Inventions

​A novel lipid-based nanoparticle that carries drugs to be released on-demand for cancer treatment
RNA nanoparticles and RNA/DNA chimeric nanoparticles comprising one or more functionalities for multiple disorders including cancer
Nanocubes comprising DNA or RNA core with RNA or DNA hybrid duplex for RNA interference and gene silencing
An Ultra-Sensitive Diagnostic Kit for Prostate Cancer
​
An apparatus containing microarray binding sensors for gene expression and nucleic acid binding assays
A carbohydrate-encapsulated gold nanoparticle used to inhibit metastasis of cancer cells
A highly Sensitive Diagnostic Immunoassay Featuring DNA-tethered Beads 
​
A Smaller Nanoparticle Assembly that Kills Tumor by Heat
​
​(4)

Third-Party Inventions

Your team may choose to bring on a third-party invention into the challenge instead of using one of the NIH inventions provided below.  Please keep in mind the rules and additional criteria below when choosing your invention.  Your team will need to provide foundational data and answer questions based on the criteria below on the Letter of Intent in order to provide the Challenge team with ample information to evaluate your team and invention. Note that the validity of your third-party invention for this challenge will be up to the discretion of the Challenge team. 

Rules for Third-Party Inventions
  • Scope of the Challenge: Third-party inventions MUST meet the scope of the Challenge, and have a therapeutic focus in both nanotechnology and cancer
  • Licensing: The third-party invention must be available for licensing
  • Patent Protection:  If the technology is a therapeutic, vaccine, diagnostic, or device, there must be some kind of patent protection (exceptions will be made if appropriate)
  • Scoring and Prizes: All third party inventions will be judged independently from the NIH inventions.  There is no limit to the number of third-party inventions accepted into the Challenge; five (5) semi-finalists from this category will move on from phase 1 to phase 2; there is a maximum of four (4) winners from phase 2 for third-party inventions

​​Additional Criteria for Third-Party Inventions
  • ​Stage: ​The Challenge expects any third party inventions to at least have a valid proof-of-concept or be in a pre-IND stage in order to enter the challenge
  • Novelty and Differentiation: Novelty is what makes this invention stand from a scientific and market standpoint. Why your invention is first of a kind/unique/different than what everyone else is doing/has done in the past.  Examples can be found on the Letter of Intent form
  • Unmet Need: What is the knowledge gap this invention fulfills (for example, current diagnostic/treatment can't address a certain patient group; has low response rate; is multi-drug resistant; current standard of care is costly, invasive, takes long time, etc.). Generally, unmet need indicates that a particular disease cannot be adequately treated
  • ​Addressable Market and Growth Rate (NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE MARKET SIZE): ​Calculate the revenue opportunity for the product, service and/or solution that will come from the invention. Items that can reduce the overall market size include: inability to physically reach this population; inability to diagnose the disease, etc.  For the growth rate, please consider: precedence, incidence and mortality rates by geographic region
  • Operational Feasibility: ​Determine if the invention has any significant impediments to being developed, manufactured, and distributed.  For example, consider what dependencies the technology has (required methodologies, equipment, legal, mortality, development, etc.); ability to recruit and retain patients in clinical trials; ease of manufacturing; stigmas associated with treatments, etc.
  • ​Financial Feasibility: Financial viability is the degree to which this invention can make enough profit to offset R&D costs.  Please consider time to market, patent life and market exclusivity timeframe extension possibilities such as an orphan indication.  For example, a technology that will receive no market extensions must have 15 years of patent life if it's a therapeutic or vaccine

NIH Inventions

Teams may choose from the following NIH inventions below.  There is a maximum ten (10) teams per invention to be accepted into the challenge during Phase 0.  Winners of the Challenge utilizing NIH inventions will need to negotiate a NIH license per the federal statutes and regulations, including 35 USC 209 and 37 CFR 404
#1 A novel lipid-based nanoparticle that carries drugs to be released on-demand for cancer treatment
NIH Title:  Photoactivatable Nanoparticles for Targeted Drug Delivery
NIH Reference Number: E-482-2013
 
