Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Pigment Epithelium-Derived Factor (PEDF) Peptides and Use for Treating Retinal Degeneration

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Published

April 1, 2026

Issuing agencies

Health and Human Services DepartmentNational Institutes of Health

Abstract

The National Eye Institute, an institute of the National Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services, is contemplating the grant of an Exclusive Patent License to practice the inventions embodied in the patent applications listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice to Perpetual Biosciences, Inc., a company located in New York, NY.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 62 (Wednesday, April 1, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 1, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16205-16206]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06283]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health

Prospective Grant of an Exclusive Patent License: Pigment
Epithelium-Derived Factor (PEDF) Peptides and Use for Treating Retinal
Degeneration

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 16206]]

SUMMARY: The National Eye Institute, an institute of the National
Institutes of Health, United States Department of Health and Human
Services, is contemplating the grant of an Exclusive Patent License to
practice the inventions embodied in the patent applications listed in
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice to Perpetual
Biosciences, Inc., a company located in New York, NY.

DATES: Only written comments and/or applications for a license which
are received by the National Cancer Institute's Technology Transfer
Center, representing the National Eye Institute, on or before April 16,
2026 will be considered.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the patent application, inquiries,
and comments relating to the contemplated an Exclusive Patent License
should be directed to: Geoffrey E. Ravilious, Ph.D., NCI Technology
Transfer Center, Telephone: 240-276-6391; Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7116141e17170314085f031007181d181e0402311f18195f161e07"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d5b2b0bab3b3a7b0acfba7b4a3bcb9bcbaa0a695bbbcbdfbb2baa3">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Intellectual Property

1. United States Provisional Patent Application No. 63/430,251
filed December 5, 2022, entitled ``PIGMENT EPITHELIUM-DERIVED FACTOR
PEPTIDES AND USE FOR TREATING RETINAL DEGENERATION'' [HHS Reference No.
E-028-2023-0-US-01];
2. International Patent Application PCT/US2024/064947 filed March
24, 2023, entitled ``PIGMENT EPITHELIUM-DERIVED FACTOR PEPTIDES AND USE
FOR TREATING RETINAL DEGENERATION'' [HHS Reference No. E-028-2023-0-
PCT-01]; and
3. Australian Patent No. 2023390868 issued June 5, 2025, entitled
``PIGMENT EPITHELIUM-DERIVED FACTOR PEPTIDES AND USE FOR TREATING
RETINAL DEGENERATION'' [HHS Reference No. E-028-2023-0-AU-01];
4. Canadian Patent Application No. 3,275,801 effective filing date
of June 3, 2025, entitled ``PIGMENT EPITHELIUM-DERIVED FACTOR PEPTIDES
AND USE FOR TREATING RETINAL DEGENERATION'' [HHS Reference No. E-028-
2023-0-CA-01];
5. European Patent Application No. 23720018.3 filed July 1, 2025,
entitled ``PIGMENT EPITHELIUM-DERIVED FACTOR PEPTIDES AND USE FOR
TREATING RETINAL DEGENERATION'' [HHS Reference No. E-028-2023-0-EP-01];
6. Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-555099 effective filing
date of June 4, 20125, entitled ``PIGMENT EPITHELIUM-DERIVED FACTOR
PEPTIDES AND USE FOR TREATING RETINAL DEGENERATION'' [HHS Reference No.
E-028-2023-0-JP-01];
7. United States Patent No. 19/135,668, entitled ``PIGMENT
EPITHELIUM-DERIVED FACTOR PEPTIDES AND USE FOR TREATING RETINAL
DEGENERATION'' [HHS Reference No. E-028-2023-0-US-02].
8. United States Provisional Patent Application No. 63/604,026
filed November 29, 2023, entitled ``MODIFIED PIGMENT EPITHELIUM-DERIVED
FACTOR PEPTIDES AND METHODS OF USE'' [HHS Reference No. E-028-2023-0-
US-01]; and
9. PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US2024/057784 filed November 27,
2024, entitled ``MODIFIED PIGMENT EPITHELIUM-DERIVED FACTOR PEPTIDES
AND METHODS OF USE'' [HHS Reference No. E-028-2023-0-PCT-01];
10. any and all other U.S. and ex-U.S. patents and patent
applications claiming priority to any one of the foregoing, now or in
the future.
The patent rights in these inventions have been assigned to the
Government of the United States of America.
The prospective exclusive license territory may be worldwide and
the field of use may be limited to the following:
``Peptide therapeutics for human ophthalmological diseases that may
include but not be limited to retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma, or age-
related macular degeneration.''
This technology describes chemically synthesized peptide fragments
derived from PEDF, a naturally occurring neurotrophic factor that is
produced by retinal pigment epithelia. The biological roles of PEDF
suggest that peptide fragments of PEDF have the potential to treat
multiple diseases that fall within the Field of Use. Efforts to utilize
native PEDF for therapeutic effect, as well as many invasive gene
therapy approaches, have had minimal effect on outcomes for patients
with ophthalmic diseases that result from neurodegeneration or retinal
cell death. The subject invention potentially addresses the limited
efficacy of approved therapeutic treatments for ophthalmic diseases
that result from neurodegenerative pathologies and/or retinal cell
death.
This Notice is made in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR
part 404. The prospective exclusive license will be royalty bearing,
and the prospective exclusive license may be granted unless within
fifteen (15) days from the date of this published notice, the National
Eye Institute, receives written evidence and argument that establishes
that the grant of the license would not be consistent with the
requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR part 404.
Complete applications for a license that are timely filed in
response to this notice will be treated as objections to the grant of
the contemplated exclusive patent license. In response to this Notice,
the public may file comments or objections. Comments and objections,
other than those in the form of a license application, will not be
treated confidentially, and may be made publicly available.
License applications submitted in response to this Notice will be
presumed to contain business confidential information and any release
of information in these license applications will be made only as
required and upon a request under the Freedom of Information Act, 5
U.S.C. 552.

Dated: March 30, 2026.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Associate Director, Technology Transfer Center, National Cancer
Institute.
[FR Doc. 2026-06283 Filed 3-31-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P

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