What ever happened to recombinant indigo and designer blue genes? Exactly a decade ago, Amgen Inc. scientist Burt D. Ensley stumbled upon a method to genetically engineer indigo from host microorganisms. His paper in Science for Oct. 14, 1983, "Expression of Naphthalene Oxidation Genes in Escherichia coli Results in the Biosynthesis of Indigo," led to much media coverage at the time about "designer genes." Ensley's U.S. patent, more cryptically titled "Microbial Production of Indigo" and
EcoScience Corp. announced Friday that it has received $105,000 from the state of Minnesota for research on developing a biological control agent for the aquatic weed Eurasian watermilfoil. Scientists at the Worcester, Mass., company (NASDAQ:ECSC) have identified a naturally occurring fungus that has a symbiotic relationship with milfoil, one of the most problematic aquatic weeds in North America. If they concentrate this fungus, encapsulate it in small beads and disperse those beads onto the
The Clinton administration's latest plan to provide tax breaks for investors in small businesses would bypass most of the biotechnology industry. The plan, described in a 71-page booklet released last week, by the Treasury Department, would exclude from the incentive companies that have raised more than $25 million from debt and equity, rather than using the $100 million limit provided for in legislation proposed by Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark. Also, non-taxable capital gains would be capped at 10
Calgene Inc. said Friday it was granted a U.S. patent, No. 5,188,958, for a method for making oils, strengthening the company's stake in a field that could surpass the importance of genetically engineered tomatoes. The patent covers genetically engineered cells of Brassica, a botanical genus that includes oil-producing rapeseed, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussels sprouts. "This is the most efficient transformation method for Brassica species in the industry," said Vic Knauf, vice
Icos Corp. is beginning a research collaboration with Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) on novel localization proteins for certain enzymes believed responsible for triggering disease. Icos will have exclusive rights to the technology, which it declined to discuss in more detail. The university, in return, may receive future royalties on certain products, and the principle investigators will receive laboratory support. "The agreement allows Icos to extend its efforts in the areas of
Bio-Technology General Corp. (BTG) announced that it has initiated its clinical study on the intratracheal delivery of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in premature neonates. The New York company received the go-ahead from FDA on Monday to assess the therapeutic utility of recombinant human SOD in preventing bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature infants. Excess oxygen free-radicals in the neonate lung have been implicated as a cause of acute injury leading to permanent tissue damage, which
The stock of another high-profile biotechnology company plummetted on Thursday after Amgen Inc. told analysts Wednesday afternoon that earnings for its first quarter would be 10 percent to 15 percent below Wall Street expectations. Amgen's stock (NASDAQ:AMGN) dropped $9.25, closing at $37. About 22 million of the company's 147 million shares outstanding traded hands -- more than the 21 million shares traded Monday on news of disappointing results for Synergen Inc.'s anti-infective, Antril
Hyal Pharmaceutical Corp. (NASDAQ/NMS:HYALP) of Mississauga, Ontario, has received approval under a Canadian investigational new drug application to begin a Phase III clinical trial on its topical analgesia, AT2101, for relief of pain associated with acute osteoarthritis of the knee. The Phase III trial at the University Hospital in London, Ontario, will compare the pain relief capability of this hyaluronic acid-based gel containing a non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drug with a placebo. The
Shareholders willing, Britain's Imperial Chemical Industries plc (ICI) will "demerge" this spring into two separate companies. The split would sever ICI's burgeoning bioscience activities from the more traditional paints, explosives and commodity chemicals for which the company was founded in 1926. In making the announcement on Thursday, Denys Henderson, company chairman, said, "The board of directors has unanimously recommended that ICI should now proceed to put to its shareholders formal
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has ordered a hearing for March 11 to find out why The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has been reluctant to hand over documents he requested regarding TSRI's contract with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Sandoz. Sandoz last year agreed to give TSRI, which is funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health, $300 million over 10 years in return for the first right of refusal to commercialize developments that arise during the agreement. NIH Director
