Although Tom Wiggins, president of the Association of Biotechnology Companies (ABC) denied it, his group and the Industrial Biotechnology Association (IBA) are rushing headlong toward merger. "I can't comment too much because there is no merger now," said Wiggins, alluding to the failure of the two associations to come together two years ago during an earlier attempt to merge. But two anonymous sources, one affiliated with each association, said the details would be finalized in February, and
MacroChem Corp. said Wednesday it completed the first stage of a private placement of common stock and warrants, raising $5.7 million in new funds. The company intends to complete the offering shortly. D.H. Blair Investment Banking Corp. acted as the company's placement agent for the private placement of these securities. MacroChem develops and licenses transdermal drug-delivery compounds and systems. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Ribi ImmunoChem Research Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement to supply its adjuvants to SmithKline Beecham (SKB) for use in pediatric vaccines and other vaccines for human bacterial diseases. SKB (NYSE:SKB) got a worldwide license to use the Ribi adjuvants commercially in these vaccines and will pay Ribi royalties on sales. SKB's combination pediatric vaccines contain diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, meningitis (Haemophilus influenzae B), hepatitis B and polio antigens. The
A rapid, inexpensive, precise test to determine a person's likelihood of getting cancer some day is "on the brink of seeking a commercial outlet," said the director of Massachusetts General Hospital's Cancer Center, Kurt J. Isselbacher. He told BioWorld that the hospital has filed for patent protection of the methodology, so "I think it's ready to be applied." Isselbacher emphasizes that "clearly, currently it is still a research tool, and ideally it should be done commercially. We have had a
Cor Therapeutics Inc. said Tuesday that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public offering of 2.5 million newly issued shares of common stock. Robertson, Stephens & Co. and Montgomery Securities are underwriting the offering. Shares in the South San Francisco, Calif., company (NASDAQ:CORR) closed down $1.50 a share to $13.50. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
American Cyanamid Co. and Immunex Corp. announced late Tuesday that they will create a new biopharmaceutical company, still named Immunex Corp. and still located in Seattle, by merging Cyanamid's North American Lederle Laboratories oncology business with Immunex (NASDAQ:IMNX). Cyanamid (NYSE:ACY) will also contribute $350 million in cash to the new company. Immunex shareholders will receive $21 in cash per share, totaling $380 million, plus one share of new Immunex stock. Immunex shareholders
Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement for a proposed public offering of 2.5 million shares of common stock. The company said Ciba-Geigy Ltd. has indicated an interest in purchasing some of the shares. Lehman Brothers, PaineWebber Inc., Cowen & Co. and Daiwa Securities America Inc., the underwriters for the offering, have an option to purchase up to an additional 375,000 shares to cover overallotments. Isis (NASDAQ:ISIP
Magainin Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of 3.5 million shares of common stock. The offering is being managed by Hambrecht & Quist Inc., Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. and S.G. Warburg Securities Inc. Stock in the Plymouth Meeting, Pa., company (NASDAQ:MAGN) was unchanged on Tuesday at $6. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Molecular Biosystems Inc. (MBI) announced Tuesday that it has acquired exclusive worldwide rights from Dendritech Inc. and its affiliate Michigan Molecular Institute to use their patented molecules in the development and commercialization of contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography and ultrasound. Dendritech's technology consists of spherical synthetic polymers whose dimensions and surface chemistry can be precisely controlled during the manufacturing process
Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Tuesday that it has received its second use patent on bacterial permeability increasing (BPI) proteins for treating endotoxic shock. The U.S. patent, No 5,171,739, also covers genetically engineered BPI variants and their prophylactic applications. This extends the coverage the Palo Alto, Calif., company has on BPI. Last February it received a patent covering the use of human BPI, or analogs (or fragments) of the protein, for treating endotoxin-related
Protein Design Labs Inc. (PDL) of Mountain View, Calif., reported Tuesday that two of its humanized anti-herpes antibodies reduced mortality in infected mice by up to 90 percent, depending on the dose and the time between infection and treatment. The mice were infected with the herpes simplex viruses type 1 and type 2. The results were reported by University of Alabama, Birmingham, School of Medicine virologist Earl R. Kern at the IBC International Conference on Antibody Engineering in San