Executive Summary:
  • Invention Type: Therapeutic
  • Patent Status:  Patent pending
  • Link: https://www.ott.nih.gov/technology/E-482-2013
  • NIH Institute or Center: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
  • Disease Focus: Cancer and related diseases
  • Basis of Invention: A phospholipid particle comprised of a lipid bilayer surrounding a cavity; a photosensitizer is embedded in the bilayer and a therapeutic agent is present in the cavity.
  • How it works: Near-infrared light will trigger a conformational change of the lipid bilayer to release the encapsulated therapeutic agent to the desired location
  • Lead Challenge Inventor:  Anu Puri (NCI)
  • Inventors: Robert Blumenthal (NCI), Anu Puri (NCI), Amit Joshi (formerly of Baylor College of Medicine/currently of Medical College of Wisconsin), Darayash Tata (FDA)
  • Development Stage: Pre-clinical, in vitro assays data available
  • Novelty:
    • Stable particles that can be photo-activated upon demand to release a therapeutic compound
    • Concurrent release of the photosensitizing agent HPPH from the lipid bilayer may be advantageous in the treatment of certain types of cancer, as this agent has shown to possess its own therapeutic ability
  • Clinical Applications:
    • Targeted drug delivery system to treat cancer and other diseases
    • Potential diagnostic tool in medical imaging
#2 RNA nanoparticles and RNA/DNA chimeric nanoparticles comprising one or more functionalities for multiple disorders including cancer
NIH Title:  Multifunctional RNA Nanoparticles as Therapeutic Agents
NIH Reference Number: E-765-2013
 
Executive Summary: 
  • Invention Type: Therapeutic or diagnostic
  • Patent Status:  Patent pending
  • Link: https://www.ott.nih.gov/technology/e-765-2013
  • NIH Institute or Center: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
  • Disease Focus: Cancer, viral infection, other infectious diseases
  • Basis of Invention: Treating or diagnose a subject with DNA/RNA hybrid nanoparticles or RNA nanoparticles which carries both cell-targeting agents and anti-cancer/anti-pathogen components
  • How it works: Modified lipids efficiently deliver small interfering RNAs to cancer cells directed by cell-targeting agents
  • Lead Inventor: Bruce Shapiro (NCI), Kirill Afonin (NCI), Viard Mathias (NCI), Angelica Martins (NCI)
  • Development Stage: Pre-clinical, in silico and in vitro assays, in vivo siRNA delivery in animal models
  • Novelty: 
    • Modified cationic lipids consist of a hydrophobic chain and one or more positively charged head groups at each end form micelles in vitro and in vivo
    • Relatively low toxicities
  • Clinical Applications:
    • Targeted drug delivery to treat cancer, HIV, and other diseases
#3 Nanocubes comprising DNA or RNA core with RNA or DNA hybrid duplex for RNA interference and gene silencing
NIH Title:  Nucleic Acid Nanoparticles for Triggering RNA Interference
NIH Reference Number: E-156-2014
 
Executive Summary:
  • Invention Type: Therapeutic
  • Patent Status:  Patent pending
  • Link: https://www.ott.nih.gov/technology/e-156-2014
  • NIH Institute or Center: National Cancer Institute (NCI)​
  • Disease Focus: Cancer, viral infection, other infectious diseases
  • Basis of Invention: A 3-D nano cube scaffold based strategy for targeted siRNA delivery to induce RNAi
  • How it works: The nano cube scaffolds are decorated with siRNA substrates that are diced upon intracellular uptake, leading to RNAi of target genes
  • Lead Challenge Inventor: Bruce Shapiro (NCI)
  • Inventors: Bruce Shapiro (NCI), Kirill Afonin (NCI), Viard Mathias (NCI)
  • Development Stage: Pre-clinical, in silico design and in vitro assay validation data available
  • Novelty:
    • This technology opens a new route for the development of “smart” nucleic acid based nanoparticles for a wide range of biomedical applications
    • Altering the composition of particles controls immune response
  • Clinical Applications:
    • Targeted drug delivery to treat cancer, HIV, and other diseases
#4 An apparatus containing microarray binding sensors for gene expression and nucleic acid binding assays
NIH Title:  Apparatus for Microarray DNA Binding Sensors Using Carbon Nanotube Transistors
NIH Reference Number: E-056-2007
 
