[Federal Register: June 21, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 118)]
[Notices]               
[Page 33103-33104]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jn99-79]                         

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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, HHS.

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 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: sr156v@nih.gov. A signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will 
be required to receive copies of the patent applications.

Transgenomic Viruses

WJ Ramsey, RM Blaese, KG Xanthopoulos (NHGRI)
Serial No. 09/058,686 filed April 10, 1998, PCT/US98/07166 filed April 
9, 1998 and 60/043,667 filed April 11, 1997.
Licensing Contact: Susan S. Rucker, 301/496-7056 ext 245

    The technology described and claimed in these applications relates 
to the fields of gene therapy, the production of transgenic non-human 
animals and diagnostic or quality control applications where 
identification of an unknown viral genome is desired. More, 
particularly the technology described and claimed in the application 
relates to chimeric viruses. When used for gene therapy or the 
production of transgenic non-human animals the chimeric viruses are 
capable of producing secondary virus in a producer cell. The secondary 
virus may be any virus other than the primary virus or a Dependovirus. 
When used for diagnostic or quality control applications the chimeric 
virus complements, in trans, the secondary packaging components found 
in the producer cells.
    When employed in the fields of gene therapy and the production of 
transgenic non-human animals the chimeric virus offers the advantages 
of high transduction efficiency, high viral titer, and the ability to 
have a producer cell which is from the same source as the target cell 
allowing for the production of autologous secondary viruses which evade 
the immune response. The chimeric virus is exemplified by an adenovirus 
which contains a retroviral vector containing a heterologous protein/
transgene. Other chimeric viruses are adenovirus-togavirus chimera such 
as adenovirus-Semiliki Forest virus or adenovirus-Sindbis virus.

[[Page 33104]]

    When employed for diagnostic or quality control purposes the 
chimeric primary virus is constructed to encode all of the packaging 
components necessary to rescue and package a viral genome. The chimeric 
primary virus is then used to infect a host cell which is suspected of 
containing an unknown or known virus which contains a packaging signal 
which can be recognized by the primary chimeric virus.
    This research has been published, in part, in Biochem Biophys Res 
Commun 246(3): 912-19 (May 29, 1998) and in Gene Therapy 6(3): 454-459 
(March 1999).

    Dated: June 10, 1999.
Jack Spiegel,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer.
[FR Doc. 99-15639 Filed 6-18-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M