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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 221 (Friday, November 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90300-90301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26661]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health

Government Owned Inventions Available for Licensing or 
Collaboration: Improved Methods for Cryopreservation of Cells, Tissues, 
and Organs

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Eye Institute (NEI), an institute of the National 
Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS), is giving notice of licensing and/or collaboration opportunities 
for the inventions listed below, which are owned by an agency of the 
U.S. Government and are available for licensing and/or collaboration to 
achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally-funded 
research and development.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Inquiries related to these licensing 
and/or collaboration opportunities should be directed to: Hiba 
Alsaffar, Ph.D., Technology Transfer Manager, NCI, Technology Transfer 
Center, Email: [email protected] or Phone: 240-276-7489.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Researchers at the NEI seek licensing and/or 
co-development research collaborations for improved methods of 
cryopreservation of cells, tissues, and organs via FOXO1 activation. 
The cornea is a critical part of the eye that helps prevent debris from 
entering and refracts light for proper vision. Corneal disorders such 
as keratoconus, Fuchs dystrophy, and infectious keratitis require 
corneal transplantation to restore vision. Approximately 185,000 
corneal transplants are performed annually worldwide to treat corneal 
disorders. Corneas for those transplants are supplied by donor eyes 
that are stored at eye banks in select countries. Currently, Optisol-
GSTM is the corneal preservation solution that is most 
widely used to store donated corneas at eye banks. Per NEI guidelines, 
corneas preserved in Optisol-GSTM have a 12-day shelf life. 
With the high demand for corneal transplantations worldwide, a 12-day 
shelf life cannot meet the requirement for long term cryogenic storage 
of corneas at large eye banks. Scientists at the NEI have developed 
improved methods for cryopreservation of cells, tissues, and organs 
(with focus of corneal tissue/cells) that increases

[[Page 90301]]

cold storage shelf life 2.5 times longer than current market products.
    This Notice is in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR part 
404.
    NIH Reference Number: E-013-2021.
    Related Technologies: E-073-2018.
    Product Type: Medical/Research Tool.
    Therapeutic Area(s): Eye, Ear, Nose or Throat.
    Potential Commercial Applications:
     Corneal biobanks.
     Transplantation to remedy a wide range of corneal 
disorders.
     Improved method of cryopreserving corneal cells and other 
cell types.
    Competitive Advantages:
     Superior corneal shelf life: 16-day compared to 12-day 
maximum shelf-life of current market products.
     Better meets requirement for larger eye bank 
cryopreservation.
     95% endothelial cell survival after 4 weeks in cold 
storage.
    Patent Status: National Stage Filings in the US, CA, AU, CN, EP.
    Development Stage: Discovery.

    Dated: November 12, 2024.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Associate Director, Technology Transfer Center, National Cancer 
Institute.
[FR Doc. 2024-26661 Filed 11-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P
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