Executive Summary:
  • Invention Type: Diagnostic
  • Patent Status:  Patent granted
  • Link: https://www.ott.nih.gov/technology/e-056-2007
  • NIH Institute or Center: National Cancer Institute (NCI)​
  • Disease Focus: Cancer, infectious diseases
  • Basis of Invention: Microarray binding sensors contain biological probe materials and carbon nanotube transistors (CNTs)
  • How it works: Each transistor is associated with a distinct probe and interaction is measured by the transconductance between the source and drain electrodes before and after the hybridization event which facilitates binding
  • Lead Challenge Inventor:  Javed Khan (NCI)
  • Inventors: Javed Khan (NCI); Romel Gomez (UMD)
  • Development Stage: Prototype available
  • Novelty:
    • Complete isolation of the CNTs from chemical reactions concomitant with probe immobilization and target capture
    • It uses a gate oxide overlayer on top of the carbon nanotubes, CNT functions only as charge sensors
    • Eliminates the need for chemical labeling and enzymatic manipulation
  • Clinical Applications:
    • High-throughput monitoring of genome-wide DNA and mRNA copy number changes for research, diagnostic and  prognostic uses
    • Sequencing entire genes, replacing the current gel-based sequencing techniques
    • Monitoring miRNA levels in cancer
    • Detecting DNA copy number changes and deletions in chromosomal regions
    • Detecting Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms
    • Identifying targets of transcription factors
    • Detecting pathogens in the air, blood and body secretions
#5 A carbohydrate-encapsulated gold nanoparticle used to inhibit metastasis of cancel cells
NIH Title:  Carbohydrate-Encapsulated Gold Nanoparticles as Novel Anti-Metastatic Agents
NIH Reference Number: E-001-2005
 
Executive Summary:
  • Invention Type: Therapeutic
  • Patent Status:  Patent pending
  • Link: https://www.ott.nih.gov/technology/e-001-2005
  • NIH Institute or Center: National Cancer Institute (NCI)​
  • Disease Focus: Breast, colon, prostate, bladder, ovarian, gastric cancers, and pancreatic adenocarcinomas
  • Basis of Invention: Glyconanoparticles consist of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) coated with tumor-associated, cell-surface carbohydrate moiety
  • How it works: Synthetic compounds consisting of carbohydrate tumor antigen are delivered to the tumor site by an AuNP carrier. The compound either masks or mimics the carbohydrate structure to inhibit the (Thomsen-Friedenreich) TF antigen-mediated, tumor-endothelial cell interactions, preventing tumor cell adhesion and metastasis
  • Lead Challenge Inventor: Joseph Barchi (NCI)
  • Inventors: Joseph Barchi (NCI), Sergei Svarovsky (NCI)
  • Development Stage: Preclinical data is available, including in vitro biological characterization of glyconanoparticles. In vivo immunization data is also available in mouse models (groups of 20 mice) showing pharmacology and toxicity data of the compounds
  • Novelty:
    • Specificity: Compounds include specific tumor-associated carbohydrates that are expressed only on the surface of tumor cells
    • Versatility: Multifunctional nanoparticles may have distinct therapeutic utility
  • Clinical Applications:
    • Anti-metastasis therapeutics
    • Cancer vaccine
    • Cancer imaging
    • Other diseases such as viral/bacterial infections
#6 A highly Sensitive Diagnostic Immunoassay Featuring DNA-tethered Beads
NIH Title:  Highly Sensitive Tethered-Bead Immune Sandwich Assay
NIH Reference Number: E-188-2014
 
