The company expects to complete Phase I/II and Phase III studies of Altropane this year in preparation for filing for market approval by the end of 1997. * Celgene Corp., of Warren, N.J., submitted an investigational new drug application to begin Phase I/II clinical trials of a "chirally pure version of methylphenidate hydrochloride for treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children...GeneTrace licensed Incyte access to technology for identifying gene expression patterns

The drug is a combination of an antibody that binds to the oncoprotein erbB-2, which is expressed on the surface of cancer cells, and a Pseudomonas exotoxin to kill the tumor cells. * Arqule Inc., of Medford, Mass., and Signal Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, expanded their collaboration for discovery of small molecule compounds that modulate gene expression...Avid said it expects to begin clinical trials with the AIDS drug within the next several months

The trial, to be conducted by AIDS Research Alliance, in West Hollywood, Calif., will enroll 14 patients and should begin during the first quarter of 1997. * Cell Genesys Inc., of Foster City, Calif., is working with the National Cancer Institute, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Arizona Cancer Center to develop gene therapies for ovarian, colon, breast, lung and prostate cancers...The company expects to submit an investigational new drug application and initiate Phase I trials during the

Lilly agreed to pay more than $20 million to Aurora during the first three years as part of the deal...Lilly will get rights to Aurora’s fluorescent screening technology and high throughput screening system

BASF will make up to $6 million in research and development payments to Genzyme Transgenics over the next three years...Ltd., of Tokyo, to develop diagnostic imaging products based on Palatin’s Midas Technology for the design of metallo-peptide analogs used in radionuclear diagnostic imaging

Arqule will receive $12 million to provide Monsanto with mapping array compound sets and will synthesize directed array compound sets for use in the development of crop protection products...The company said it plans to begin Phase I trials in the second quarter of 1997...Terms indicate that SIBIA will license to Aurora non-exclusive rights to practice its transcription-based assay technology

Gene Logic Inc., of Columbia, Md., entered a collaboration with the Center for Clinical and Basic Research, of Ballerup, Denmark, for discovery of genes related to osteoporosis...The research center will provide human bone samples and tissues from animal models for analysis using Gene Logic's functional genomics technologies. * NeoPharm Inc., of Lake Forest, Ill., filed a new drug application with the FDA for approval of Broxine (broxuridine) as a radiosensitizer for treatment of brain tumors and

The drug, a form of human basic fibroblast growth factor, demonstrated in animal studies it could improve blood flow to ischemic areas

The venture will combine the research and drug development capabilities of the two organizations to focus on novel pharmaceuticals designed to inhibit the activity of a form of apolipoprotein E, a molecule that has been widely linked to Alzheimer's disease. * ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp., of Waltham, Mass., said as a result of an internal company review and meeting with the FDA on Dec. 19, it will initiate an Allervax Cat product trial in the second quarter of 1997, and will modify its

In a move to save substantial interest payments, the company said, at the same time, CEL-SCI sold $2.85 million of preferred convertible stock to another group of investors...Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Boulder, Colo., and Protogene Laboratories Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., will collaborate to use Ribozyme’s proprietary technology for the synthesis of ribozymes and Protogene’s instrumentalization capabilities to develop automated machines and techniques for the synthesis, deprotection and

The company expects to file a new drug application with the FDA in mid- 1997...Hoechst expects to begin clinical trials next year of a gene-activated EPO generated with technology licensed from Transkaryotic Therapies Inc., of Cambridge, Mass. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 20, 1996, p. 1.) * Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., said Eli Lilly and Co., of Indianapolis, signed on as a subscriber to Incyte's main human gene sequence and expression data base, called LifeSeq, and its data

Targretin-treated animals in the study showed a 90 percent reduction in tumor burden and tumor incidence compared to controls...The study results also indicated that Targretin may offer significant reductions in side effects over other breast cancer chemotherapy agents. * NeXstar Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Boulder, Colo., said that research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation provides the first demonstration of in vivo efficacy of an aptamer directed against a cell surface receptor...In

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., of San Diego, has initiated a Phase II/III clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of LJP 394, its drug candidate for lupus...LJP 394 is designed to reduce the levels of double-stranded DNA antibodies, which are believed to be responsible for lupus nephritis, a principal cause of morbidity and mortality in lupus patients

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., of San Diego, has initiated a Phase II/III clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of LJP 394, its drug candidate for lupus...LJP 394 is designed to reduce the levels of double-stranded DNA antibodies, which are believed to be responsible for lupus nephritis, a principal cause of morbidity and mortality in lupus patients

Under the terms of the agreement, ARIAD will receive a $2 million cash payment within 30 days of reaching the milestone. * North American Vaccine, of Beltsville, Md., and Chiron Behring, GmbH & Co., of Marburg, Germany, have signed a definitive agreement for Chiron Behring to market North American Vaccine's diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine. * Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc., of Collegeville, Pa., said its drug, Rilutek, one year after it received marketing clearance from the FDA, has

Cellegy Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Foster City, Calif., has licensed its investigational compound, Glyorin, to Glaxo Wellcome Inc., of Research Triangle, N.C. Glylorin entered Phase III clinical trials in January, 1996, for nonbullous congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma and is also expected to be evaluated in the treatment of other less severe forms of the disease. * Depotech Corp., of San Diego, has filed an investigational new drug application with the FDA to begin Phase 1 clinical trials of

Terrapin Technologies Inc., of South San Francisco, has been granted rights to explore portions of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, of Washington, extensive synthetic compound library for use in any of Terrapin's product discovery projects...In exchange, the company will apply its proprietary drug discovery technology to identify therapeutic leads for potential development by Walter Reed, primarily focusing on antiparasitic treatments. * Scios Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., raised $3.6

The trial, expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 1997, will involve 120 male subjects at five centers in Belgium and Holland. * LXR Biotechnology Inc., of Richmond, Calif., entered an agreement with Boehringer Mannheim GmbH, of Mannheim, Germany, for evaluation of LXR's Maspin protein for treatment of breast and prostate cancers...other antiviral AIDS compounds. * Myriad Genetics Inc., of Salt Lake City, has established a research collaboration with The University of Texas M.D

Twenty-one patients received Reticulose and 22 patients received placebo, administered daily, every other week, for a 60-day period...Also, there was a 21 percent average decrease in HIV viral load, as measured by quantitative RNA PCR, in the Reticulose-treated patients, in contrast to a 33 percent increase in HIV viral load in the control group. * Aurora Biosciences Corp., of La Jolla, Calif., and Carl Creative Systems, of Harbor City, Calif., will collaborate to develop advanced sample handling