The Technology Transfer Office (TTO) facilitates interactions between NHGRI's research laboratories and other research entities, including universities, non-profit organizations and companies, for the benefit of public health. TTO carries out its mission by assisting in the transfer of NHGRI-developed technologies to the private sector for further development and commercialization and by managing formal relationships with pharmaceutical and life sciences companies through the use of various legal instruments. The TTO also ensures the speedy and efficient exchange of research resources between NHGRI and outside scientific groups and assures compliance with relevant laws and policies. Eight (8) new employee invention reports (EIRs) were evaluated and processed in FY2014 by the TTO. Two (2) new patent applications were filed, one (1) patentability opinion requested, three (3) research tool technologies entered, and two (2) disclosures were not further pursued, based on EIRs evaluated during FY2014. The titles of the two (2) patent applications filed are: Use of Small Molecules (UT2, C418 and Z265) to Treat PARP1-Deficient Cancers, and Methods of Treating PXE with TNAP Inhibitors (application expected to be filed within FY2014). In FY2014, four (4) patents have issued in the NHGRIs portfolio. The titles of the issued patents are: 1) Use of ERBB4 as a Prognostic and Therapeutic Marker for Melanoma (U.S. Patent 8,652,787;NHGRI lead inventor Yardena Samuels);2) GRM3 Mutations and Use Thereof for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Melanoma (U.S. Patent 8,795,964;NHGRI lead inventor Yardena Samuels);(3) Method for Direct Measurement of Isotopes of Expired Gases (U.S. Patent 8,721,988;NHGRI lead inventor Charles P. Venditti);and Methods for Analyzing High Dimensional Data for Classifying, Diagnosing, Prognosticating, and/or Predicting Diseases and Other Biological States (U.S. Patent 8,620,592;NHGRI lead inventor Paul Meltzer). As of August 2014, NHGRI had forty four (44) active patent families, thirty eight (38) issued U.S. patents, one hundred and eight (108) issued foreign patents, and sixty two (62) pending patent applications (U.S. and foreign). In FY2014 NHGRI negotiated and executed four (4) new conditional gift fund agreements with the following organizations: the American Diabetes Foundation;the American Kennel Club/Canine Health Foundation;the American Society of Hematology;and the Diamond Blackfan Anemia Foundation, Inc. Our Office handled the electronic submission of several K99/R00 NIH applications on behalf of postdoctoral fellows and we assisted with the submission of approximately three non-NIH grant applications to organizations such as the American Kennel Club/Canine Health Foundation and the American Diabetes Association. New FY2014 executed conditional gift fund agreements and submitted non-NIH research grants focused on the following human disease research topics: canine histiocytic sarcoma, human blood diseases and diabetes. In FY2014 we executed four (4) new license agreements with the following companies and/or organizations: 1) Acerta Pharma (L-220-2014/0) ERBB4 Mutations (E-229-2010/0);2) BRIOMed, Inc. (L-008-2014/0) Methods for Treating Giardiasis (E-211-2010/0, E-211-2010/1, E-211-2010/2);3) Merck &Co., Inc. (L-204-2014/0) Melanoma Cell Line #2633 Harboring the Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 1 (1DH1) R132 Mutation (E-232-2010/0);and 4) University of California San Francisco (L-183-2014/0) Three Mouse Lines Harboring Human A-Synuclein (SNCA) as Models for Early Stages of Parkinsons Disease (PD) (E-222-2011/0). In total, NHGRI currently has thirty-seven (37) active licenses. In addition, in FY 2014 we processed 148 Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) and Information Transfer Agreements (ITAs). The vast majority of these agreements covered materials and data provided by NHGRI to outside entities and 49% of the MTAs and ITAs involved the transfer of human materials or data.
