Notice: Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

Federal Register: December 8, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 234)            
                  Page 64700-64701

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by an agency 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.

Human Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) Cell Lines Derived From Surgically 
Removed Tumors

    Description of Technology: Scientists at the National Institutes of 
Health (NIH) have developed three cell lines obtained from renal cell 
carcinoma (RCC) patients. The cell lines, designated 1581 RCC, 1764 
RCC, and 2194 RCC, were derived from human tumor samples surgically 
resected from patients in the inventors' clinic. Each cell line is 
human leukocyte antigen-A2 (HLA-A2) negative and expresses a variety of 
known tumor antigens. The 1764 RCC cell line is known to express the 
HLA-A3 antigen and high levels of nonmutated fibroblast growth factor 5 
(FGF-5). These cell lines can be widely used in molecular biology for 
various assays and to screen for potential therapeutics with activity 
against RCC. The RCC cell lines can also serve as negative control 
samples for HLA-A2 expression.
    Applications:
     Research tools for examining the common and diverse 
biological and pathological features of RCC from different patients in 
vitro.
     Research tools for testing the activity of potential anti-
cancer drugs against RCC.
     Source for mRNA and protein antigens expressed in kidney 
cancer.
     Negative control cell lines for HLA-A2 expression in 
molecular biology.
     Possible starting material for developing a cancer vaccine 
against RCC.
    Advantages:
     Cell lines are derived directly from RCC patient samples: 
These cell lines are anticipated to retain many features of primary RCC 
samples. Studies performed using these cell lines may have a direct 
correlation to the initiation, progression, treatment, and prevention 
of RCC in humans.

[[Page 64701]]

     Do not express the HLA-A2 allele: A majority of the cancer 
vaccines and immunotherapies developed to date have focused on 
utilizing HLA-A2 restricted tumor epitopes since this HLA allele is 
largely expressed in the human population. However, therapies 
restricted to HLA-A2 recognition will not be successful in RCC patients 
that do not express this allele. For these RCC patients, additional 
therapies are needed that are directed against epitopes presented by 
different HLA alleles.
    Inventors: Ken-ichi Hanada, Qiong J. Wang, James C. Yang (NCI).
    Related Publication: K Hanada et al. Identification of fibroblast 
growth factor-5 as an overexpressed antigen in multiple human 
adenocarcinomas. Cancer Res. 2001 Jul 15;61(14):5511-5516.
    Patent Status: HHS Reference No. E-005-2010/0--Research Tool. 
Patent protection is not being pursued for this technology.
    Licensing Status: Available for licensing under a Biological 
Materials License Agreement.
    Licensing Contact: Samuel E. Bish, Ph.D.; 301-435-5282; 
bishse@mail.nih.gov.

Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Angiogenesis

    Description of Technology: Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood 
vessels from existing vessels, is a normal and vital process in growth 
and development. Deregulation of angiogenesis plays a role in many 
human diseases, including cancer, age-related macular degeneration, 
diabetic retinopathy, and endometriosis.
    NCI investigators have used a cell-based high-throughput screening 
method to identify a set of anti-angiogenic small molecules. These 
compounds are highly active, inhibiting both endothelial cell growth 
and tube formation, and are not cytotoxic. Structure-activity 
relationship analysis has revealed that these compounds are unrelated 
to known anti-angiogenic compounds, and hence may operate through a 
novel mechanism of action. Thus, these compounds would be promising 
candidates for the development of new anti-angiogenesis therapeutics.
    Applications: Development of new anti-angiogenesis therapeutics.
    Advantages: These compounds are structurally unrelated to other 
known anti-angiogenesis compounds, and exhibit high activity without 
cytotoxicity.
    Development Status: In vivo studies using xenograft models are 
underway.
    Inventors: Enrique Zudaire Ubani et al. (NCI).
    Publication: In preparation.
    Patent Status: HHS Reference No. E-263-2009/0--U.S. Provisional 
Application No. 61/230,667 filed 31 Jul 2009.
    Related Technology: HHS Reference No. E-281-2007/0--Multicolored 
Fluorescent Cell Lines for High-Throughput Angiogenesis and 
Cytotoxicity Screening.
    Licensing Status: Available for licensing.
    Licensing Contact: Tara Kirby, Ph.D.; 301-435-4426; 
tarak@mail.nih.gov.
    Collaborative Research Opportunity: The National Cancer Institute 
Angiogenesis Core Facility is seeking statements of capability or 
interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further 
develop, evaluate, or commercialize a new set of non-cytotoxic 
antiangiogenic small molecules. Please contact John D. Hewes, Ph.D. at 
301-435-3121 or hewesj@mail.nih.gov for more information.

Identification of Colorectal Cancer Biomarkers by Serum Protein 
Profiling

    Description of Technology: This invention describes serum features 
that distinguish colorectal carcinoma malignant patient samples versus 
healthy samples using surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization 
time-of-flight (SELDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. By comparing healthy 
versus malignant samples, the investigators were able to identify 
thirteen (13) serum features that have been validated using an 
independently collected, blinded validation set of 55 sera samples. The 
features are characterized by the mass to charge ratio (m/z ratio). The 
investigators have shown that SELDI-TOF based serum marker protein 
profiling enables minimally invasive detection of colon cancer with 
96.7 percent sensitivity and 100 percent specificity.
    Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the third 
leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the United States. Current 
diagnostic methods for colorectal cancer have a large non-compliance 
rate because of discomfort, e.g., sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy, or have 
a high rate of false positive results, e.g., fecal occult blood tests. 
The claimed invention has the potential to be a widely used, easy-to-
use, and inexpensive diagnostic.
    Inventors: Thomas Ried and Jens Habermann (NCI).
    Patent Status: U.S. Patent Application No. 11/886,886 filed 21 Sep 
2007 (HHS Reference No. E-106-2005/0-US-03).
    Licensing Status: Available for licensing.
    Licensing Contact: Surekha Vathyam, Ph.D.; 301-435-4076; 
vathyams@mail.nih.gov.

    Dated: December 2, 2009.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E9-29250 Filed 12-7-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140-01-P