BioWorld Today here continues its occasional listings of governmentagencies seeking industrial licensees to commercialize their biotech-related research and development inventions. The following 8 offerswere submitted this week by the National Institutes of Health, Officeof Technology Transfer (OTT), for publication in the FederalRegister.
To obtain licensing information, and copies of the pending U.S.patent applications listed below, contact OTT licensing specialistsindicated.
National Cancer Institute
Therapy for Autoimmune Disease
Suppression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class Imolecule expression, in order to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis,juvenile diabetes, etc. Invention provides for developingpharmaceutical compounds that prevent MHC expression, based onmethimazole, thioureas and their derivatives. These agents alsoinhibit organ graft rejection in humans.
Application: 08/480,525
Filed: 6/7/95
Inventors: D. S. Singer, et al.
Contact: Carol Lavrich, (301) 496-7735, ext. 287
Shielding Tissues, Organs From Oxygen Toxicity
Antioxidant mimetic compounds act inside the cell to protect againstdamage by ionizing radiation, reperfusion injury, adult respiratorydistress syndrome, inflammation, carcinogenesis, aging. Additionally,their long-term administration to animals induced weight reductionwithout harmful side effects.
Application: 08/473,960
Filed: 6/7/94
Inventors: J. B. Mitchell, et al.
Contact: Carol Lavrich, (301) 496-7735, ext. 287
Heparin-Blocking Peptides For Cancer Therapy
Proteolysis-resistant peptide analogs modulate tumor growth andangiogenesis by inhibiting heparin. They are basic fibroblast growthfactor antagonists, and activate transforming growth factor-b.Derived from the adhesive protein thrombospondin, they havebinding constants 10 to 100 times those of current inhibitors; aresuitable for pharmaceutical preparations.
U. S. Patent No. 5,357,041, issued 10/18/94
Application: 08/287,718.
Filed: 3/21/94
Inventor: D.D. Roberts, et al.
Contact: Carol Lavrich, (301) 496-7735, ext. 287
Internal Standard For Amino Acid Sequencing
A parathyroid-hormone-derived peptide containing two or moreunnatural amino acid residues, e.g., ornithine, norvaline, norleucine,can be sequenced simultaneously with unknown peptide or protein.Method determines repetitive yields, lags, N-terminal blockage,discrimination between blank cycles.
Application: 08/215,085
Filed: 2/6/95
Inventors: D. C. Parmelee, et al.
Contact: J. Peter Kim, (301) 496-7056, ext. 264
Butterfly-Wing Pigments As DNA Probes
Highly fluorescent DNA analogs resemble purine nucleotides, can besite-specifically incorporated into oligonucleotides for conventionalDNA synthesis. One such pteridine analog, resembling guanosine,has been developed for real-time assay of HIV integrase. Other usesinclude fluorescently labeling DNA probes and PCR primers,studying DNA-protein interactions.
Application: 08/451,641
Filed: 5/26/95
Inventors: M. E. Hawkins, et al.
Contact: Robert Benson, (301) 496-7056, ext. 287
National Institute of Arthritis & Infectious Diseases
Rotavirus Vaccine Against Diarrhea
Rotaviruses are main cause of severe diarrhea worldwide. Inventiondescribes generation of a cold-adapted virus, non-replicating atnormal human body temperature, so may stimulate immune responsewithout illness. Given to 26 adults in a limited clinical trial, it provedsafe, attenuated, able to induce a virus-specific immune response.
Application: 08/500,564
Filed: 7/11/95 (PCT priority date)
Inventors: Y. Hoshino, et al.
Contact: Robert Benson, (301) 496-7056, ext. 287
Live Influenza A Virus Vaccine Candidates
Temperature-sensitive attenuating mutations inserted by site-directedmutagenesis into cDNA copy of a viral gene. Resulting construct"can be transferred to each new variant of Influenza A virus as itappears in nature."
Application: 08/481,631
Filed: 6/7/95
Inventors: B. Murphy, et al.
Contact: Robert Benson, (301) 496-7056, ext. 287
National Institute of Neurological Diseases & Stroke
Diagnosing Alzheimer's in Living Patient
At present, Alzheimer's disease can be diagnosed with certainty onlyin post mortem brain tissue. Invention provides reliable, method ofdiagnosing Alzheimer's in vivo by measuring any two of fourlaboratory values: (1) a specific potassium channel; (2) effect ofpotassium channel blockers on intracellular calcium levels; (3)response to an intracellular calcium activator; (4) amount of Gprotein, cp20.
Application: DHHS Ref. No. E-092-93/2
Filed: 9/26/95
Inventor: D. L. Alkon
Contact: Stephen Finley, (301) 496-7735, ext. 215
_ Compiled by David N. Leff
(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.