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Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have developed mouse monoclonal antibodies against the human spindle assembly checkpoint protein, MAD1. The spindle assembly checkpoint in mitotic cell division regulates the fidelity of chromosome segregation during cell division. MAD1 is an important component of this checkpoint control, which if compromised, can lead to the initiation of cancer cell growth. These monoclonal antibodies are the first available antibodies against MAD1 and can be used in laboratory research and diagnostics.

The technology offered for licensing is in the field of Therapeutics. More specifically, the technology relates to biological ligands and their use as modulators of the production of Interferon gamma as a means to treat a broad spectrum of diseases. The invention describes and claims antibodies and other ligands that can stimulate Natural Killer (NK) immune cells to produce Interferon gamma which contributes to the combat against foreign pathogens.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is the prototype virus of the Japanese encephalitis (JE) group belonging to the Flavivirus genus of the Flaviviridae family. Other members of the group include Kunjin virus, St. Louis encephalitis virus, and West Nile encephalitis virus (WNV). JEV is widely distributed in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Asian Pacific Rim. In recent years, JE epidemics have spread to previously unaffected areas, such as northern Australia, Pakistan, India and Indonesia.

The invention hereby offered for licensing is in the field of Immunotherapy and more specifically in therapy of autoimmune diseases such as Type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosis and immune mediated allergies such as asthma as well as in transplantation-related disorders, such as graft acceptance and graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD).

Multiple conditions from any source, but designed for experiments involving microarrays, will produce (significant gene lists for arrays) lists from each condition, thus multiple lists. This Java® based software provides investigators with a method of displaying multiple conditions in a single graphic along with producing a text output of genes that are the product of these conditional intersections along with each conditions unique list.

HCV has infected an estimated 3% of the world population in whom viral infection persists for more than two third of the cases, often resulting in life-threatening complications. The standard of care (pegylated interferon alpha-2 plus ribavirin) is efficient in only 50% of treated patients, costly and has numerous side effects. In addition, viral resistance to newly developed drugs -- targeting viral protease or RNA polymerase -- has been described, but no vaccine is yet available.

This invention includes methods for treating or ameliorating fibrosis by inhibiting the interaction between IL-21 Receptor (IL-21R) and IL-21 using either anti-IL-21R monoclonal antibodies (or binding fragments of anti-IL-21R mAbs), anti-IL-21 monoclonal antibodies (or binding fragments of anti-IL-21 mAbs) or soluble IL-21R (or binding fragments of IL-21R). It is believed that the TH2 immune response, induced by IL-21, plays a major role in the in the pathogenesis of tissue fibrosis.

The technology offered for licensing is foundational in the area of recombinant DNA vaccines. In the last several years, facilitated through a licensing program of the NIH, the technology has been broadly applied in the development and commercialization of several novel human and veterinary vaccines in the areas of infectious disease as well as cancer therapeutics. The NIH wishes to expand its licensing program of the subject technology in a variety of applications that will benefit public health.

The tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) complex is a group of viruses that can cause severe neutrotropic disease and up to thirty percent (30%) mortality. While these viruses can be found in many parts of the world, the largest impact of the disease occurs in Europe and Russia, where approximately fourteen thousand (14,000) hospitalized TBEV cases occur annually. TBEV is in the family Flaviviridae, genus flavivirus and is composed of a positive-sense single stranded RNA genome that contains 5' and 3' non-coding regions and a single open reading frame encoding ten (10) proteins.

Offered for licensing is a recombinant attenuated vaccinia virus, MVA, that expresses the haemagglutinin (HA) and nucleoprotein (NP) of influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1). The virus has been shown to stimulate protective immunity to influenza virus in mice.

The materials can be used for research purposes and in particular in the area of influenza virus vaccines.

The related publications listed below demonstrate the usefulness of this biological material in influenza virus vaccine research.