Cytogen Corp. said Tuesday that it has filed for a 3.5 million- unit offering for a new company, Cytorad Inc., at a proposed price of between $10 and $12 per unit. Cytorad will use the proceeds to engage Cytogen in the research and development of antibody-based delivery systems to diagnose and treat prostate and bladder cancers. Cytogen's prostate imaging product is in Phase III trials, and its prostate therapeutic is scheduled to enter Phase I trials in the first quarter of 1992. Bladder
Scientists at Lidak Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported that the anti- viral action of the company's patented alcohol may halt a variety of pathogenic viruses that are coated by fat-containing envelopes. The La Jolla, Calif., company's Lidakol, whose active ingredient is a long-chain alcohol, has completed Phase I safety testing in humans as a topical formulation. Further testing against other viruses will require preclinical evaluation of its effectiveness and safety when given internally, David
Researchers at two universities have demonstrated the feasibility of using immature muscle cells as the delivery vehicle for gene therapy. Working with rodents, teams at Stanford and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, showed that myoblast cells from a cultured cell line can be engineered to make human growth hormone. Injected into an animal's muscle, the myoblasts incorporated into the tissue and supplied the hormone to the bloodstream for at least three months in physiologically relevant
Medarex Inc. reported on Monday that its bone marrow purge for cancer therapy is showing increased survival rates in preliminary Phase II clinical results in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Replenishing the bone marrow can spare patients from the toxicity of high-dose chemotherapy. Medarex (NASDAQ:MEDX) uses monoclonal antibodies to ensure that a patient's own marrow can be purged of leukemia cells, then reinfused. Presenting to the American Society of Hematology meeting in Denver, the
Gynex Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Monday that its steroid Oxandrin (oxandrolone) is now available to treat delayed growth in boys under a treatment investigational new drug designation. The drug is still in Phase III clinicals, but the treatment IND allows the company to charge for the drug on a physician's order to recover cost of production, distribution and research. Use in the clinical trial continues to be at no charge. A year's therapy with the steroid, which the Vernon Hills, Ill
Sphinx Pharmaceuticals Corp. said Monday that it has filed for an initial public offering of 3 million shares with a proposed price of between $10 and $12 per share. The Durham, N.C., company is developing small-molecule drugs based on the role of cell membrane lipids, also called second messengers, in regulating cellular processes. Lipid second messengers carry messages within cells. Most advanced is Sphinx's protein kinase C program. PKCs are a family of enzymes, regulated by lipid second
Biotechnology Development Corp. said Monday that its board has approved a six-month extension of its class C warrants to June 19, 1992. The warrants, which entitle the holder to buy one share of common stock for $4.50, were to expire on Dec. 19. Shares of the Newton, Mass., company's stock (NASDAQ:BIOD) closed unchanged at $2.38. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Chiron Corp. and Cetus Corp. said Monday that the Delaware Chancery Court has formally denied a motion brought by Eastman Kodak Co. seeking to enjoin the sale of Cetus' polymerase chain reaction technology to Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. The order confirms Roche's agreement, filed Dec. 5, to be bound by the decision of an arbitration pending between Cetus and Kodak over rights to the technology. Cetus shares (NASDAQ:CTUS) closed unchanged at $19. Chiron (NASDAQ:CHIR) rose 25 cents to $64. (c) 1997
Clinical Technologies Associates Inc. on Monday said Schering- Plough Corp. will fund a collaboration to see if it will be feasible to deliver one of Schering's peptides orally using Clinical Technologies' microspheres. The Elmsford, N.Y., company's patented amino acid-based microspheres protect proteins from digestion in the gut, allowing them to enter the bloodstream. The company also has product development agreements for the drug delivery system with The Upjohn Co., Sandoz Pharmaceutical
Genetics Institute Inc. said Monday that it expects to mail to shareholders this week a proxy statement relating to its proposed merger with American Home Products Corp. A special stockholders meeting has been scheduled for Jan. 16 to vote on the merger. The Securities and Exchange Commissions has declared effective the Cambridge, Mass., company's registration statement for the shares that will be issuable upon completion of the merger, under which AHP would purchase 60 percent of GI for $666
While Xoma Corp.'s E5 and Centocor Inc.'s (NASDAQ:CNTO) Centoxin monoclonal antibody treatments for gram-negative sepsis await final U.S. marketing approval and resolution of prolonged patent litigation, other potential treatments for the deadly infection are being developed. Following are three new reports: BPI Protein Xoma scientists were to present new data on a potential treatment for sepsis, bactericidal/permeability increasing protein (BPI), at a meeting Sunday of the American Society of
