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

Alpha 1 Biomedicals Inc. said Friday that it has received its first product approval, for the sale of Thymosin Alpha 1 in Italy. Sclavo S.p.A., Alpha 1's Italian licensee, will sell the drug as a treatment for primary immunodeficiencies and as an adjuvant for influenza vaccine in renal dialysis patients. The Italian government has not yet established a price. The initial indications are relatively narrow, and Sclavo anticipates modest initial sales. Alpha 1 of Washington, D.C., will receive

Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Jeffrey Casdin on Friday said he rated Centocor Inc. a "trading buy," sending the company's shares up $1.50 to $12. In a lengthy analysis, Casdin said that he has long estimated the downside risk in the stock at $20, plus or minus $5 per share, if the FDA turned down Centoxin as a treatment for gram-negative sepsis. The FDA in April said the product is currently unapprovable. "That was the price at which we felt the company could be sold in its distressed situation

"When you're in that kind of storm, the only thing to do is stop talking." -- Collagen CEO Howard Palefsky Going underground in the face of bad news is not a strategy that public relations experts recommend, even though it may be attractive to beleaguered executives. The short-term cost is a loss of control over the information that gets before the company's constituencies. Going underground "is always a temptation, but we counsel our clients not to do that," said Anthony Russo, chief

Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. named Orville G. Kolterman medical director. He was program director of the General Clinical Research Center and medical director of the Diabetes Center, both at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center. Christopher Moyses was named senior director of clinical development, Europe. He was cardiovascular drug team leader at ICI Pharmaceuticals Inc. Dennis Mulvey was named senior director of process development. He was manager of peptide manufacturing at

Bioscience stocks rebounded Friday, with the AMEX Biotechnology Index gaining 4.24 to 143.25. However, the index was down 8.12 points in the week. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.

Alkermes Inc. has received its first patent on its technology for transporting compounds across the blood-brain barrier, the company said Thursday. U.S. patent No. 5,112,597, issued Tuesday, covers the Cambridge, Mass., company's receptor-mediated permeabilizer (RMP) technology. The claims include the use of a family of compounds to increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier when given intravenously. Alkermes is developing RMPs to be used with therapeutic compounds to treat

Biocircuits Corp. said Thursday that it has raised $10 million in its initial public offering of 2 million shares of common stock at $5 per share. The reduced-price offering is the second in two days, reflecting the current market for biotech-related public offerings. The Burlingame, Calif., company had planned to price its shares at $8 to $10. On Wednesday, drug delivery system developer TheraTech Inc. (NASDAQ:THRT) sold 1.25 million shares at $7.50, reduced from the planned 2 million shares