Executive Summary:
  • Invention Type: Diagnostic
  • Patent Status:  Patent pending
  • Link: https://www.ott.nih.gov/technology/E-188-2014
  • NIH Institute or Center: National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
  • Disease Focus: Cancer and infectious diseases
  • Basis of Invention: DNA tethered beads
  • How it works: “Tethered bead” technology- optical detection of the motion of micron-sized beads attached via immune sandwiches to the ends of single molecules of DNA on a sensor surface.
  • Lead Challenge Inventor:  Jonathan Silver (NHLBI)
  • Inventors: Jonathan Silver (NHLBI), Zhenyu Li (George Washington Univ.), Keir Neuman (NHLBI)
  • Development Stage: Early stage, proof-of-principle prototype available. A prototype design using prostate specific antigen (PSA) shows detection sensitivity of ~.03ng/ml, compared with normal PSA sensitivity of ~< 4ng/ml. 
  • Novelty:
    • Highly sensitive single molecule adaptable format
    • Automatable for image analysis
  • Clinical Applications:
    • Cancer biomarker detection such as PSA
    • Infectious disease diagnostic
    • Therapeutic drug monitoring
    • Clinical pharmacokinetic and bioequivalence studies in drug discovery
#7 An Ultra-Sensitive Diagnostic Kit for Prostate Cancer
NIH Title: Ultra-sensitive Diagnostic Detects fg/mL-pg/mL Pathogen/Disease Protein by Visual Color Change
NIH Reference Number: E-167-2014
 
Executive Summary:
  • Invention Type: Diagnostic
  • Patent Status:  Patent pending
  • Link: https://www.ott.nih.gov/technology/E-167-2014
  • NIH Institute or Center: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
  • Disease Focus: Prostate Cancer
  • Basis of Invention: A colorimetric assay based on an enzyme-catalyzed gold nanoparticle growth process
  • How it works:  This assay is dependent on the glucose oxidase (GOx)-catalyzed growth of small sized (5 nm in diameter) gold nanoparticle (AuNP) in the presence of H2O2 and AuCl4–. The target immunoreaction releases H2O2. The AuNPs solution is colorless at low concentration (<10nM), upon H2O2 induction the AuNPs will grow larger in size and the colorless solution can turn red which is a signal that can be quantitatively detected
  • Lead Challenge Inventor: Xiaoyuan (Shawn) Chen (NIBIB)
  • Inventors: Xiaoyuan (Shawn) Chen (NIBIB), Dingbin Liu (NIBIB)
  • Development Stage: The immunoassay has been tested in the lab using both PSA spiked Fetal Bovine Sera and 12 clinical prostate cancer patient sera, which validated the specificity for PSA, comparative analysis with a commercial assay kit further showing superior sensitivity and specificity for PSA detection
  • Novelty:
    • Quantitative AuNP-based immunoassay
    • Highly sensitive compared to a commercial kit
    • Easy readout with naked eyes
  • Clinical Applications:
    • Early detection of prostate cancer
    • Early stage detection of norovirus or enterovirus infection
#8. A Smaller Nanoparticle Assembly that Kills Tumor by Heat
NIH Title: Assemblies of nanoparticles for targeted image-guided photothermal therapy
NIH Reference Number: E-158-2015
 
Executive Summary:
  • Invention Type: Therapeutic/diagnostic
  • Patent Status:  Patent pending
  • Link: https://www.ott.nih.gov/technology/E-158-2015
  • NIH Institute or Center: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
  • Disease Focus: Cancer
  • Basis of Invention: Nano sized rod structures assembled by gold nanoparticles  coated with PEG and PLGA
  • How it works:  The nano sized rods can specifically accumulate in the  region of a solid tumor. An infrared light excites the photosensitive agents in the nanorod structure, which then releases heat to kill cancer cells
  • Lead Challenge Inventor: Xiaoyuan (Shawn) Chen (NIBIB)
  • Inventors: Xiaoyuan (Shawn) Chen (NIBIB), Jibin Song (NIBIB)
  • Development Stage: Preclinical in vitro data showed the characterization of nanoparticle, in vivo data in athymic mouse model demonstrated tumor specific accumulation and rapid clearance from the body
  • Novelty:
    • Gold nanorod particles are smaller in size compared to the current gold particles in clinical photothermal treatment for cancer
    • High tumor-specific accumulation
    • Rapid clearance from circulation
  • Clinical Applications:
    • Photothermal therapy
    • Anticancer drug delivery for combined chemo/photothermal therapy
    • Photoacoustic imaging
    • CT contrasting agent
    • Contrast-enhanced optical coherence imaging