Deprenyl USA Inc. (NASDAQ:DUSA) of Parsippany, N.J., has filed an investigational new drug (IND) application with FDA for use of its ALA photodynamic therapy (externally applied 5- aminolevulinic acid activated by a light source) for treating pre-cancerous actinic keratoses and psoriasis. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Carrington Laboratories Inc. (ASE:CRN) of Irving, Texas, said it has received permission from FDA to begin a pilot safety and efficacy study on acemannan to treat acute flare-up in ulcerative colitis patients. Acemannan is a polysaccharide with immune modulating and anti-viral properties. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
CORTECH RAISES $29.2 MILLION IN IPO Cortech Inc. of Denver announced Wednesday that it has raised net proceeds of $29.2 million in its initial public offering, filed Nov. 24. The company issued 4 million common stock units at $8 per unit. The units, listed on the NASDAQ system as CRTQZ, consist of one share of common stock and one common stock conversion right. Those will be quoted on NASDAQ starting Jan. 8 as CRTQ and CRTQR, respectively. 1203CORTECH (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All
Molecular Biosystems Inc. (NYSE:MB) of San Diego said that some of its shareholders have sued certain company officers and board members for knowingly misrepresenting the likelihood and timing of final FDA approval of the company's cardiac ultrasound contrast agent, Albunex. Molecular Biosystems announced in mid-November that an FDA request for additional information on Albunex would likely delay its approval by at least several months. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved
Genentech Inc. announced late Wednesday that it has completed Phase III trials of Pulmozyme, its recombinant human DNase, for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). The results of the 968-patient study demonstrated that Pulmozyme improves lung function and reduces the rate of respiratory infection in CF patients, with no major adverse side effects. Although the South San Francisco, Calif., company (NYSE:GNE) has yet to file a product license application (PLA) on Pulmozyme with the FDA -- which it is
Idec Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IDPH) announced that it has signed the lease on the building that will become its new corporate headquarters, research labs and mammalian cell culture pilot plant. Idec will consolidate its Mountain View and La Jolla, Calif., operations at the new San Diego facility. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Cadus Pharmaceutical Corp., a subsidiary of ImClone Systems Inc., named Jeremy M. Levin president and chief executive officer. Both companies are based in New York. Prior to joining Cadus, Levin was vice president of corporate development at IG Laboratories Inc. Boron Biologicals of Raleigh, N.C., named Charles R. Krause president and chief operating officer. Krause was group vice president with C.R. Bard Inc., a medical products company. Belmac Corp. of Tampa, Fla., named Michael M
80 Rogers Corp., a holding company established after Oncogene Science Inc. of Manhasset, N.Y., bought Applied Biotechnology last year, on Wednesday reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission the sale of 332,450 shares of Oncogene stock. 80 Rogers retains 1.6 million shares, a 10.7 percent stake in Oncogene. The company sold the shares between Nov. 16 and 19 to meet "immediate cash needs in settling debts," according to an Oncogene spokesman. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All
TargeTech Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Immune Response Corp., was issued U.S. patent No. 5,166,320 covering methods and compositions for delivering DNA to the liver via receptors on the surface of liver cells. The inventors of the patent are George and Catherine Wu of the University of Connecticut, and TargeTech holds an exclusive license for the patent. TargeTech is developing this core technology to treat diseases through gene therapy. "This patented technology may help gene therapy
Sepracor Inc. (NASDAQ:SEPR) of Marlborough, Mass., and Sterling Winthrop Inc. of New York have entered into a joint agreement to develop for over-the-counter use and to market an analgesic product based on a single isomer form of a current non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory prescription drug. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
PDL DEVELOPS HUMANIZED ANTIBODIES Protein Design Labs Inc. (NASDAQ:PDLI) of Mountain View, Calif., announced Wednesday at the Robertson Stephens & Co. conference in New York that it has developed humanized antibodies to two adhesion molecules: integrin and selectin. The company claimed that its humanized antibodies have approximately the same biological activity and binding affinity as the mouse antibodies from which they were derived. Gregory Lawless, president and chief executive officer of
