[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 186 (Friday, September 25, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51360-51361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25709]
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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.
Water Soluble Drugs and Methods of Preparing Same
DK Ho et al. (SAIC/NCI)
Serial No. 60/093,284 filed 17 Jul 98
Licensing Contact: Girish Barua, 301/496-7056, ext. 263
Many potential drugs of cancer chemotherapy intended for parenteral
administration have been abandoned because the active ingredient is
slightly soluble or water-insoluble. Various methods have been
developed to allow these drugs to be dissolved in water; however, these
methods can be complex and have negative impacts resulting from the use
of cosolvents and complexing agents. The present invention addresses
these problems by providing a method of producing water-soluble
analogues of water-insoluble drugs through derivatization and
conjugation with a polar moiety via a thiol ether bond with a
[[Page 51361]]
heterobifunctional linking molecule. In particular this invention
provides a water-soluble analogue of the antitumor drug, geldanamycin.
The analogue is expected to exhibit superior solubility under
physiological conditions due to the unique configuration and thus
permits the use of water-insoluble parent compounds.
Human and Rat gb2 GABAGB Receptors
J Clark, T Bonner (NIMH)
Serial No. 60/087,274 filed 29 May 98
Licensing Contact: Charles Maynard, 301/496-7735, ext. 243
Disruption of GABAergic neurotransmission has been implicated in a
number of neurological and psychiatric disorders. GABAergic
neurotransmission is mediated by two very different types of GABA
receptors, the ligand-gated ion channels or GABAA receptors,
and the seven transmembrane domain G protein-coupled GABAB
receptors. GABAB receptors have been shown to modulate
adenylyl cyclase and phosphoinositide hydrolysis, inhibit voltage-
sensitive calcium currents, and stimulate potassium currents and
phospholipase A2. New GABAB receptor cDNAs,
designated hgb2 and rgb2 GABAB, have been isolated from both
rat and human. The rat and human gb2 receptors share 95%
amino acid identity with each other and 27% identity with the gb1.
Therapeutic Blockage of ICER Synthesis To Prevent ICER-Mediated
Inhibition of Immune Cell Activity
PA Cohen, J Bodor, D Weng, GK Koski, BJ Czerniecki (NCI)
Serial No. 60/076,293 filed 27 Feb 98 Licensing
Contact: Girish Barua, 301/496-7056 ext. 263
This invention relates to the use of antisense to the ICER
(Inducible cAMP Early Repressor) to protect cells of the immune system
against ICER suppression by tumors and infectious pathogens.
Normal functioning of the host's immune cells encompasses the
recognition and destruction of cancer cells and infectious pathogens.
Such immunologic activities are critically dependent upon local
antigen-presenting cell (APC) function and T cell restimulation. It is
apparent, however, that tumors and infectious pathogens can escape
recognition and rejection through local inhibition of APC and
lymphocyte function, through diverse mechanisms including prostaglandin
secretion. It has recently been discovered that sustained inhibition of
APC and lymphocyte function is inducible with cAMP activating stimuli
in tandem with other coordinate stimuli, resulting in sustained
intracellular expression of the inhibitory nuclear regulatory molecule
ICER (Inducible cAMP Early Repressor).
The present invention potentially prevents inhibitory effects of
tumors and infectious pathogens on APC and lymphocyte function by
utilizing ICER antisense to block ICER synthesis in cells of the immune
system. The goal of such treatment is to prevent ICER synthesis in
lymphocytes and APC responding to inhibitory stimuli secreted or
induced by tumors and infectious pathogens, thereby rendering the
immune system less vulnerable to ICER-mediated immunosuppression.
Signal Transduction Inhibitors of Allergic Reactions
B Vonakis, H Metzger, H Chen (NIAMS)
Serial No. 09/020,116 filed 06 Feb 98
Licensing Contact: Kai Chen, 301/496-7735 ext. 247
Allergic reactions affect nearly 40 million persons in the United
States. Allergic reactions are due to a sequential interaction
beginning with the extracellular aggregation of the high affinity
receptor for IgE (FcRI) followed by intracellular tyrosine
phosphorylation which initiates a further cascade of events eventually
leading to histamine and cytokine release. The reaction is initiated by
Lyn kinase which is pre-associated with the FcRI. It was shown
that the introduction of a unique portion of the N-terminal region of
Lyn A kinase into cells inhibits the receptor tyrosine phosphorylation
in a dose and time-dependent manner. Without receptor phosphorylation,
allergic reactions can not occur. The NIH is looking for a company to
license and independently develop the technology or to work in
collaboration with the NIH scientists via a Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement to further research and develop the allergy
treatment. It is believed that this technology may ultimately lead to
an anti-allergy drug or allergy therapy.
Method and System for Identifying Acid-Fast Structures in Slide-
Mounted Biological Specimens
AE Lash, LA Liotta (NCI)
Serial No. 60/066,234 filed 20 Nov 97
Licensing Contact: John Fahner-Vihtelic, 301/496-7735 ext. 270
The present application describes a system and method for screening
subjects who are suspected of having a mycobacterial infection. After
obtaining a specimen of interest, a digitized photomicrographic image
of a magnified field of the specimen is color filtered to remove pixels
in the red to magenta range. The pixels are grouped and analyzed to
determine if they form any structures having an elongated shape
associated with mycobacteria. Upon identification of target organisms,
an alarm sounds and the section of interest is displayed by the system.
Problems associated with locating mycobacteria on a slide and
determining their morphological appearance, once found, are virtually
eliminated with this invention.
Resonant Structure for Spatial and Spectral-Spatial Imaging of Free
Radical Spin Probes Using Radiofrequency Time Domain Electron
Paramagnetic Resonance Spectrometry
N Devasahayam et al. (NCI)
Serial No. 60/047,786 filed 27 May 97; PCT/US98/10467 filed 21 May 98
Licensing Contact: John Fahner-Vihtelic, 301/496-7735 ext. 270
The present application represents a significant improvement in
resonators for use in electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) imaging
systems. This apparatus is designed to detect time domain EPR responses
from spin probes after pulsed excitation using radiofrequency
irradiation in the range of 60-400MHz. The invention is configured into
an array of numerous surface coils of appropriate diameters connected
in a parallel fashion with suitable spacing between individual surface
coils to form a volume type resonator. This technology provides
necessary capabilities and improvements in EPR systems and overcomes
obstacles associated with implementation of EPR spectroscopy diagnostic
imaging.
Dated: September 18, 1998.
Jack Spiegel,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Officer of
Technology Transfer.
[FR Doc. 98-25709 Filed 9-24-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M