BioTechnica International Inc. has decided to leave the biotechnology business, announcing on Friday that it has sold its Plant Science Research Inc. subsidiary to DeKalb Genetics Corp. for undisclosed terms. Plant Science of Minnetonka, Minn., has been developing genetically engineered corn and soybeans. In January 1990, BioTechnica announced the first successful transformation of a corn gene into a subsequent generation. BioTechnica has received long-term marketing rights to certain products
Alza Corp. and Marion Merrell Dow Inc. said late Friday that the U.S. District Court in San Francisco indicated it will rule today on a motion by Elan Corp. plc and American Cyanamid Co. for a preliminary injunction to block the sale of Nicoderm transdermal nicotine patch. Elan of Athlone, Ireland, and Cyanamid last month sued Alza and MMD for allegedly infringing U.S. patent No. 4,943,435. The court earlier issued a temporary restraining order to delay the introduction of Nicoderm pending a
Synergen Inc. shares picked up $3 on Friday, closing at $53.50, after the company said it has received Food and Drug Administration approval to begin testing Antril interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in three new indications. The Boulder, Colo., company (NASDAQ:SYGN) plans to begin Phase I/II clinical trials in asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and graft-vs.-host disease within the next few weeks. Antril is being tested in four other indications. Phase II trials in sepsis have been completed
William J. Foran has been named president and chief executive officer of Quadra Logic Technologies Inc. He was previously president and CEO of Cyanamid Canada Inc. Quadra Logic (NASDAQ:QLTIF) of Vancouver, British Columbia, is developing drugs that are activated by light. Biogen Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., said John W. Catterall has resigned as vice president and treasurer. No replacement was named. Biogen (NASDAQ:BGEN) is a broad-based biopharmaceutical company. Arris Pharmaceutical Corp. of
WASHINGTON -- Federally supported biotechnology-related research is a candidate for a "presidential initiative" in President Bush's fiscal year 1993 budget, which he will present to Congress on Feb. 4. If the Bush administration launches a biotechnology initiative, it will commit the government to increased funding and better coordination of federal biotechnology research activities, said Ralph Brescia, a senior policy analyst for the Federal Coordinating Council on Science, Engineering and
Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., the victim of an increasingly selective public offerings market, said Thursday that it sold 1 million shares of common stock at $12.50 per share, half the number of shares it had proposed to sell. "Investors only want to buy stocks of companies in human clinical trials, and they're not in clinicals," said Larry Bloom, an analyst at SoundView Financial. Isis has hit weak markets twice this year. In May, the Carlsbad, Calif., antisense company raised $25 million in an
American Biogenetic Sciences Inc. said Thursday that it has received a notice of allowance for a U.S. patent on its monoclonal antibody for imaging blood clots. The Notre Dame, Ind., company's MH-1 is a murine monoclonal antibody fragment linked to technetium. It targets the cross- linked fibrin component of blood clots. Phase I trials are scheduled to begin in February or March. ABS is also looking at MH-1 as a vehicle to deliver clot- dissolving drugs to the clot. That research is in in
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. has filed a document in Delaware Chancery Court that Cetus Corp. and Chiron Corp. on Thursday said will permit their merger to proceed. Eastman Kodak Co. filed suit in August seeking to enjoin the sale of Cetus' polymerase chain reaction technology to Roche for $300 million as part of the Cetus-Chiron deal. On Monday the court denied Kodak's motion for a preliminary injunction on the sale on the condition that Roche agree to be bound by the decision of a pending
Cytogen Corp. has won marketing approval in Denmark for its monoclonal antibody-based cancer imaging agent for colorectal cancer. The Princeton, N.J., company previously had received approvals in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. OncoScint CR103 will be sold in Europe through EuroCetus, Cytogen's exclusive marketing partner. Cytogen stock (NASDAQ:CYTO) closed down 13 cents at $15.63. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Cytogen Corp. said Tuesday that it has filed for a 3.5 million- unit offering for a new company, Cytorad Inc., at a proposed price of between $10 and $12 per unit. Cytorad will use the proceeds to engage Cytogen in the research and development of antibody-based delivery systems to diagnose and treat prostate and bladder cancers. Cytogen's prostate imaging product is in Phase III trials, and its prostate therapeutic is scheduled to enter Phase I trials in the first quarter of 1992. Bladder