suffer from cold sores. • BioChem Pharma Inc., of Laval, Quebec, said results of a Phase I study on a novel anticancer agent, troxacitabine, formerly called BCH-4556, to treat acute myelogenous leukemia were presented Friday at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium in New York...Zenapax is approved in the U.S., Europe and other areas for the prevention of acute rejection episodes in kidney transplantation. • Warner-Lambert Co., of Morris Plains, N.J., said its board does not intend to pursue an

Pharma AG, of Basel, Switzerland. • Celera Genomics, of Rockville, Md., a unit of Perkin-Elmer Corp., said it has begun to sequence the genome of Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly, which will be the first insect genome sequenced and is expected to serve as a model for other insect genomes in medical and agricultural research. • Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., said its Remicade (infliximab) was shown in a study to be highly effective in healing fistulae, which are complications of Crohn’s

The goal of the study is to compare ReoPro to standard therapy in reducing the composite endpoint of death or myocardial infarction when percutaneous coronary intervention is not planned...and Targretin gel and capsules. • MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, began enrolling patients in a Phase II study of MGI 114, its drug for pancreatic cancer...for its SangCya capsules to prevent rejection in solid-organ transplant recipients

Clinical studies confirmed the HPV-transmitted infection is the cause of essentially all cervical cancer...The company hopes to launch the test this spring. • Ergo Science Corp., of Boston, said it will appeal the FDA’s not-approvable letter for Ergoset tablets for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes

Ergo Science Corp. , of Boston, reported positive results from a clinical study designed to determine the anti-diabetic effects of Ergoset (bromocriptine mesylate) tablets in Type 2 diabetic patients on insulin...The trial is expected to enroll 15 patients, all of whom have failed previous treatment regimens...The data were collected after three years. * Zila Inc., of Phoenix, presented a report based on data from an ongoing, 12-site clinical study designed to support an oral-cancer screening claim

Specific financial details were not disclosed, but the agreement calls for up-front funding and potential milestone and royalty payments to EnzyMed. * MGI Pharma Inc. , of Minneapolis, said it is expanding its Phase II study with MGI 114, an anticancer drug, to include 16 more evaluable patients...Sonus said it was concerned about the lack of clinical progress following completion of Phase I trials, and is seeking another company with which to forge an agreement. * Techniclone Inc. , of Tustin

The payment was triggered by the issuance of a patent on Medarex's HuMAb-Mouse technology. * MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, began enrolling patients in a Phase II clinical study with MGI 114 to treat ovarian cancer

Other News To Note o Corixa Corp. , of Seattle, and ImmGenics Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said they have signed an exclusive agreement to use ImmGenics' Selected Lymphocyte Antibody Method to develop therapeutic and diagnostic monoclonal antibodies targeting Corixa's proprietary antigens in cancer and infectious diseases

Patients who cannot or do not want to swallow capsules or tablets after transplantation comprise the targeted market. * Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, demonstrated in a series of clinical studies that the antisense drug INXC-6295 reduces tumor growth and extends the lives of treated animals without noticeable toxicities...The $2 million is payable over three years, with matching funds provided by Osiris. * Perkin-Elmer Corp., of Norwalk, Conn., and 3M, of St. Paul

The research confirms that EPO binds simultaneously to two receptors and that dimerizing the receptors forms a stable complex. * BioChem Pharma Inc., of Laval, Quebec, accepted a lead antiviral compound from Structural Bioinformatics Inc. (SBI), of San Diego, triggering a milestone payment to SBI...Signal also has exclusive rights to four issued patents covering other molecular targets in the JNK gene regulation pathway

Schwarz will pay up to 50 percent of the cost of a clinical study, requested by the U.K. Medicines Control Agency as a supplement to Core's submission for marketing authorization

The other grant, from the National Cancer Institute, is for synthesis of indolocarbazole topoisomerase inhibitors for antitumor agents. * Oncor Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., reported the availability of methylation assay kits designed to detect gene inactivation in cancer research...The study will evaluate the use of EchoGen during both exercise and pharmacologic stress echocardiography to enhance the visualization of cardiac function, assisting physicians in the diagnosis of coronary artery

The blinded, placebo-controlled trial will evaluate the vaccine's effectiveness in protecting healthy adults from the infection, which can lead to life-threatening diarrhea. * BioChem Pharma Inc., of Laval, Quebec, changed its NASDAQ National Market symbol to BCHE. * MedImmune Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., adopted a shareholder rights plan to prevent unwanted takeovers of the company...The company said other clinical studies and preclinical trials suggest the drug reduces body fat

BioChem Pharma Inc., of Quebec, reported Phase I clinical trial results on a novel cell culture-based influenza vaccine demonstrate it is safe and significantly boosts immunity in healthy volunteers...The new vaccine was shown to have an effect on immunity equivalent to Fluviral S/F for both the A-Texas and B-Harbin viral strains of influenza. * Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc., of Collegeville, Pa., will repurchase up to 5 million of its shares to be held by a flexible employee benefits trust to finance

Organon Teknika is a division of Akzo Nobel Pharma Group, of Arnhem, Netherlands. * Cascade Oncogenics Inc., of Portland, Ore., received a $750,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes of Health to identify genes regulated by p53, the tumor suppressor gene, involved in breast, ovary, prostate and colon cancers. * Cortech Inc., of Denver, said further delays are expected before its partner, SmithKline Beecham plc, of London, resumes a Phase II trial of

The agreement gives BioChem Pharma an exclusive two-year license to XTL's Trimera technology for creating models of the infection. * Cel-Sci Corp., of Alexandria, Va., raised $5 million through the sale of convertible stock to institutional investors...The company said the conversion price is dependent on the future performance of Cel- Sci's common shares. * DNX Corp., of Raritan, N.J., merged with privately held BioClin International, which has offices in Cham, Switzerland, and Richmond, Va., to