Responsible Regional Contact Point
Organisation:	BAYERN INNOVATIV - BAVARIA
Contact person:	Dr. Borris Haupt
Contact details:	haupt@bayern-innovativ.de +49 91120671175
Organisation Details
Founded (Year):	2001
No of employees:	11-50
Organisation Type:	Company
Company (Organisation) details
Our organisation, placed in Bavaria, advises public life-science research institutions, universities, hospitals, freelance inventors and companies in all aspects of intellectual property asset management. Our range of services: • Identifying commercially attractive inventions • Scanning publications for patent-relevant content • Technology audits and portfolio management • Supporting inventors • Evaluating the commercial potential of inventions and technologies (NPV) • Developing patent protection strategies • Accompanying the patenting process • Developing commercialisation strategies: licensing, cooperation, start-ups • Finding industrial partners; negotiating research, service and licensing agreements • Coaching and advising company founders • Active management of company equity • Checking cooperation agreements for sections relating to patent protection • Consistent follow up to ensure that agreements are being observed • Finding and prosecuting patent infringements
Areas of activity:
-  Medicine, Human Health -  Biology/Biotechnology -  Genome Research
1) Technology Offer
ProCon Vectors – Non self-inactivating, expression targeted retroviral Vectors
ABSTRACT: The object of the present technology is the construction of a novel retroviral vector which can be used as a safe gene transfer vehicle for targeted gene therapy with a reduced probability to undergo recombination with the packaging construct. This novel vector carries heterologous promoter and regulatory elements in the 3’LTR which, after infection become duplicated and translocated to the 5’LTR in the target cell, eventually controlling expression of therapeutic genes, not directly linked to the promoter, but rather inserted into the body of the vector. Since promoter conversion (ProCon) does not result in self-inactivation, the retroviral vector will be transcriptionally active in the target cell. DESCRIPTION: The ability to transduce a wide range of cell types from different animal species, to integrate genetic material into recipient cells precisely, to express the transduced genes at high levels, and the lack of vector spread or production of viral proteins after infection provided a strong incentive for the development of retroviral gene transfer vectors. However, most protocols require the infection of target cells in-vitro and thus the isolation and re-infusion of target cells. For many cell types, this approach is not feasible. So called “Promoter Conversion” (ProCon) vectors presented here use the principle of promoter conversion: The retroviral genome has the structure R-U5-gag-pol-env-U3-R. During reverse transcription, the structure U3-R-U5, called Long Terminal Repeat (LTR), is created, which is identical repeated at both ends of the DNA provirus. The U3 region at the left hand end of the provirus harbours the promoter. In a ProCon vector, the right-hand U3 region is altered, but the normal left-hand U3 structure is maintained. After reverse transcription, this altered U3 structure will be placed at both ends of the retroviral structure. If the altered region carries a polylinker and/or a promoter, e.g. a tissue specific promoter, this promoter will then be utilised exclusively in the infected cell for expression of genes carried by the ProCon vector. Alternatively or additionally DNA segments homologous to one or more cellular sequences can be inserted into the polylinker for the purposes of gene targeting. Any tissue specific promoter can be used, providing for the selective targeting of a wide variety of different cell types. After promoter conversion, the structure and properties of the ProCon vector no longer resembles that of a retrovirus. Genetic recombination with the retroviral packaging construct and/or endogenous retroviruses and thus the production of potentially pathogenic viruses will be inhibited. The ProCon vector can be used as a safe gene transfer vehicle for targeted gene therapy. INNOVATIVE ASPECTS: The aim of the ProCon vector was to provide a safe gene transfer vehicle with a reduced probability to undergo recombination with the packaging construct. The vector does not undergo self-inactivation and therefore will be transcriptionally active in the target cell. Since both LTRs will consist to a large extent of heterologous promoter/enhancer sequences un the target cell, the likelihood of the integrated vector in the target cell being subject to the same inactivation over long periods as has been described for conventional vectors will be reduced. MAIN ADVANTADGES / BENEFITS: - No self-inactivation, reduced recombination with endogenous retroviral sequences to generate potentially pathogenic replication competent virus, therefore increasing the safety of gene transfer. - Inclusion of cellular sequences into the promoter should allow higher selectivity for site specific recombination to target the integration to particular sites in the host cell genome. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: CURRENT STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT: Preclinical Development has been performed and data are available. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR): We hold 6 patent-families on ProCon vectors. Most patents are granted in Europe and US, whereas the applications in JP are pending. TYPE OF COLLABORATION SOUGHT: License Agreement PARTNER PROFILE: Licensing partner for further technology development
Market application:
-  HUMAN/ANIMAL HEALTH -  Health issue treatment
Further comments	Gen Therapy Gen transfer vehicle
Entry/Update:	2006-10-30  /  2007-10-01