Repligen Corp. announced Tuesday that it has received a U.S. patent from covering the use of purified platelet factor-4 and recombinant platelet factor-4 (rPF4) for heparin neutralization. Heparin, used for rapid, temporary anti-coagulation in many cardiopulmonary procedures, must be neutralized to restore normal circulation. In the U.S. alone, roughly 400,000 procedures requiring heparin neutralization are performed each year. A recent preclinical study by the Cambridge, Mass., company showed
Calgene Inc. (NASDAQ:CGNE) filed with the SEC Monday for a public offering of two million shares of common stock plus an over-allotment option for an additional 300,000 shares. The company hopes to raise approximately $32 million, primarily to finance commercialization of the company's genetically engineered Flavr Savr tomato. Monday's filing represents Calgene's fifth round of public financing. The Davis, Calif. company has raised roughly $130 million in offerings since 1987. The offering will
Enzon, Inc. announced Monday that the FDA has granted orphan drug status for its compound PEG-glucocerebrosidase, a modified form of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GC), for the treatment of Gaucher disease. The orphan status covers the company's proprietory polyethylene glycol (PEG) technology to modify the GC enzyme, developed by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Gaucher disease results from a deficiency of the enzyme beta- glucocerebrosidase, a deficiency which leaves the body
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) announced Monday that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a secondary public offering of three million shares of common stock. The company hopes to raise between $44 and $50 million, depending on whether or not over-allotment options are exercised in full. The company raised $86.5 million in late January with the largest initial public offering for a biotechnology company completed in 1992. All of the
Oncogene Science, Inc. announced Monday that it has formed a collaborative drug discovery agreement with Marion Merrell Dow (MMD), valued at $17 million, to develop gene transcription-based drugs to treat certain indications of cardiovascular disease. Under the terms of the agreement, MMD will pay Oncogene approximately $11 million in research funding and license fees over a five-year period, and will make a $6 million equity investment in the company. In return, MMD receives exclusive
The Liposome Co. Inc.'s (TLC) liposomal doxorubicin compound, TLC D-99, has elicited a high response rate in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Clinical investigator Gerald Batist of Montreal General Hospital reported the Phase II clinical trial data last week at the 15th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium sponsored by the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. TLC D-99 elicited a 60 percent response rate (i.e., reduction in tumor burden) in 29 evaluable patients
Sometime between last Friday evening and Monday morning, at a burn-injury center somewhere in the U.S. [precise location withheld to protect patient confidentiality], a badly burned adult (or a placebo-control case) received an intravenous in- jection of the first therapeutic drug designed to shut down the human complement system. Developed by T Cell Sciences, Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., the re- combinant protein, sCR1, is being tested in this initial double- blind, placebo-controlled clinical
Scientists from Ixsys Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb have created a new method to tailor-make monoclonal antibodies with affinities that are about 15 times higher than the ones produced by the human body's immune system. The researchers described their method--called codon-based mutagenesis--in two articles appearing today in the Journal of Immunology. The codon-based mutagenesis procedure allows scientists to alter the antigen-binding H or complementarity determining H regions (CDRs) of an
British Bio-technology Group plc said it began last week a pilot Phase I trial of its p24-VLP, an immunotherapy designed to slow or prevent the onset of AIDS in HIV-positive subjects. The trial to test tolerability at St. Mary's Hospital in London represents the first time the compound has been tested in HIV- positive subjects. p24-VLP is genetically engineered using BBG's virus-like- particle (VLP) technology. The injectable compound is a protein produced in yeast cells and is designed to
Although Tom Wiggins, president of the Association of Biotechnology Companies (ABC) denied it, his group and the Industrial Biotechnology Association (IBA) are rushing headlong toward merger. "I can't comment too much because there is no merger now," said Wiggins, alluding to the failure of the two associations to come together two years ago during an earlier attempt to merge. But two anonymous sources, one affiliated with each association, said the details would be finalized in February, and