No effective therapeutics or vaccines against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) are available. The human-to-human aspect of transmission and the high mortality rate associated with MERS-CoV infection have raised concerns over the potential for a future MERS-CoV pandemic and emphasized the need for development of effective therapeutics and vaccines.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in developed countries. Despite the availability of several synergistic, targeted therapy regiments, the 5-year survival rate for NSCLC is only 15%. The poor prognosis of NSCLS is due in part to limitations of current treatments, which do not trigger an immune response against NSCLC, nor can they be directly delivered into the lungs.
The National Cancer Institute''s Laboratory of Pathology is seeking statements of capability or interest from parties interested in collaborative research to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize CD47-targeting agents as radioprotectants and tumor sensitizers.
The National Cancer Institute Laboratory of Molecular Biology seeks parties for collaborative research to co-develop and commercialize antibody drug/toxin conjugates as liver cancer therapy and diagnostics.
The National Cancer Institute’s Protein Expression Laboratory seeks parties to co-develop dual luminescent/fluorescent cancer biomarkers.
In research settings, visualization of tumors or tumor cells is often done using either bioluminescence or fluorescence. However, both of these methods have shortcomings: bioluminescence is not sensitive enough to sort individual tumor cells, and fluorescence cannot be used effectively to view internal tumors and is best used with surface tumors.
HMGN polypeptides belong to the high mobility group (HMG) family of chromosomal binding peptides. HMGN polypeptides typically function inside the cell nucleus to bind to DNA and nucleosomes and regulate the transcription of various genes. HMGN polypeptides also can be released by peripheral blood mononuclear cells. However, the extracellular release of a HMGN polypeptide initiates activation of the immune system. Therefore, it has potential use as a biological therapeutic for stimulating an immune response.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer in children with approximately 3,250 new cases occurring per year in the United States. About 20% of cases are refractory to current treatment protocols and there is a desperate need for targeted therapies that do not result in adverse side effects such as cognitive impairment.
In the United States alone, one of four cancer deaths occur from lung cancer and there are over 8 million individuals considered to be at high-risk due to cigarette smoking and other behaviors. It's well known that early detection of cancer significantly improves survival of this disease, however a lack of lung cancer screenings and analysis precludes fast results at a low cost.