Federal Tech Transfer Opportunities

During the week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Health published notice of 46 and 5 government-owned inventions available for licensing respectively.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by the U.S. Government as represented by the Department of Agriculture, and are available for licensing in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 and 37 CFR 404 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally funded research and development. Foreign patents are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage for U.S. companies and may also be available for licensing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Technical and licensing information on these inventions may be obtained by writing to June Blalock, Technology Licensing Coordinator, USDA, ARS, Office of Technology Transfer, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Room 4-1158, Beltsville, Maryland 20705-5131; telephone: 301-504-5989 or fax: 301-504-5060. Issued patents may be obtained from the Commissioner of Patents, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, DC 20231.

The inventions available for licensing are: 

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NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

SUMMARY: The invention listed below is owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and is 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.

ADDRESSES: Licensing information and a copy of the U.S. patent application referenced below may be obtained by contacting Richard U. Rodriguez, M.B.A., at the Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, Maryland 20852-3804 (telephone 301/496-7056 ext 287; fax 301/402-0220; e-mail rodrigur@od.nih.gov). A signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement is required to receive a copy of any patent application.

GHEP, A Gene Highly Expressed in Normal and Neoplastic Prostate, and Uses Therefor
Inventors: Drs. Ira H. Pastan (NCI), Par Olsson (NCI), Tapan K. Bera (NCI), Magnus Essand (NCI), and Byungkook Lee (NCI).
DHHS Ref. No. E-144-00/0 Filed: October 10, 2000.

Two types of immunotherapy are currently being intensively pursued for the treatment of cancer. One is the development of antibodies that recognize cell surface antigens. These antibodies can be useful by themselves or can be armed with radioisotopes, drugs or toxins to kill cancer cells. The second approach is to develop vaccines that target intracellular proteins presented as peptides on the cell surface bound to the major histocompatability complex. For these therapies to be effective it is important that the antigen is present on tumor cells and is not expressed in substantial amounts on essential normal cells such as liver, heart, brain or kidney. Recent work has focused on the identification of new differentiation antigens that are present in normal prostate and continue to be expressed in prostate cancer.

The claimed invention provides a Gene Highly Expressed in Prostate (``GHEP''). The gene is found in normal and neoplastic prostate, and encodes two short proteins, one 34 amino acids (``ghep34'') in length and one 35 amino acids in length (``ghep35''). Detection of the transcript or of the proteins in tissues other than the prostate is indicative of prostate cancer. The nucleic acids, proteins, and immunogenic fragments thereof can be used to raise an immune response, for example, via a vaccine, to prostate cancer. This approach could involve active in vivo treatments as well as passive ex vivo approaches to slow or inhibit the growth of GHEP-expressing cancers. 

The invention further provides methods of detecting the proteins or the gene transcript in a biological sample. If the biological sample is from a tissue other than the prostate, detection of either of the protein or of the gene transcript is indicative of the presence of prostate cancer in the subject from whom the sample was taken. The invention further provides antibodies that specifically recognize ghep34 and antibodies that specifically recognize ghep35, as well as kits for the detection of one or both of the proteins in a sample. 

The above mentioned invention is available for licensing on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis.

ADDRESSES: Licensing information and copies of the U.S. patent applications listed below may be obtained by contacting Susan S. Rucker, J.D., at the Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, Maryland 20852-3804; telephone 301/496-7056 ext. 245; fax 301/402-0220; e-mail ruckers@od.nih.gov. A signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be required to receive copies of the patent applications. 

Hybrid Adeno-Retroviral Vector for the Transformation of Cells 
C Zheng, B O'Connell, BJ Baum (NIDCR)
Serial No. 60/265,198 filed Jan 30, 2001

This invention described and claimed in this patent application provides for novel hybrid vectors which may be used for cell transformation either in vivo, in vitro, or ex vivo. The hybrid vectors, which are capable of integrating into the chromosome of the host cell and are capable of transforming dividing or non-dividing cells, have an adenoviral backbone and only a single retroviral long terminal repeat (LTR). Due to their hybrid nature, these vectors provide a means of efficient, reliable, long-term gene expression. Furthermore, unlike other chimeric or hybrid vector systems only a single vector is required to deliver a transgene of interest and retroviral structural proteins are not required. The vectors may be packaged and delivered via a viral particle or directly to the target cell.

ARG, a Human Gene Related to but Distinct From ABL Proto-Oncogene 
GD Kruh, SA Aaronson (NCI)
Serial No. 07/559,029 filed Jul 30, 1990 now US Patent 5,693,778 issued Dec 02, 1997

This patent relates to the identification, isolation and cloning of the gene ARG (abelson related gene) also known as ABL2. ARG/ABL2 is located on the long arm of chromosome 1 at 1q24-q25. It is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase. Recent work, by Iijima, et al. Blood 95(6): 2126-2131 (March 15, 2000) and Cazzaniga, et al Blood 94(12):4370-4373 (December 15, 1999), has demonstrated that ABL2/ARG is a partner with the ETV6/TEL gene. ETV6/TEL, located on the short arm of chromosome 12 at 12p13 has previously been implicated in hematological disease, particularly leukemias, through chromosomal translocations. The fusion protein derived from this partnership between ETV6/TEL and ARG/ABL2 includes exons 1-5 of ETV6 (5' PNT region) and the 3' portion of ARG/ABL2 beginning with exon 1B or 2 which contains all of the functional domains of ARG/ABL2. This new work suggests that ARG plays a role in AML and possibly other leukemias.

This work has been published at Kruh GD, et al. Science 234(4783):1545-8 (Dec 19, 1986) and Kruh GD, et al. PNAS, USA 87:5802 (Aug 1990).

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.

Novel Attenuated Strains of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
CE Barry, Y Yuan, D Crane (NIAID)
DHHS Reference No. E-238-97/2 filed Jun 27, 2000
Licensing Contact: Carol Salata; 301/496-7735 ext. 232; e-mail: salatac@od.nih.gov

This invention provides for novel attenuated strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. bovis. Attenuation is achieved by deleting the gene encoding the alpha-crystallin heat shock protein (``acr gene''). This gene contributes to the virulence of the organism. Since this strain is isogenic with virulent M. tuberculosis but for this deletion, the full complement of antigens remains present and the organism is viable in vitro. The invention provides for vaccines and methods of vaccinating mammals for protection against Mycobacterium sp. that cause tuberculosis. This invention was filed as PCT/US98/14227 on Jul 09, 1998.

Methods and Compositions for Transforming Dendritic Cells and Activating T Cells
Patrick Hwu, Mark E. Reeves, Steven A. Rosenberg (NCI)
DHHS Reference Nos. E-040-96/0 filed Feb. 08, 1996, E-040-96/1 filed Feb. 07, 1997
(PCT/US97/02063); E-040-96/2 filed Jan. 07, 1999
Licensing Contact: Elaine White; 301/496-7056 ext. 282; e-mail: gesee@od.nih.gov

This invention describes a novel method for making transformed dendritic cells, which are potent antigen presenting cells capable of stimulating the immune system. Hematopoietic stem cells are transformed with a specific nucleic acid; the transformed cell is then differentiated into a dendritic cell in vitro. The nucleic acid produces a polypeptide, fragments of which are expressed on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) receptors on the surface of the dendritic cell. These cells may then be used to activate T cells against specific target antigens. Use of specific antigens for transduction into the dendritic cells is described. The invention therefore may represent a valuable tool for use in the treatment of a number of diseases, including various cancers and viral infections such as HIV.

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