NIH OFFERS PATENT LICENSES TO IMMUNOTOXINTHERAPEUTIC

By David N. LeffScience Editor

BioWorld Today here continues its occasional listings of governmentagencies seeking industrial licensees to commercialize biotech relatedresearch and development inventions. These patent rights are offeredby the National Institutes of Health, Office of Technology Transfer(OTT). To obtain licensing information, and copies of the U.S. patentissuances or applications listed below, contact the OTT licensingspecialist indicated.

National Institute Of Mental Health

Immunotoxin Aids Transplants

Immunotoxins with T cell suppressant activity, targeted to the pan-Tcell marker CD3, induced immunological tolerance to kidneytransplants in rhesus monkeys. A three-day administration of the anti-CD3 compound transiently depleted the animals' graft-rejection-triggering T cells to one percent of initial values, and prolongedallograft survival beyond 150 days. "No other drug or treatmentregimen has come close to achieving these results," its inventorsclaim.

These immunotoxins also proved effective in moderatingexperimental allergic encephalitis (a model for amyotrophic lateralsclerosis) in primates. The drugs delayed or abolished paralysis,which occurred in non-treated control monkeys four to six days afterinduction. Development of a molecularly engineered anti-CD3immunotoxin is ongoing, with prospective utility in treating T-cell-driven autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis andmultiple sclerosis.

The NIH Office of Technology Transfer is contemplating the grant ofan exclusive worldwide license to these inventions to Sandoz PharmaLtd., of Basel, Switzerland. The proposed rights would be limited totransplant tolerance, leaving open potential uses in cancer therapyand treatment of muscle diseases.

Deadline for licensure applications or comments is Nov. 15, 1996

Patent Application: 60/015/459

Filed: 4/15/96

U. S. Patents: No. 5,167,956 issued 12/1/92

No. 5,208,021 (issued 5/4/93)

Inventors: Neville, David, et. al.

Contact: Raphe Kantor, (301) 496-7735, ext. 247 n

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.