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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.

This technology relates to compositions and methods for improving the growth characteristics of cells engineered to produce live viruses such as the Influenza virus. Featured is a method that uses the gene candidate, siat7e, or its expressed or inhibited products in Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells. The gene expression modulates anchorage-dependence of the cell line thereby allowing scale-up on bioreactor platforms without the use of microcarrier beads and reducing production costs.

The invention offered for licensing is in the field of use of vaccines for malaria. The invention provides gene sequences encoding an erythrocyte binding protein of a malaria pathogen for the expression of the erythrocyte binding protein. The codon composition of the synthetic gene sequences approximates the mammalian codon composition. The synthetic gene sequences are useful for incorporation into DNA vaccine vectors, for the incorporation into various expression vectors for production of malaria proteins, or both.

Cryopreservation using liquid nitrogen frozen polyvinyl bags allows for storing cellular materials for extended periods while maintaining their activity and viability. Such bags are commonly used in the clinic to store blood products including blood cells, plasma, hematopoietic stem cells, umbilical cord blood for future uses including transplantation. These materials, typically obtained in limited quantities, may be of great therapeutic value, as is the case of stem cells or cord blood derived cells which can be used to potentially treat a number of diseases.

Investigators at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute have developed modified defensins that are resistant to degradation, have improved characteristics compared to unmodified defensins, and are promising candidates for pulmonary disease therapeutics.

Plasmodium vivax (malaria) is a significant health concern in many parts of Asia, Latin America, North Africa, and the Middle East. There is a lack of continuous culture systems for this pathogen. The subject technology is an erythroid progenitor continuous cell line (termed CD36E) identified by erythroid markers CD36, CD33, CD44, CD71, CD235, and globoside. These CD36E cells are heterozygous for Fya and Fyb (Duffy antigen). Due to recent evidence that Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) can infect erythroid progenitor cells (reference: YX Ru et al.

Parvovirus B19 (B19V) is the only known pathogenic human parvovirus. Infection by this viral pathogen can cause transient aplastic crisis in individuals with high red cell turnover, pure red cell aplasia in immunosuppressed patients, and hydrops fetalis during pregnancy. In children, B19V most commonly causes erythema infectiosum, or fifth's disease. Infection can also cause arthropathy and arthralgia. The virus is very erythrotropic, targeting human erythroid (red blood) progenitors found in the blood, bone marrow, and fetal liver.

The tick-borne encephalitis virus complex of flavivirus family includes tick-borne encephalitis (TBEV), Kyasanur forest disease, Langat, Louping ill, Negishi, Omsk hemorrhagic fever and Povassan viruses. These viruses are endemic throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and except for Langat, cause human disease of varying severity that can have mortality as high as 20 to 30%.

Malaria is the single leading cause of death, especially among children, in the developing world. Malaria is caused by infection with parasites of the genus Plasmodium, transmitted by mosquitos. In addition to transmission, vital steps in the parasite lifecycle occur in the mosquito host. The invention offered for licensing relates to therapeutic compounds and related pharmaceutical compositions that can be used in the prevention and treatment of malaria infection.

The global market for cancer therapeutics is over $40 billion and is anticipated to continue to rise in the future. There remains a significant unmet need for therapeutics for cancers that affect blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes and the immune system, such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma. The proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, which may prevent degradation of pro-apoptotic factors permitting activation of programmed cell death in neoplastic cells dependent upon suppression of pro-apoptotic pathways, has been a successful mode of treatment for such cancers.