Lidak Pharmaceuticals announced Wednesday that it has raised about $8.4 million from the exercise of about 97 percent of 5.8 million class A warrants outstanding. The exercise price was $1.50. Holders who exercised will receive one share of Lidak common stock and one class B warrant, resulting in about 11 million shares outstanding, said David Katz, president and chief executive officer. Each class B warrant (NASDAQ:LDAKM) entitles the holder to buy a share of common for $2.25. The stock

The European Patent Office has issued to Immunomedics Inc. patent EP 0131627 covering the use of highly specific carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) targeting antibodies and antibody fragments, the company announced Wednesday. The stock (NASDAQ:IMMU) gained 63 cents to $7.63. It was trading at $9.75 on May 6 when the European Patent Office reversed a more general Immunomedics patent covering the use of monoclonal antibodies for cancer imaging. The latest patent covers several of the Warren, N.J

Celltech Group plc announced that it has entered into an agreement with Bayer AG worth $47.8 million (26 million pounds) to develop and market a monoclonal antibody directed at tumor necrosis factor to treat septic shock. Both companies have been developing anti-TNF monoclonals. Celltech's humanized MAb will begin Phase I studies within the next few weeks in three European countries. Bayer's mouse MAb, licensed from Chiron Corp., is in Phase III trials in the U.S. and Europe, and Bayer plans

XOMA BUSILY GAINS GROUND Xoma Corp. shares (NASDAQ:XOMA) jumped $2 on Wednesday to $20.25, crossing the $20 threshold for the first time since March 26. The stock was the most active among bioscience issues, trading 2 million shares. Spokeswoman Carol DeGuzman said that Stover Haley & Noyes initiated coverage with a "buy" rating. According to DeGuzman, Richard Stover foresees FDA approval of two products, E5 for gram-negative sepsis and CD5-Plus for graft-vs.-host disease, in the second half of

Applied Microbiology Inc., with only a few months of cash reserve, said Tuesday that it has raised $1.5 million in a private placement to Burns Philp & Co. Ltd. The transaction is the first part of a deal in which the Australian multinational corporation will obtain a majority interest in Applied. Burns Philp, parent of Applied's key supplier, will receive 349,000 shares of Applied stock (NASDAQ:AMBIC) at $4.30 per share. Burns, which already holds 1 million shares, will then own 18 percent of

Cortech Inc. said Tuesday that it has filed an investigational new drug application to begin Phase I clinical trials of its CP- 0127 bradykinin antagonist to treat shock. The Denver company's compound will be targeted initially to treat shock in the systemic inflammatory response syndrome. SIRS is an umbrella term coined by the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society for Critical Care Medicine to describe systemic inflammation. Causes include trauma, burns and infection leading to

Glycomed Inc. on Tuesday said it has filed an investigational new drug application to begin Phase I trials of its first product, Galardin MPI. The Alameda, Calif., company said the filing came more than a month ahead of its forecast. Its stock (NASDAQ:GLYC) rose 13 cents to $11.13. Galardin is designed to treat corneal ulcers, which may be caused by viral and bacterial infection; injury to the eye, such as chemical burn; neurological and autoimmunological diseases, including rheumatoid

Nova Pharmaceutical Corp. has begun Phase I clinical testing of its leumedin anti-inflammatory compound, NPC 15669, to treat sepsis/septic shock and inflammatory bowel disease, the company announced Tuesday. Leumedins (leukocyte mediator inhibitors) act by inhibiting the expression of the adhesion molecule receptors on the surface of white blood cells. Those receptors normally bind to complementary proteins on the surface of endothelial cells, making possible the migration of white blood cells

The Southwest Oncology Group will conduct a Phase III clinical study of Ribi ImmunoChem Research Inc.'s Melacine to treat patients with melanoma, the company said Tuesday. The trial will test the ability of the melanoma theracine to prevent recurrence of disease in Stage II patients following surgical removal of primary melanoma tumors. Stage II patients have local lesions of a specified size. About 30 percent of such patients have a recurrence of disease within five years of the surgery

ProCyte Corp. said Tuesday that it has sold 1.25 million shares in a public offering of common stock at $5.50 per share, raising $6.9 million. The company had planned to offer 2 million shares. When it filed in March, its stock (NASDAQ:PRCY) was selling at $10.13. Tuesday's closing price was $6.50, up 25 cents. ProCyte's peptide-copper Iamin compound is completing Phase II trials for diabetic ulcers, and the company expects to begin Phase III trials this fall. European Phase II trials of

