The National Institutes of Health is actively seeking licensees for, "HIV Nucleocapsid Protein Capture Assay and Method of Use," U.S. patent application 07/967,658, by Drs. L.O. Arthur and L.E. Henderson, National Cancer Inst. This concerns novel antigen capture assays for detection of HIV p7 antibodies useful for detection and diagnosis of HIV-infection including determining the prognosis of HIV-infected patients; detecting HIV in infants born to infected mothers; and detection and quantification of HIV in the laboratory (e.g., virus production, infectivity assays, neutralization assays, and in vitro drug efficacy studies). The p7 capture assays have been shown to accurately detect diluted HIV-1 in plasma taken from HIV-infected persons at levels that conventional HIV p24 assays were not able to detect HIV-1 (due to p24 antigen-antibody complexes formed by detergent lysis of the virus). HIV p7 antibodies can be accurately detected at levels as low as 4 pg/ml and these assays are currently being further refined. Immunodiagnostics based on HIV p7 may eventually replace the HIV p24 antigen capture assays widely used for blood screening and diagnosis of HIV-infection. HIV p7 nucleoprotein precursor is expressed by HIV gag, along with HIV p24, p17, p2, p1 and p6, and exists in equimolar amounts with these other precursor polyproteins. The National Institutes of Health has a number of other HIV vaccine and diagnostics-related inventions available for licensing, including basic patents covering HIV, its culture and cloned antigens. For further information contact:

Mr. Steve Ferguson Office of Technology Transfer 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325 Rockville, MD 20852-3804 Phone: 301-496-7735; Fax: 301-402-0220