Somatix Therapy Corp. said Wednesday it has exclusive rights to a broad patent issued this week for gene therapy of central nervous system disorders. The patent, No. 5,082,670, covers methods for using genetically modified cells to treat CNS diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The patent also covers methods to treat damaged or defective CNS cells with genetically modified cells, vectors used to insert genes of interest, various cell types and ways of introducing the cells into
Roberts Pharmaceutical Corp. said Wednesday that it has signed a definitive agreement for the purchase by a U.S. subsidiary of Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. of 4 million newly issued shares of Roberts stock for $95 million. The purchase price is $23.84 a share. The stock (NASDAQ:RPCX) closed unchanged at $31 on Wednesday. After the purchase, Yamanouchi will hold a 29 percent interest in Roberts, which develops late-stage pharmaceuticals. The Eatontown, N.J., company will have 13.8 million
A clinical study of Amgen Inc.'s G-CSF came under fire today in the New England Journal of Medicine, as doctors wrote to criticize the cost of the adjunct to cancer therapy and questioned the relatively high dose of chemotherapy used in the study. Amgen was licensed last February to sell its Neupogen granulocyte-colony stimulating factor for use in reducing the incidence of infection, as manifested by fever and low counts of white blood cells, in cancer patients with non-myeloid malignancies
Lidak Pharmaceuticals Inc. has abandoned its plan to create a subsidiary to develop Lidakol, the company's anti-viral and anti-inflammatory product. Instead, the parent company will continue development and commercialization of products based on Lidakol. Since the announcement of the spinoff plan last October, Fred Espinosa was relieved of his duties as Lidak's president and chief operating officer and Donald Mosier resigned as chief scientific officer and corporate director, citing
Carrington Laboratories Inc. said it has received U.S. Department of Agriculture approval for the use of acemannan as a vaccine adjuvant in poultry. The ACM 1 immune booster will be marketed under an exclusive license to Solvay Animal Health Inc. in combination with a vaccine for Marek's disease. The drug, a macrophage stimulant, has been patented by the Irving, Texas, company and is being developed for veterinary uses as well as for human therapeutics. Acemannan, isolated from the aloe vera
DNA Plant Technology Corp. on Wednesday announced data from field trials of genetically engineered tomato plants, showing they have a significantly enhanced ability to resist Botrytis cinerea fungi. "The test data indicates a significant opportunity for extending the shelf life of fresh market produce by increasing resistance to fungi which cause post-harvest rot without the use of fungicides," said John Bedbrook, executive vice president and director of science at the company (NASDAQ:DNAP
Calgene Inc. will begin field trials later this year of a genetically engineered canola plant that will produce laurate, a raw material used in the soap, detergent, oleochemical, personal care and food industries, the company said Wednesday. At present, laurate is extracted from coconut and palm kernel, of which about a billion pounds are imported from Southeast Asia into the United States each year. By eliminating the transportation costs and taking advantage of a growing season that is longer
Centocor Inc. and Tocor II Inc. said Tuesday that Tocor II has raised $90 million through a public offering of 2.25 million units priced at $40 per unit. Tocor II, a vehicle to fund Centocor's research programs, had originally proposed to sell 1.5 million units, which would have raised $55 million. It will use the proceeds to engage Centocor in research and development of small peptide molecules in five target areas, including inflammation and autoimmune disease. Centocor has the option to
NeoRx Corp. planned to announce today that the Food and Drug Administration has completed its review of clinical data on the company's OncoTrac small cell lung cancer imaging agent. The Seattle company (NASDAQ:NERX) filed a product license application for OncoTrac in December 1989. OncoTrac links technetium-99m to a monoclonal antibody fragment. FDA advisory panels recently recommended approval of two other MAb imaging agents. Centocor Inc.'s Myoscint to detect myocardial necrosis in acute
Liposome Technology Inc. on Tuesday announced the start of a U.S. Phase I/II trial of its treatment for Kaposi's sarcoma in AIDS patients, and gave interim data on similar studies under way in AIDS patients in Europe and Israel. Patients treated to date with the liposomal formulation of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin have shown promising responses, the Menlo Park, Calif., company said. Liposome Technology's Stealth liposome can deliver the drug to tumor tissue, while evading attempts of the
WASHINGTON -- Biotech companies lined up on opposing sides of an amendment to limit orphan drug exclusivity in testimony before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, chairman of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee, held oversight hearings on a bill he is co-sponsoring with Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kan., that would extend the Orphan Drug Act for three years, but narrow the definition of orphan products so that "blockbuster" drugs are excluded. S. 2060 would end
