Somatogen Inc., stung by recent criticism from a syndicated columnist, saw its stock bounce back $1.13 a share on Friday to $20.13 after Merrill Lynch initiated coverage of the company. Somatogen was ranked an "above average" buy for high-risk investors over the intermediate term by analyst Stuart Weisbrod, who said the company was "the leader in developing human hemoglobin." The Boulder, Colo., company could welcome the backing following a couple of tough weeks, during which syndicated
NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Salt Lake City received an additional $750,000 in second-round financing from JAFCO America Ventures Inc., the New York subsidiary of Japan Associated Finance Co. Ltd. of Tokyo. The additional funding brings to $4.75 million the total capital raised in the round. It follows a first round of $5 million led by Domain Associates of Princeton, N.J., and Biotechnology Investments Ltd., an offshore fund. NPS is a privately held development stage pharmaceutical company
Gynex Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Wednesday that it started a previously announced multicenter Phase II study of its Oxandrin drug for treating HIV-associated muscle weakness in AIDS patients. The study is to determine the safety and effectiveness of Oxandrin in restoring body mass and muscle strength to AIDS patients. The 16-week study is designed for 48 patients and is being conducted at the University of Miami, Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York and the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Cellcor Inc. hopes that two ongoing clinical studies of its living cell therapy will eventually counteract the bad publicity its anti-cancer treatment has received recently. But results from those studies are still months away, and Cellcor's stock (NASDAQ:CLTX) continues to suffer. Its shares tumbled 42 percent last Thursday after the company announced that it had ended talks aimed at a joint marketing agreement with Critical Care of America, a network of infusion centers. CCA was to
Biotechnology stocks slipped a bit on Thursday. The CBOE Biotech Index declined 2.05 to 143.12, while the AMEX Biotechnology Stock Index fell .83 to 150.13. Among the bigger declining issues was Deprenyl USA Inc. units (NASDAQ:DUSA), which dropped $1.75 a unit to $18.50 following its report of second-quarter results. Ecogen (EECN) was off 50 cents to $7.63 a share after posting earnings. Other declining issues included Genzyme (GENZ), down $3.37 a share to $43.13; and Alteon Inc. (ALTN), off $1
Hank Wuh believes that 40 centuries of Asian medical tradition provides just the sort of base of empirical knowledge that could point his company to useful new drug candidates. "We intend to harness the best technology has to offer to this body of empirical knowledge that offers very important clues to new drug discoveries," said Wuh, the president and chief executive of Pharmagenesis of Palo Alto, Calif., which has two potential immunosuppression drugs in preclinical development. The Chinese
Target Therapeutics announced an agreement with Balt Extrusion of Paris to distribute neurological products in the United States and Canada, including Balt's "Magic" line of flow- directed catheters and its neuro-guiding catheters. Target (NASDAQ:TGET) of San Jose, Calif., will keep distribution rights for three years, with an option to extend the agreement for another three years if certain sales and regulatory milestones are met. Balt's Magic line of catheters is used in the treatment of
BOSTON H A patient who underwent thora-coabdominal surgery Wednesday at Deaconess Hospital was shielded against post-operative infection by Betafectin, a genetically engineered carbohydrate. The patient was the first of 40 who will receive the carbohydrate in a Phase II clinical trial, said Spiros Jamas, president and chief executive of Alpha-Beta Technology Inc., which developed and supplied it. Half will get their Betafectin infusions at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in
Epitope Inc. announced Wednesday an agreement in principle under which its wholly owned subsidiary, Agritope, will acquire the remaining common stock of Agrimax Inc. Agrimax has been a 50 percent-owned subsidiary of Agritope since 1991. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Epitope also announced that Agrimax has introduced Fresche Blossoms, which extends the bloom life of cut flowers, using a packaging system and a preservative. Fresche Blossoms was test-marketed in St. Paul and
CellPro Inc. said Wednesday that it started a clinical trial of a process that uses the company's Ceprate SC Stem Cell Concentration System to collect stem cells from the peripheral blood of cancer patients who are about to undergo chemotherapy. If successful, the process could eliminate the more complicated H and uncomfortable H procedure for extracting stem cells from a patient's bone marrow through large-bore needles inserted into the pelvis. This existing procedure, called autologous bone
