[Federal Register: September 4, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 172)]
[Notices]               
[Page 47312]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04se98-86]


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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, Public Health Service, DHHS.

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 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.

Animal Model for Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Methods for 
Use Thereof

KG Csaky (NEI)
Serial No. 60/060,045 filed 25 Sept 97
Licensing Contact: Jaconda Wagner, 301/496-7735 ext. 284

    The invention provides an animal model for the study of age-related 
macular degeneration (ARMD). The model is an animal, any mammal, having 
subretinal cells, e.g., retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, 
genetically modified to express vascular endothelial growth factor 
(VEGF) so as to result in subretinal fibrovascular proliferation. The 
invention also provides two methods: (1) for determining whether a 
molecule of interest can inhabit ARMD; and (2) for determining whether 
radiation can inhibit ARMD. This research has been published in Curr 
Eye Res 1998 Mar; 17(3): 316-21.

Protection of Tissue From Ischemic Damage

E Murphy (NIEHS), W Chen (Duke), C Steenbergen (Duck)
DHHS Reference No. E-174-97/0 filed 25 Jul 97
Licensing Contact: Dennis Penn, 301/496-7056 ext. 211

    Ischemia and reperfusion injury are significant causes of tissue 
damage in diseases and conditions such as heart attack, stroke and in 
organ transplantation. Scientists at the National Institute of 
Environmental Health Sciences and Duke University, while investigating 
the phenomena of preconditioning, have discovered and developed a 
highly effective method for protecting tissues from cell injury by 
ischemia by use of 12(S)-HpETE.
    Previously developed treatments to prevent ischemic damage are 
greatly limited in their effectiveness. TPA, routinely used to dissolve 
blood clots, thereby allowing greater blood flow, does not prevent 
ischemic tissue injury. Aspirin has been shown to have only a small 
protective effect in the cardiovascular system. However, the above new 
method demonstrates a dramatic protective effect--up to 82% recovery in 
initial studies--with administered during injury, as seen in animal 
models. The protective effect of 12(S)-HpETE was discovered during 
investigation of the 12-lipoxygenase-related protective effect of 
ischemic preconditioning and, unlike other agents, 12(S)-HpETE has no 
known undesirable side effects.
    Uses of such an invention may include treatment of tissue during 
angioplasty and treatment of organs intended for transplantation to 
limit the chance of damage.
    This research was published in Circulation Research 76: 457-467, 
1995.

    Dated: August 28, 1998.
Jack Spiegel,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer.
[FR Doc. 98-23947 Filed 9-3-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M