Resources - New Directory of Federal Biomedical Research

The FEDERAL BIO-TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER DIRECTORY is a unique
reference book on biomedical research which is available for
commercial development from the federal government. It
includes over 2,800 abstracts -- mostly on patents,
licensing, and government-industry development agreements --
many of which are relevant to AIDS. The information is
recent; the directory was published in April 1994, and
correctly reflects current AIDS developments. (The principal
author, Ronald A. Rader of the Biotechnology Information
Institute in Rockville, Maryland, is very familiar with AIDS,
as he has edited the monthly newsletter Antiviral Agents
Bulletin, from its beginning in 1988 to the present.)

The following technical description is from the Biotechnology
Information Institute:

The book is the largest directory of biotechnology and
pharmaceutical inventions available for licensing, and is a
unique source for information and competitive intelligence
concerning federal research, development and
commercialization activities. The book provides information
about invention licenses and Collaborative Research and
Development Agreements (CRADAs); related research and
development, strategic partnerships and commercialization
activities; and the status of products and technologies in
development and in the marketplace. Much of this information
has never before been published.

The FEDERAL BIO-TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER DIRECTORY contains over
2,800 abstracts describing: 2,100 federal inventions (900
patent applications and 1,200 U.S. patents); over 500 CRADAs;
nearly 1,000 invention licenses/transfers (including 270
exclusive and 640 nonexclusive patent licenses); and 140
biological materials transfers. Most of this information is
recent with over 60% of inventions (45% of patents and 80% of
patent applications) since 1990 and about 80% of CRADAs
presumed active in late 1993. The book has over 400 pages of
abstracts/text organized by agency/laboratory and over 250
pages of subject and other indexes. Inventions and CRADAs are
abstracted, cross-referenced and indexed in-depth with over
36,000 subject index entries. The book also includes:
organization, inventor/investigator, patent/application
number, license number and culture collection deposit
indexes; federal laboratory and agency contacts; sources and
methods for obtaining further information; a detailed users
guide; and an overview of federal technology transfer
mechanisms.

The directory is organized by Federal agency, with AIDS-
related abstracts scattered throughout. A very extensive
subject index (over 200 pages, with more than five pages on
HIV alone) allows researchers to look up particular
treatments. This directory does not cover all Federal
biomedical research, however; instead, it focuses on work
which is relevant to intellectual property.

The FEDERAL BIO-TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER DIRECTORY, by Ronald A.
Rader and Sally A. Young, is available for $150 (includes
shipping and handling; $175 outside North America) from:
Biotechnology Information Institute, 1700 Rockville Pike,
Suite 400, Rockville, MD 20852-1631, 301/424-0255, fax
301/424-0257.