The emergence of bioinformatics tools, which integrate molecular biology and genomics with computer based information technology, is bringing about a revolution in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying normal and dysfunctional biological processes. The microarray is one such tool that caused a paradigm shift in the manner in which researchers collect and analyze genetic data.
In the Mid-Atlantic Region, Maryland is in an enviable position with regard to biotechnology-related resources that encourage and support entrepreneurial efforts. Academic institutions, a federal laboratory, a committed county department of economic development, and a unique small business have developed an effective consortium to leverage these resources. The potential for human capital to support this entrepreneurial growth is further augmented by the number of graduate and post-doctoral programs available in the region.
As Director of the Division of Technology Development and Transfer (DTDT) in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), Richard Rodriguez has provided a high degree of leadership and vision instrumental to enhancing the transfer of innovative technologies developed by NIH and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists to industrial partners. His efforts have enabled new biomedical products to reach the consumer, as well as unique biological materials to be made available for use as research tools by the private sector.
Currently, there are no FDA-approved therapies for Niemann-Pick disease type-C1 (NPC). NPC is a rare lethal genetic lysosomal storage disorder that results in an accumulation of cholesterol in the liver and spleen and eventually leads to neurodegeneration. 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) is a cyclodextrin typically used by the pharmaceutical industry as an excipient. Studies of NPC in animal models have shown that HPβCD can reduce the biochemical burden associated with NPC, improving neurological pathology, decreasing neurological dysfunction, and increasing lifespan.
High sound levels in work settings can have negative effects on worker concentration and productivity. Even offices separated by walls and doors transmit sound between them. As office buildings optimize space, the allotment for each person, office, or work area often decreases. With more office workers in a given area, localized noise levels are increasing beyond optimal levels for worker productivity.
The 2012 Deals of Distinction™ Award was presented to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) along with the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), who jointly own one patent family, and to Gilead Sciences (Gilead) for license agreements granted to the Medicines Patent Pool, a newly established initiative of UNITAID, an international organization established to grant licenses for the generic manufacture and purchase of drugs against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.
High sound levels in work settings can have negative effects on worker concentration and productivity. Even offices separated by walls and doors transmit sound between them. As office buildings optimize space, the allotment for each person, office, or work area often decreases. With more office workers in a given area, localized noise levels are increasing beyond optimal levels for worker productivity.
According to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis (TB) causes approximately 1.5 million deaths worldwide each year. More than one-third of the world’s population has tested positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium that causes TB, but are not yet ill (latent infection). Of these, approximately ten percent are expected to progress to active TB infection. Treatment is lengthy, and the drugs often come with serious side effects. This has led to poor treatment compliance and allowed the rise of drug-resistant TB strains.
On July 20, 2012, a committee of the European Medicines Agency recommended for regulatory approval the first gene therapy using an adeno-associated virus vector to treat lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), a very rare genetic disease. With a normal diet, patients lacking sufficient levels of lipoprotein lipase have abnormally high serum triglycerides and high levels of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), resulting in acute severe pancreatitis and chronic conditions associated with high levels of VLDL, such as cardiovascular diseases.
Meningococcal meningitis, a bacterial infection of the brain that sweeps across sub-Saharan Africa in an area called the “meningitis belt,” is now losing its power to inflict illness and death. Scientists and technology transfer officers from the U.S.