The Liposome Co. said that on Tuesday it received a broad composition of matter patent covering TLC C-53, a liposomal prostaglandin E1, which it is developing as a cell adhesion antagonist. PGE1 prevents cells involved in inflammation, such as neutrophils, platelets and endothelial cells, from being activated by factors such as interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor or endotoxin. It also can turn off activated cells. U.S. patent No. 5,082,664 covers many types of liposomal formulations of PGE1
Osteotech Inc. announced Tuesday that it has agreed to end a collaboration with Alza Corp. that was developing a sustained- release formulation of drugs to aid muscle and bone surgeries. Alza (AMEX:AZA) is granted all rights to any products and technical information arising from the collaboration, which had started in 1987, while Osteotech (NASDAQ:OSTE) is relieved of making any further payments to Alza. Bonnie Burdett, spokeswoman for Palo Alto, Calif.-based Alza, said the termination "has no
The egg injector system made by Embrex Inc. has completed successfully its second field testing, the company announced at a poultry industry meeting Tuesday. Testing compared results from injecting vaccine for Marek's disease into eggs three days before hatch to the traditional injection of chicks on the day they hatch. Chicks vaccinated in ovo had higher hatch rates and grew to greater body weights while consuming less feed, the company reported. The Research Triangle Park, N.C., company
Interneuron Pharmaceuticals Inc. has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Princeton University for a new technology with the potential to deliver drugs across cell membranes, the company said Tuesday. The technology is based on a class of compounds that help transport other molecules across the lipid membranes of cells. Interneuron (NASDAQ:IPIC) plans to develop a carrier that would be conjugated with therapeutic drugs. The Lexington, Mass., company has paid a small up
ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. has raised $45.5 million in a public offering of 2 million shares of common stock priced at $22.75 per share, the company said Tuesday. The stock (NASDAQ:IMUL) lost $1.25 on Tuesday, closing at $22.50. Last November, the Cambridge, Mass., company signed a deal with Marion Merrell Dow Inc., which could be worth more than $60 million, to jointly develop ImmuLogic's allergy therapeutics. The company is also collaborating with Merck & Co. to develop treatments for
Genzyme Corp. said Monday that it has developed the first transgenic mouse able to produce in its milk the membrane protein cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator. CFTR, the protein coded by the gene associated with cystic fibrosis, is a chloride channel that allows chloride ions to pass out of cells. It normally resides on the surface membrane of airway cells. In mutant forms, the newly made protein is unable to move to the surface membrane where it belongs, and is destroyed. CF, which clogs
Deprenyl USA Inc. on Monday said it has completed its initial public offering of 1.25 million units priced at $12 per unit, raising $15 million. The offering, which was increased by 250,000 units from the preliminary prospectus, included 712,500 units placed in the United States and 537,500 in Canada. Each unit consists of two shares of common stock and one class A warrant to purchase one share of stock for $9. The warrants expire in April 1993. The units (NASDAQ:DUSAU) are to begin trading
Genentech Clinical Partners IV is seeking to sell its assets, according to an announcement made Monday by PaineWebber Development Corp. The limited partnership raised $72.5 million in June 1989 to fund the development of recombinant CD4 products for the treatment and prevention of HIV infection. HIV infects and eventually kills T helper cells, a class of white blood cells, by binding to the CD4 receptor. But CD4 therapeutics have shown little efficacy. Last January, Genentech Inc. (NYSE:GNE
Cytogen Corp. said Monday that it has begun Phase I trials of its ThromboScan cardiovascular imaging agent. ThromboScan, which is linked to technetium, targets fibrinogen receptors on platelets in order to detect blood clots in the circulatory system. The trials are testing ThromboScan for deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. ThromboScan uses a molecular recognition unit (MRU) instead of a much larger monoclonal antibody. MRUs are short chains of amino acids that have the ability to
Somatix Therapy Corp. said Wednesday it has exclusive rights to a broad patent issued this week for gene therapy of central nervous system disorders. The patent, No. 5,082,670, covers methods for using genetically modified cells to treat CNS diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The patent also covers methods to treat damaged or defective CNS cells with genetically modified cells, vectors used to insert genes of interest, various cell types and ways of introducing the cells into