INTEREST RATES CAPTURE INVESTOR ATTENTION Bioscience shares made little movement Tuesday as the market responded to prospects of lower interest rates by driving up the Dow Jones industrials. The AMEX Biotechnology Index was up 0.69 to 146.86. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) was the sector's volume leader, gaining $1.88 to $56.38 on 857,000 shares traded. Among other top- tier biotech companies, Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BGEN) closed at $23.25 and Chiron Corp. (NASDAQ:CHIR) at $47.50, both up 88 cents

Biomatrix Inc. on Monday announced that it has reached a funding agreement for its Biomatrix Medical Canada unit with the Quebec government. The provincial government will provide about $1.1 million (C$1.33 million) as a loan without interest for two years, to be used for investments in facilities and equipment. The principal amount will not be owed until the company is profitable, said George Oram, Biomatrix president. In return, Quebec will have an option to purchase up to 4.65 percent of

DepoTech Corp. was to present today Phase I trial data showing that its encapsulated chemotherapeutic led to clearing of malignant cells from the cerebrospinal fluid in seven patients with malignant meningitis. The results, using Depofoam-encapsulated Ara-C cytarabine, were to be reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in San Diego by Dr. Sinil Kim, research director and co-founder of DepoTech. The trial involved 12 patients whose primary cancers had metastasized to the

MIXED BAG FOR TRADERS Bioscience shares were mixed on Monday, with the AMEX Biotechnology Index gaining for a second session to 146.17, up 2.92 points. Xoma Corp. (NASDAQ:XOMA) was the most active biotech stock, losing 25 cents to $17.63 on more than 1 million shares traded. Rival Centocor Inc. also fell 25 cents to $11.75 on more than 700,000 shares traded. Alliance Pharmaceutical Corp. (NASDAQ:ALLP) rebounded $1.63 to $18.88 after falling $2 on Friday. More than 1 million shares have traded

Positive Phase I results in cancer patients treated with Seragen Inc.'s interleukin-2 fusion toxin have been reported in the current issue of Blood. Four of 18 patients in the trial experienced a significant reduction in tumor size. All of the patients had leukemias and lymphomas expressing the IL-2 receptor. Each patient had previously received an average of five different therapies prior to enrolling in the trial. Seragen (NASDAQ:SRGN) estimates that 50 percent of all leukemias and lymphomas

Xytronyx Inc. said Monday that it has raised $3.2 million in a private placement of units to international institutional investors. Each $23.25 unit consisted of two shares of common stock (AMEX:XYX) and a warrant to buy a share of stock. The warrants are exercisable for three years at $13.95 a share. The stock closed Monday at $12.38, up 38 cents. The San Diego company, which is developing medical, dental and veterinary products, is marketing the Sun Alert ultraviolet warning badge. The self

Repligen Corp. on Monday announced a collaboration agreement worth more than $14 million with Eli Lilly and Co. to develop antibody-based therapeutics to treat inflammation. The three-year program will focus on antibodies and antibody fragments that bind to a specific site, CD11b, on neutrophil white blood cells. Initial therapeutic targets will be acute inflammatory conditions such as trauma shock and adult respiratory distress syndrome. Repligen shares (NASDAQ:RGEN) rose $1 to $12.50

Osteotech Inc. said it has completed its acquisition of HC Implants B.V. for about $2.3 million in cash and 195,350 shares of unregistered common stock. HC, located in the Netherlands and Denver, makes prosthesis ceramic coatings for the orthopedic and dental implant markets. Osteotech of Shrewsbury, N.J., processes human bone and bone connective tissue for transplantation. The company's shares (NASDAQ:OSTE) were up 88 cents to $10.25 on Monday. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All

When a company's product gets embroiled in controversy, how do the company and its stock weather the storm? Collagen Corp., which sells injectable collagen products, in the past year has faced congressional and FDA hearings and negative media publicity questioning the safety of its products. According to the company, the controversy has cost $11 million in lost annual sales and $3 million in added spending, mainly in legal fees. In an interview with BioWorld, President and CEO Howard Palefsky