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Current treatments for cancer and viral infection are limited remedies that often suppress cell or viral replication rather than eliminate diseased cells entirely from the body. A further limitation is that these therapies often compromise healthy cells as well, leaving problems of recurrence and side effects.

Researchers at developed a novel therapeutic nanoparticle (NP) system harboring therapeutic small siRNA that can significantly enhance effectiveness and specificity of treatments by killing diseased cells.

Soluble forms (sCD4) of human CD4, the HIV-1 primary receptor, are potent HIV-1 entry inhibitors. Both four-domain (D1-4) and two-domain (D1D2) sCD4 and their fusion proteins have been tested as candidate therapeutics in animal models and in human clinical trials and were well tolerated by patients with no significant clinical or immunologic toxicities and exhibited significant inhibitory activities. However, their activities were transient and the virus rapidly rebound.

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 therapeutics targeting vasodialation.

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role as a major intrinsic vasodilator, and increases blood flow to tissues and organs. Disruption of this process leads to peripheral vascular disease, ischemic heart disease, stroke, vascular insufficiency associated with diabetes, and many more diseases that are significant.

It is well known that overactive Ras signaling is linked to many forms of cancer, and despite intensive efforts worldwide to develop effective inhibitors of Ras, to date there is no anti-Ras inhibitor in clinical use.

High expression of CD47, a cell surface receptor on several types of cancer cells, has been identified as a ‘don’t eat me signal’ that inhibits their killing by macrophages or NK cells. Conversely, the CD47 antibody B6H12 that blocks SIRPα binding enhances macrophage-dependent clearance of tumors in several mouse models, although others have shown that such clearance can be independent of SIRPα signaling.

Many chemotherapeutic agents cause significant cytotoxicity to non-cancer ("normal") cells, resulting in undesirable side-effects and often limiting the dose and/or duration of chemotherapy that can be administered to a patient.

The National Cancer Institute's  Cancer and Inflammation Program is seeking statements of capability or interest from parties interested in licensing this technology. 

T cell receptors (TCRs) are proteins that recognize antigens in the context of infected or transformed cells and activate T cells to mediate an immune response and destroy abnormal cells. TCRs consist of two domains, one variable domain that recognizes the antigen and one constant region that helps the TCR anchor to the membrane and transmit recognition signals by interacting with other proteins. When a TCR is stimulated by an antigen, such as a tumor antigen, some signaling pathways activated in the cell lead to the production of cytokines, which mediate the immune response.

The subject invention describes a new class of compounds (such as peptides or mimetics) that target viral RNAs and inhibit the viral life cycle by blocking the viral recognition process. More specifically, these compounds are the first against an RNA Target - currently there are no clinical drugs against RNA targets in the treatment of any type of human disease.

Griffithsin (GRFT) is a lectin with potent antiviral properties that is capable of preventing and treating infections caused by a number of enveloped viruses (including HIV, SARS, HCV, HSV, and Japanese encephalitis) and is currently in clinical development as an anti-HIV microbicide. In addition to its broad antiviral activity, GRFT is stable at high temperature and at a broad pH range, displays low toxicity and immunogenicity, and is amenable to large-scale manufacturing.