Cephalon Inc. announced Wednesday that it raised $45 million in a private placement in Cephalon Clinical Partners, L.P., a newly formed limited partnership, to develop its first product, Myotrophin, a recombinant form of human insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Cephalon holds a patent issued in March for the use of IGF-1 in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, and has also been granted orphan drug status for the same application. Under the terms of
Emisphere Technologies Inc. said it has started a European clinical study of its proprietary oral delivery system (ODS) using a low molecular weight heparin. The study is intended to demonstrate the safety of the ODS, which Emisphere sees as a potential means for administering large-molecule compounds, such as proteins, to the bloodstream. "We want to demonstrate a correlation between human and primate data," said Michael M. Goldberg, Emisphere's president and chief executive officer
Cytogen Corp. announced Wednesday the start of Phase I clinical trials of its OncoRad therapeutic for treating prostate cancer. A monoclonal antibody-based agent linked to the cytotoxic radioisotope yttrium-k80, OncoRad is already in clinical trials for the treatment of ovarian and gastrointestinal cancers. The product has orphan drug designation. The Phase I studies are designed primarily to determine the maximum tolerated dose, and they will initally take place at two leading U.S. cancer
Biosite Diagnostics Inc. said its Triage test to detect abuse of drugs will be exclusively marketed in Europe under a new agreement with E. Merck of Germany. Biosite of San Diego launched Triage in the U.S. market last February. The monoclonal antibody-based system tests simultaneously for the seven most commonly abused drugs from a urine sample. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Cambridge NeuroScience Inc. said Tuesday that it started clinical trials in Britain of CNS 1102 for use in preventing brain damage resulting from stroke. CNS 1102, a N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) ion-channel blocker, will be tested in 20 healthy volunteers in a dose- ranging, double-blind study that is expected to take about two months, said John T. Smith, the company's manager of corporate communications. Cambridge Neuro (NASDAQ:CNSI) expects to file this fall an investigational new drug (IND
HemaCare Corp. said Tuesday that it has suspended placebo studies of its Passive Hyperimmune Therapy (PHT) for AIDS and switched all participants in an ongoing California study to PHT, which has shown positive results. The change was approved by the Food and Drug Branch (FDB) of the California Department of Health Services, which is overseeing the state study. Its decision was based in part on positive data from a six-month interim review of data announced last March, according to the company
CytRx Corp. said it formed a subsidiary called Vetlife to develop its growth promoter technology as a potential livestock feed additive. CytRx (NASDAQ:CYTR) of Norcross, Ga., said it plans to raise additional capital next year for Vetlife and is now searching for a president for the new company, which will license worldwide exclusive rights to the technology FROM CYTRX. The growth promoter has been shown in poultry studies to enhance growth. It evolved from CytRx's core copolymer technology
Isis Pharmaceuticals said Tuesday that it was issued a U.S. patent covering a new class of chemical alterations that it believes could enhance the performance of antisense compounds. The patent covers antisense oligonucleotides with various chemical polyamines attached. Polyamines could improve the effectiveness of oligonucleotides, which are designed to selectively bind to messenger RNA and, as a result, block a cell's production of disease-causing proteins. The addition of polyamines is
Oncor Inc. announced Tuesday that it plans to immediately enter clinical trials with its Her-2/neu DNA probe for direct detection of gene amplification in breast cancer cells. The company expects to file for FDA approval early next year, according to Stephen Turner, company chairman and chief executive. Oncor simultaneously will begin shipment this week of probes, created from the company's own DNA library, to research labs, including the Mayo Clinic Cytogenetics Laboratory and the University
Osteotech Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTE) announced Tuesday it has entered into an agreement with Abtox Inc. of Chicago to obtain equipment and the exclusive worldwide license to use Abtox's vapor phase plasma technology for the sterilization of musculoskeletal tissue. Osteotech (NADSAQ:OSTE) of Shrewsbury, N.J., will pay $600,000 over 24 months. The agreement is subject to the completion of testing and validation of the Abtox equipment, Osteotech said. The company will also pay a royalty on all tissue it
Somatogen Inc., stung by recent criticism from a syndicated columnist, saw its stock bounce back $1.13 a share on Friday to $20.13 after Merrill Lynch initiated coverage of the company. Somatogen was ranked an "above average" buy for high-risk investors over the intermediate term by analyst Stuart Weisbrod, who said the company was "the leader in developing human hemoglobin." The Boulder, Colo., company could welcome the backing following a couple of tough weeks, during which syndicated