Search Technologies

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have developed a method to improve the function of therapeutic engineered T cells used for Adoptive T Cell Therapy (ACT) for various cancers and diseases through the co-expression of Interleukin-15 (IL-15) and IL-21 by a flexible linker to the cell membrane. Researchers at the NCI seek licensing for this invention.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) seeks licensing or co-development for a novel human antibody against tumor necrosis factor receptor type 2 (TNFR2) for cancer immunotherapy.

Recent research has demonstrated that neoantigen-specific T-cell receptors (TCRs) can be isolated from a cancer patient’s lymphocytes. These TCRs may be used to engineer populations of tumor-reactive T cells for cancer immunotherapies. Obtaining sequences of these functional TCRs is a critical initial step in preparing this type of personalized cancer treatment; however, current methods are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have developed a rapid and robust method of isolating the sequences of mutation-specific TCRs to alleviate these issues; they seek licensing and/or co-development research collaborations for the development of a method for isolating the sequences of tumor-reactive TCRs. For collaboration opportunities, please contact Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D. at sar@nih.gov.

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) developed improved monospecific and bicistronic chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) targeting CD19 and CD20. Importantly, CD19 and CD20 are highly expressed in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and other B-cell lymphomas. These improved CARs can be useful in treating these diseases. NCI is seeking parties interested in the co-development or licensing of this invention for immunotherapy.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) seeks research co-development partners and/or licensees for a method of direct identification of neoantigen-specific TCRs from tumor specimens by high-throughput single-cell sequencing.

The National Cancer Institute’s Surgery Branch seeks partners interested in collaborative research to co-develop adoptive transfer of tumor infiltrating leukocytes (TIL) for cancers other than melanoma.

The National Cancer Institute seeks parties interested in licensing or collaborative research to co-develop RNA nanostructures using computational and synthetic methods.

Chk2 is a protein kinase activated in response to DNA double strand breaks. In normal tissues, Chk2 phosphorylates and thereby activates substrates that induce programmed cell death, or apoptosis, via interactions with p53, E2F1, PML proteins. In cancer tissues, where apoptosis is suppressed, Chk2 phosphorylates and inactivates cell cycle checkpoints (via interactions with Cdc25, phosphatases and Brca1 proteins), which allows cancer cells to repair and tolerate DNA damage. Hence, Chk2 inhibitors would be expected to protect normal tissues by reducing apoptosis, and to sensitize cancer cells to DNA-targeted agents. The National Cancer Institute seeks licensees for small molecule inhibitors of Chk2 for the treatment of cancer.

The proto-oncogene c-Myc is deregulated and overexpressed in ~70% of all cancers. Thus, c-Myc is an attractive therapeutic target. Beyond cancer, Myc is also a positive effector of tissue inflammation, and its function has been implicated in the pathophysiology of heart failure. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) developed novel small molecules that target c-Myc at the transcriptional level, thus enabling a potential pan-cancer therapeutic. Specifically, these compounds stabilize the transcription repressing quadruplex in the c-Myc gene promoter region. The National Cancer Institute seeks parties interested in licensing or collaborative research to co-develop these therapeutic targets.'