA Berzofsky, JD Ahlers, PL Nara, M Shirai, CD Pendleton (NCI) Serial
No. 08/060,988 filed 14 May 93; PCT/US94/05142 filed 13 May 94
Licensing Contact: Robert Benson, 301/496-7056 ext. 267
A vaccine for the prevention and/or treatment of HIV infection
would ideally elicit a response in a broad range of the population. It
would also have the capability of inducing high titered neutralizing
antibodies, cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and helper T cells specific for
HIV-1 gp 160 envelope protein. A vaccine based on synthetic or
recombinant peptides has been developed which elicits these responses
while avoiding the potential safety risks of live or killed viruses.
Unlike previously developed vaccines this invention avoids those
regions of gp 160 which may contribute to acceleration of infection or
the development of immune deficiency. This invention provides peptides
up to 44 amino acid residues long that stimulate helper T-cell response
to HIV in a range of human subjects. Six multideterminant regions have
been identified in which overlapping peptides are recognized by mice of
either three or all four MHC types. Four of the six regions have
sequences relatively conserved among HIV-I isolates. These
multideterminant cluster peptides are recognized by T cells from humans
of multiple HLA types, and have been found in a phase I clinical trial
to elicit neutralizing antibodies, cytotoxic T cells, and helper T
cells in at least some of the human subjects.
Mucosal Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Responses
J. Berzofsky, I Belyakov, M Derby, B Kelsall, W Strober (NCI)
DHHS Reference No. E-268-97/1 (incorporating USSN 60/058,523) filed 17
Feb 98 (priority to 11 July 97)
Licensing Contact: Robert Benson, 301-496-7056 ext. 267
This invention is the discovery that intrarectal (IR)
administration of a peptide antigen can induce an antigen-specific,
protective CTL response in the mucosal and systemic immune system. The
CTL response is much greater than occurs with intranasal
administration. The CTL response is enhanced by co-administration of a
mucosal adjuvant such as cholera toxin, and is further enhanced by IR
administration of interleukin 12 (IL-12). IR administration of an HIV-1
peptide vaccine protected mice against an IR challenge with a
recombinant vaccinia virus expressing HIV gp160. This invention
provides an approach to the use of peptide vaccines that protect
against mucosal infection, especially for HIV. The invention is further
described in Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 95, pp. 1709-1714, 1998.
Dated: March 31, 1998.
Barbara M. McGarey,
Deputy Director, Office of Technology Transfer.
[FR Doc. 98-9177 Filed 4-7-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M