Miles Inc. announced late Thursday that FDA has given its pharmaceutical division marketing clearance for its recombinant Factor VIII product Kogenate (anti-hemophilic factor recombinant) to treat hemophilia A, a chronic bleeding disorder. Genentech Inc. (NYSE:GNE) of South San Francisco, Calif., originally cloned the Factor VIII gene and licensed it to Miles in 1984 as part of a collaborative agreement. "Miles acquired the rights to use the gene and develop a manufacturing process to produce
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Public outrage last year over the humongous pay, perks, bonuses and stock options showered on top company executives in corporate America stirred the Security and Exchange Commission last October to issue tougher "Revised Executive Compensation Proxy Rules" for 1993. At a two-hour breakfast roundtable here on Wednesday for some 190 regional biotechnology executives and financiers, Larry S. Schumer, human resource advisory manager of Coopers & Lybrand's Boston office, took
Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. of New York has acquired a 75 percent interest in privately held Genetic MediSyn Corp., an antisense company. Genetic MediSyn of Columbia, Md., was formed in July 1991 as a wholly owned subsidiary of 6-year-old, privately held Synthecell Corp., also of Columbia. Medicis, which pursues skin condition treatments, exchanged 1.27 million shares of its class A common stock in the acquisition. Medicis has 50 million shares outstanding, a spokeswoman told BioWorld, and
Vestar Inc. announced Wednesday that it has filed a new drug application (NDA) with the FDA for DaunoXome, its liposomal formulation of the anti-cancer drug daunorubicin, for treating AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). This is the first NDA filed in the U.S. on a liposomal drug, the San Dimas, Calif., company (NASDAQ:VSTR) said. It may also be one of the few NDAs filed in the U.S. on the basis of Phase II clinical trial data. "We believe the data will be acceptable to FDA and see no reason to
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For the second time this week, a congressional committee has slammed the pharmaceutical industry for the high cost of drugs. But George Rathmann, president and chief executive officer of Icos Corp. of Seattle, representing the biotechnology trade associations, said biotechnology companies should be treated differently from the pharmaceutical industry. "Unlike established pharmaceutical companies," Rathmann stated in prepared testimony, "most ... do not currently have
AT Biochem, a division of Applied Technology Genetics Corp. (ATGC), agreed to supply Roche Molecular Systems Inc. of Branchburg, N.J., with custom components for Roche's DNA- based human identity and parental testing kits, the Malvern, Pa., company announced. Roche Molecular Systems' marketing partner, Perkin-Elmer of Norwalk, Conn., will sell the material under the GeneAmp trademark for polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based products. ATGC has optimized the GeneAmp gels and loading buffers
Alpha 1 Biomedicals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALBM) has revised certain terms of its Class B warrants. The changes are a reduction in the exercise price to $10 per share, a reduction to $19 of the exercise price, and a reduction to $25 of the redemption trigger price of the Class C warrants that are issuable upon the exercise of the Class B warrants and an extension to March 9, 1993, of the redemption date for the Class B warrants. For each Class B warrant exercised, holders will receive one share of common
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company that uses structure-based drug design, has been granted its fifth U.S. composition-of-matter patent for compounds that inhibit modification of nucleotides. The compounds target purine nucleoside phosphorylase, which attaches phosphates to RNA. This enzyme's involvement in regulation of T cell function has been demonstrated in preclinical studies and is being tested in clinical trials. BioCryst received its four earlier
Belmac Corp. (ASE:BLM) announced last week that it has completed Phase I trials in the U.S. on its transdermal anti- hemorrhoidal patch, Alphanon. Alphanon is a formulation of camphor that acts as an anti- inflammatory and vasorelaxant. The patch has been co- developed by Belmac of Tampa, Fla., and Alza Corp. of Palo Alto, Calif. Recognizing that Phase II and III trials "will require substantial sums and several years of testing," the company is considering several options as to how to conduct
NeoRx Corp. announced Tuesday that its "pretargeting" method for radioactive monoclonal antibody-based cancer therapy works in mice. The Seattle company (NASDAQ:NERX) reported these findings to its shareholders at last week's annual gathering. Not only did the pretargeting approach cause complete tumor regressions, but it also apparently cured chemotherapy-resistant human lung cancer tumors in mice. Monoclonal antibodies tagged with tissue-damaging radioactivity or toxin molecules are
What ever happened to recombinant indigo and designer blue genes? Exactly a decade ago, Amgen Inc. scientist Burt D. Ensley stumbled upon a method to genetically engineer indigo from host microorganisms. His paper in Science for Oct. 14, 1983, "Expression of Naphthalene Oxidation Genes in Escherichia coli Results in the Biosynthesis of Indigo," led to much media coverage at the time about "designer genes." Ensley's U.S. patent, more cryptically titled "Microbial Production of Indigo" and