Drug pricing was the topic before the advisory committee to the director of the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday, and the big questions was, given the crucial role that NIH plays in drug development, is the public subsidizing the industry. And if so, should citizens be reimbursed through lower drug prices, or should NIH or the federal government receive royalties? And finally, what role, if any, should NIH play in determining "reasonable pricing"? The public is angry, said John
Innovir Laboratories Inc. announced Wednesday that a U.S. patent, No. 5,168,053, covering therapeutic applications of ribozyme (RNA enzyme) was issued to Yale University on Tuesday. Licensed exclusively to Innovir, the patent covers the use of small, specific RNA segments called external guide sequences (EGSes) that target key disease-causing molecules known as messenger RNAs (mRNAs). EGSes direct the cellular ribozyme element Ribonuclease P (RNase P) to mRNA targets, where the RNase P cleaves
Cel-Sci Corp. and Alpha 1 Biomedicals Inc. announced that their putative AIDS vaccine, HGP-30, proved safe in U.S. Phase I clinical trials on 16 healthy volunteers. Moreover, "some individuals showed T cell responses, including the ability to elicit cytotoxic killer T cells that are thought to be essential in the elimination of AIDS infected cells," said Allan Goldstein, professor and chairman of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at the George Washington University Medical
APPLIED IMMUNE BEGINS PHASE II Applied Immune Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:AISX) of South San Francisco, Calif., announced that it has begun Phase II trials on its cell therapy for AIDS in 20 patients at the University of California, San Francisco. Celltech Group plc of Slough, England, announced that it has spun off its contract manufacturing business as an independent, wholly owned subsidiary, Celltech Biologics plc. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Vestar Inc. announced that its liposome-formulated amphotericin B compound may be useful in treating visceral leishmaniasis (VL), an often fatal parasitic infection. Clinician Robert Davidson of St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, reported on a multicenter, combined Phase II/III clinical trial of Ambisome at the XIII International Congress for Tropical Medicine and Malaria held in Pattaya, Thailand. AmBisome treatment cured all 32 VL-infected patients, including 12 who were
Mycogen Corp. said Tuesday that it has completed the acquisition of Lubrizol Corp.'s agricultural seed and plant science division, Agrigenetics Co., in a $135 million deal announced in April. The transaction involved the formation of a partnership between Mycogen and Lubrizol giving Mycogen a 51 percent interest and Lubrizol a 49 percent interest. To acquire controlling interest in the partnership, Mycogen of San Diego transferred 2.29 million shares of its common stock (NASDAQ:MYCO) and $39.4
Creative BioMolecules Inc. announced Tuesday that it has filed an initial public offering of 3 million shares of common stock at an estimated price range of $7 to $9 per share. The underwriters of the offering, Montgomery Securities and Prudential Securities Inc., have an option to purchase up to 450,000 additional shares to cover overallotments. The company will trade on the NASDAQ under the approved symbol CBMI. Creative Biomolecules originally filed a registration statement with the
TheraTech Inc. announced that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a secondary public offering of 1.25 million shares of common stock. The offering will be co-managed by William Blair & Co. and Vector Securities International Inc. The Salt Lake City drug delivery company (NASDAQ:THRT) will use the proceeds to fund R&D, as well as for construction of additional R&D and manufacturing facilities. TheraTech has six drug delivery products in clinical
Just as Darwin's finches have diversified throughout the Galapagos Islands, so have parrot species diverged island by island in the Caribbean. Millions of Puerto Rican parrots, Amazona vittata, used to darken the skies of the 3,515-square- mile island. By 1975, their number was down to 13 adult birds. Before then, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service had begun a conservation program to pull Amazona vittata back from the brink of total extinction. It snared birds of both sexes and tried to breed
Deprenyl USA Inc. (NASDAQ:DUSA) of Parsippany, N.J., has filed an investigational new drug (IND) application with FDA for use of its ALA photodynamic therapy (externally applied 5- aminolevulinic acid activated by a light source) for treating pre-cancerous actinic keratoses and psoriasis. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.