[Federal Register: May 30, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 103)]
[Notices]
[Page 30022-30023]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30my07-102]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
Prospective Grant of Exclusive License: Development of Anti-HIV
Therapeutics, Anti-HIV Topical Microbicides, and Anti-Breast Cancer
Therapeutics
AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 30023]]
SUMMARY: This is notice, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37
CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i), that the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
Department of Health and Human Services, is contemplating the grant of
an exclusive license to practice the invention embodied in:
PCT/US99/13856 filed June 18, 1999, preceded by U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Serial No. 60/089,842 (HHS Ref. E-136-1998/0-US-01),
filed June 19, 1999, entered the national stage filing in June 1999 in
Korea Patent Application No. 10-2000-7014479; in Mexico Patent
Application No. 012525; in Australia Patent Application No. 46972/99;
in Canada Patent Application No. 2335464; in Brazil Patent Application
No. PI9911385-6; in U.S. Patent No. 6,706,729 and filed DIV in U.S.
Patent Application No. 10/738,062 in December 2003; in EPO Patent
Application No. 99930428.0 and validated in Germany, France, United
Kingdom, Italy and Ireland in November 2006, entitled ``Novel
Thioesters and Uses Thereof'', Inventors: Drs. James A. Turpin (NCI),
Yongsheng Song (NCI), John K. Inman (NIAID), Mingjun Huang (NCI),
Anders Wallqvist (NCI), Andrew Maynard (NCI), David G. Covell (NCI),
William G. Rice (NCI), and Ettore Appella (NCI);
PCT/US02/23924 filed July 25, 2002, preceded by U.S. Provisional
Patent Application Serial No. 60/310,133 (E-329-2000/0-US-01), filed
August 3, 2001, entered the national stage filing in February 2004 in
EPO Patent Application No. 02756732.0; in Australia Patent Application
No. 2003322721; in Canada Patent Application No. 2456083 and U.S.
Patent Application No. 10/485,165, entitled ``Acylthiols and Component
Thiol Compositions as Anti-HIV and Anti-Retroviral Agents'', Inventors:
Drs. John K. Inman (NIAID), Atul Goel (NCI), Ettore Appella (NCI), and
Jim A. Turpin (NCI);
to ImQuest Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Hereafter ImQuest), having a place of
business in Frederick, Maryland. The patent rights in these inventions
have been assigned to the United States of America.
DATES: Only written comments and/or application for a license, which
are received by the NIH Office of Technology Transfer on or before July
30, 2007 will be considered.
ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the patent application, inquiries,
comments and other materials relating to the contemplated license
should be directed to: Sally Hu, Ph.D., M.B.A., Office of Technology
Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard,
Suite 325, Rockville, MD 20852-3804; E-mail: hus@od.nih.gov; Telephone:
(301) 435-5606; Facsimile: (301) 402-0220.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The prospective exclusive license will be
royalty bearing and will comply with the terms and conditions of 35
U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7. The prospective exclusive license may be
granted unless, within 60 days from the date of this published Notice,
NIH receives written evidence and argument that establishes that the
grant of the license would not be consistent with the requirements of
35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7.
E-136-1998/0-US-01 describes composition claims for a novel family
of thiolesters and uses thereof. These thiolesters are capable of
inactivating viruses by a variety of mechanisms, particularly by
complexing with metal ion-complexing zinc fingers. The invention
further provides for methods for inactivating a virus, particularly
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), using these compounds, and thereby
also inhibiting transmission of the virus.
E-329-2000/0-US-01 provides a novel family of acylthiols, and
polypeptides, pharmaceutical compositions, devices and other materials
containing them, and uses thereof. More specifically, this invention
provides covalent (irreversible) inhibitors of HIV that selectively
target its highly conserved nucleocapsid protein (NCp7) by dissociating
a metal ion from a zinc finger-containing protein. Because of the
mutationally intolerant nature of NCp7, drug resistance is much less
likely to occur with drugs attacking this target. In addition, these
drugs should inactivate all types and strains of HIV and could also
inactivate other retroviruses since most retroviruses share one or two
highly conserved zinc fingers that have the Cys-Cys-His-Cys motif of
the NCp7. Finally, this invention could be very useful for the large-
scale practical synthesis of HIV inhibitors because these compounds can
be prepared from inexpensive starting materials and facile reactions.
Thus, it opens the possibility that an effective drug treatment for HIV
could reach underdeveloped countries.
The field of use may be limited to the development of anti-HIV
therapeutics, anti-HIV topical microbicides and anti-breast cancer
therapeutics.
Properly filed competing applications for a license filed in
response to this notice will be treated as objections to the
contemplated license. Comments and objections submitted in response to
this notice will not be made available for public inspection, and, to
the extent permitted by law, will not be released under the Freedom of
Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.
Date: May 22, 2007.
Steven M. Ferguson,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E7-10334 Filed 5-29-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P