BioSurface Technology Inc. and Toho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. announced Tuesday that they have agreed to commercialize BioSurface's Epicel epidermal skin grafts in Japan for permanent skin replacement in severe burn patients. The companies did not disclose the financial aspects of their agreement. BioSurface will produce the skin grafts at its manufacturing facility in Cambridge, Mass., and Toho will handle product marketing and distribution. "Toho is currently working on marketing development
Genentech Inc. announced Tuesday that it has filed a product license application (PLA) with FDA for Pulmozyme, its recombinant human DNase, for treating cystic fibrosis. The South San Francisco, Calif., company also has submitted marketing applications for Pulmozyme in Europe and Canada. Genentech (NYSE:GNE) completed its Phase III clinical trials on Pulmozyme last December, and reported those results in January at the Intermountain Thoracic Society Meeting. The 968-patient trial demonstrated
Magainin Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that it has been issued a U.S. patent for the composition and use of squalamine as a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Scientists believe that squalamine, an aminoterol antibiotic first isolated from tissues of the dogfish shark, represents a new class of antibiotic agent. It has shown activity against bacteria, fungi and protozoa, said Magainin (NASDAQ:MAGN) of Plymouth Meeting, Pa. Company scientists believe that squalamine, a member of the steroid
In an effort to reduce its burn rate by 50 percent and streamline operations, Cellcor Inc. announced Tuesday that it has begun a major overhaul of its corporate structure and business strategy. Cellcor's business is autolymphocyte therapy (ALT), a kind of personalized approach to cancer therapy that it has been marketing through outpatient cellular therapy centers connected with hospitals in Boston, Atlanta and Orange County, Calif. Not only will the Newton, Mass., company close its commercial
Xoma Corp. said Wednesday it was issued a fundamental U.S. patent covering DNA sequences and the production of human bactericidal/permeability increasing protein (BPI) using recombinant technology. Xoma (NASDAQ:XOMA) of Berkeley, Calif., said it is the exclusive licensee of the patent, No. 5,198,541, for human therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The company is investigating BPI for use in the treatment of Gram-negative sepsis, acute and chronic focal infections and other possible clinical
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that it has begun a Phase III study to determine the safety and efficacy of its recombinant human ciliary neurotrophic factor (rhCNTF) to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease). The double-blind, placebo-controlled study, scheduled to begin this week, will include two dose levels of rhCNTF and will involve more than 700 patients in more than 30 clinical sites in the U.S., according to Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) of Tarrytown, N
Protein Design Labs Inc.'s (PDL) humanized antibody for treating relapsed acute myeloid leukemia has caused no immune response in eight patients evaluated in a Phase I trial, the company announced. David Scheinberg, chief of the leukemia service at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center reported on the Phase I results at an international conference on leukemia sponsored by the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Twelve patients with relapsed acute myeloid
Biotech Research Laboratories (BTRL) announced Monday that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded it a one-year contract worth $898,000 for processing and storing biological specimens from people at high risk from cancer. The contract includes three one-year options for renewal. "Biotech Research Laboratories has been the incumbent on the NCI repository contract for the past 10 years, with two five- year contracts," said Mark Manak, the Rockville, Md., company's senior vice president
Cortecs International Ltd. said its anti-cancer drug delivery system has shown results against drug-resistant tumors. Cortecs (NASDAQ:DLVRY) of London had Bath Analytical conduct ex-vivo studies on fresh isolated cells from 36 patients at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, England. Bath Analytical is a reference center that measures sensitivity to anti-cancer drugs of cultured fresh leukemia and lymphoma cells obtained from patients before chemotherapy. The patients' cells were treated with an
Immunex Corp. announced late Monday that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has voted not to oppose the Seattle company's reacquisition of exclusive U.S. marketing rights to granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) from its development and co-marketing partner Hoechst AG. The FTC decision clears an obstacle in Immunex's merger with American Cyanamid Co. Immunex and Hoechst-Roussel Pharmaceuticals Inc. have been co-marketing GM-CSF in the U.S. as Leukine and Prokine
