Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 14 / Monday, January 25, 2021 / Notices 6891 

6Prepared Remarks of Commissioner Rohit 

Chopra at Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities 54th 

APPA Forum (Dec. 7, 2020), https://www.ftc.gov/ 

public-statements/2020/12/prepared-remarkscommissioner-rohit-chopra-asia-pacific-privacy. 

false accuracy claims and engage in 

unfair, discriminatory conduct.6

[FR Doc. 2021–01430 Filed 1–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6750–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute of Dental & 

Craniofacial Research; Notice of 

Closed Meeting 

Pursuant to section 10(d) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, notice is hereby given of the 

following meeting. 

The meeting will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: NIDCR Special Grants 

Review Committee. 

Date: February 18–19, 2021. 

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Place: National Institute of Dental and 

Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 

666, Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual Meeting). 

Contact Person: Latarsha J. Carithers, 

Scientific Review Officer, Scientific Review 

Branch, National Institute of Dental and 

Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of 

Health, 6701 Democracy Boulevard, Room 

666, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301–594–4859, 

latarsha.carithers@nih.gov. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.121, Oral Diseases and 

Disorders Research, National Institutes of 

Health, HHS) 

Dated: January 19, 2021. 

Melanie J. Pantoja, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01486 Filed 1–22–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

Government-Owned Inventions; 

Availability for Licensing 

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The invention listed below is 

owned by an agency of the U.S. 

Government and is available for 

licensing 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carol A. Salata at 240–627–3727; 

csalata@niaid.nih.gov. Licensing 

information and copies of the U.S. 

patent application listed below may be 

obtained by communicating with the 

indicated licensing contact at the 

Technology Transfer and Intellectual 

Property Office, National Institute of 

Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 5601 

Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852; tel. 

301–496–2644. A signed Confidential 

Disclosure Agreement will be required 

to receive copies of unpublished patent 

applications. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Technology description follows: 

Prefusion-Stabilized Fusion (F) 

Glycoprotein Vaccine Immunogens for 

Human Metapneumovirus 

Description of Technology: 

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) 

infections have been shown as a 

common cause of upper and lower 

respiratory diseases such as 

bronchiolitis and pneumonia in young 

children, the elderly, and other 

immunocompromised individuals. 

Studies show that infections by the nonsegmented negative strand RNA virus 

begin with attachment and entry of viral 

glycoproteins that mediate fusion with 

host cellular membranes. Like for the 

human respiratory syncytial virus 

(hRSV), a viral entry is initiated by the 

fusion (F) protein. Given its role in 

hMPV entry, the F protein has thus been 

a target for eliciting neutralizing 

antibodies and development of novel 

protein-based therapeutic vaccines. 

Researchers at the Vaccine Research 

Center (VRC) of the National Institute of 

Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) 

developed improved recombinant 

human metapneumovirus (hMPV) F 

proteins stabilized in the prefusion 

conformation that can elicit potent 

neutralizing antibodies against 

infection. Double and triple stabilized 

candidates were designed with interand intraprotomer disulfide mutations 

that increase protein production and 

show improved antigenic recognition by 

prefusion-specific antibodies. These 

second-generation immunogens 

constitute an improvement over the first 

generation constructs and are 

characterized by additional stabilization 

that results in optimal neutralization 

responses. 

The second-generation stabilized 

prefusion hMPV F immunogens may be 

an ideal vaccine immunogen to elicit 

broad potent neutralizing antibodies 

against metapneumovirus infection, 

particularly in children and 

immunocompromised adults. 

This technology is available for 

licensing for commercial development 

in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 

CFR part 404. 

Potential Commercial Applications: 

• A promising vaccine immunogen to 

elicit broad potent neutralizing 

antibodies against metapneumovirus 

infection, particularly in children and 

immunocompromised adults. 

Competitive Advantages: 

• There are no approved vaccines or 

therapeutics against the second leading 

cause of pediatric viral lower respiratory 

tract infection in infants and young 

children. 

• Second-generation hMPV F 

immunogens induce higher titer 

neutralizing responses than firstgeneration versions in mice. 

Development Stage: Preclinical 

Research. 

Inventors: Peter D. Kwong (NIAID); 

Guillaume Stewart-Jones (NIAID); John 

R. Mascola (NIAID); Ursula J. Buchholz 

(NIAID); Peter L. Collins (NIAID); Jason 

Gorman (NIAID); Li Ou,(NIAID); 

Tongquing Zhou (NIAID); Baoshan 

Zhang (NIAID); Wing-Pui Kong (NIAID); 

Yaroslav Tsybovsky (NCI). 

Publications: Liu, P., et al (2013). A 

live attenuated human 

metapneumovirus vaccine strain 

provides complete protection against 

homologous viral infection and crossprotection against heterologous viral 

infection in BALB/c mice. Clinical and 

Vaccine Immunology, 20(8), 1246–1254. 

Battles, M.B., et al, (2017). Structure 

and immunogenicity of pre-fusionstabilized human metapneumovirus F 

glycoprotein. Nature communications, 

8(1), 1–11. 

Intellectual Property: HHS Reference 

Number E–131–2019 includes U.S. 

Provisional Patent Application Number 

63/017,581, filed on 04/29/2020. 


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