MedClone Inc. has received a small business innovative research (SBIR) grant to identify novel antigens associated with systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus, the second most prevalent systemic autoimmune disease after rheumatoid arthritis, affects more than 250,000 Americans, 90 percent of them women of childbearing age. Thirty-five percent of patients die within 10 years of diagnosis. The disease frequently causes serious kidney damage and can also affect the central nervous system and blood
A modified form of the enzyme L-asparaginase, Enzon Inc.'s PEG-L-asparaginase (trade-named Oncaspar), seems to increase its effectiveness in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to results presented last week in Houston at an international conference on leukemia sponsored by the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. L-asparaginase, which inhibits the synthesis of the amino acid asparagine, has already been shown to be efficacious in treating ALL because leukemic
Zynaxis Inc. of Malvern, Pa., named Martyn Greenacre president and chief executive officer and a member of the company's board of directors. Greenacre, formerly chairman, Europe, of SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals in London, replaces Thomas Cekoric. Bill MacDonald was elected president of ICN Biomedicals of Costa Mesa, Calif. He was executive vice president, tax and corporate development for ICN Pharmaceuticals, ICN Biomedical's parent company. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All
Researchers at Progenitor Inc. believe they have found a forerunner of the stem cell that creates the blood and immune systems. The Columbus, Ohio, company, a majority-owned subsidiary of Interneuron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:IPIC), reported Monday at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in New Orleans that transplantation of these cells allows mice whose immune systems are seriously insufficient to survive. "We believe the progenitor stem cell is unique and
Preclinical studies of a potential alternative to root canal surgery have shown effective production of the calcium-rich layer that protects nerves and blood supply to teeth, a University of Michigan School of Dentistry professor reported at the International Association for Dental Research. R. Bruce Rutherford studied the morphogenic protein OP-1, which was applied to exposed molar and premolar pulps of primates. After six weeks, he said, new dentin formed in all teeth treated with OP-1 in
Rebus Corp. has agreed with Nova Chem Ltd. of Halifax, Nova Scotia, (Nova Chem Canada) to acquire 5 percent of the shares of newly formed Nova Chem Inc. (Nova Chem US), which will be located in Princeton, N.J. Nova Chem Canada has developed processes for making biomedical grade chitin, chitosan and derivatives, including a patented high purity derivative of chitosan called N,O- carboxymethyl chitosan (NOCC). Nova Chem Canada will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nova Chem US. Rebus of
WASHINGTON -- Don't lump us with pharmaceutical companies was the message that G. Kirk Raab, president and chief executive officer of Genentech Inc., brought to Hillary Rodham Clinton's Health Care Task Force at a public hearing on Monday. Speaking on behalf of the Industrial Biotechnology Association and the Association of Biotechnology Companies, Raab warned the task force that government-imposed controls on introductory biotechnology medicines would strangle investment in the industry and
AgriDyne Technologies Inc. has filed registration applications for bioinsecticides in four European countries and 14 Latin American countries, including Mexico. The Salt Lake City company (NASDAQ:AGRI) is requesting marketing clearance for three bioinsecticides based on an insect growth regulator found in tropical neem trees. The products are Azatin, for non-food crop use in nursery and ornamental markets; Turplex, for lawn and turf application; and Align for food crop application. The insect
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announced Friday that it has begun a trial to compare in HIV-infected people combinations of zidovudine (AZT), zalcitabine (ddC) and Ro 31-8959, an experimental drug that inhibits an enzyme HIV needs to reproduce. The Phase II trial is the first U.S. study to examine Ro 31-8959. Made by Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Ro 31-8959 was previously studied in Phase I and II trials in Europe, where no significant side effects were seen when
Jeremy Rifkin's Pure Food Campaign announced late Friday that it is about to launch a massive campaign to convince consumers to boycott milk, meat and dairy products from cows treated with genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (BGH). The blitz, which the Pure Food Campaign has pledged to launch the day FDA approves the commercial use of BGH, will include full-page newspaper advertisements, 30-second television and radio commercials and "BGH warning leaflets" to be distributed April 17 at
BioSurface Technology Inc. and Toho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. announced Tuesday that they have agreed to commercialize BioSurface's Epicel epidermal skin grafts in Japan for permanent skin replacement in severe burn patients. The companies did not disclose the financial aspects of their agreement. BioSurface will produce the skin grafts at its manufacturing facility in Cambridge, Mass., and Toho will handle product marketing and distribution. "Toho is currently working on marketing development