Researchers have identified a new growth factor from mouse pancreatic beta cell tumors that is a potent mitogen, and could play a role in pancreatic cancers and contribute to the vascular complications associated with diabetes. Scientists from Harvard Medical School in Boston, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Japan's Takeda Chemical Industries report in today's issue of Science that this new factor, betacellulin, is a member of the epidermal growth factor family and can
ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. announced Thursday that it has received $6 million in license and milestone payments from its partner, Marion Merrell Dow Inc. (MMD). The two companies agreed in February 1992 to jointly develop and commercialize ImmuLogic's Allervax family of allergy therapeutics. ImmuLogic (NASDAQ:IMUL) has now received $13 million of the potential $42 million coming to it as it achieves certain predetermined (and undisclosed) goals. The announcement follows closely on the
Researchers at ZymoGenetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Novo Nordisk A/S, reported in today's issue of Science that they have cloned the gene for the glucagon receptor. "It's not just another receptor," author Gary Rosenberg told BioWorld, "because it's important in diabetes, and everything that happens downstream from the receptor has been known for years. The receptor itself remained an enigma." Glucagon causes the conversion of fat reserves and the release of glucose into the bloodstream
French antisense company Genset and France's National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have signed a research agreement with the Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry in Toulouse, France, for the study of design and synthesis of compounds targeted against HIV. This is the second agreement between the groups, and it will analyze the activity of oligonucleotide-metalloporphyrin conjugates, which may target nuclease activity. Bernard Meunier of the CNRS will lead eight scientists in the two
Neurex Corp. on Thursday submitted the first investigational new drug application to FDA for a neuron-specific channel blocker that may protect the brain from damage following oxygen deprivation. The Menlo Park, Calif., company first proposes using its synthetic compound, SNX-111, in cardiac arrest patients, Paul Goddard, chief executive officer, told BioWorld. "There's a 24-hour window of opportunity," he explained, "and the compound appears very effective in animal models during that time
WASHINGTON, D.C -- National Institutes of Health Director Bernadine Healy painted a scary picture for young companies as she described the implications of the agreement between the Scripps Research Institute and Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. at a congressional hearing on Thursday. Scripps last year signed away the option for first rights to the fruits of research conducted at the largely NIH-supported institute over 10 years in exchange for $300 million. "This document could lead to our major
Bio-Technology General Corp. (BTG) and Gynex Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Wednesday their intent to merge in a stock swap transaction valued at $48 million. Under the agreement, BTG of New York will exchange newly issued shares of its common stock (NASDAQ:BTGC) for all outstanding shares of Gynex common stock (NASDAQ:GYNX) at a fixed ratio of 0.61 shares of BTG stock for one share of Gynex stock. Gynex has 19.7 million shares outstanding, fully diluted, while BTG has 34 million fully diluted
The gene for cystic fibrosis, the most common fatal genetic disease in the U.S., has more than 300 known mutations, some of which affect the nature of the symptoms. An article in today's issue of the journal Nature explores the relationship between three "missense" mutations and less severe forms of the disease. The article implies that some types of cystic fibrosis may respond to different sorts of therapies, co-author Alan Smith, senior vice president for research at Genzyme Corp., told
Cancer becomes more deadly when the malignancy travels, or metastasizes, to other tissues. Scientists seeking to develop mice that mimic this trait have found they can reproduce patients' metastases by transplanting intact tumor tissue from people into immunodeficient mice. Articles in the current issue of Cancer Research and the International Journal of Cancer, by scientists from the school of medicine at Keio University in Tokyo and the laboratory of cancer biology at the University of
Myco Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., named Barry Berkowitz president and chief executive officer, William Timberlake vice president for research, and Sean O'Connor director of drug discovery. Berkowitz was founder, CEO, president and chairman of Magainin Sciences Inc. Timberlake was research professor of genetics at the University of Georgia. And O'Connor was director of screening and biochemical research at Bristol-Myers Squibb. CytRx Corp. of Norcross, Ga., appointed John Flax vice
Once again the pharmaceutical industry has been battered over the issue of drug costs. Return on investment is 2 percent to 3 percent higher than for industries with similar risks, according to a report from the congressional Office of Technology Assessment, Pharmaceutical R&D: Costs, Risks and Rewards. OTA is widely considered to be objective, and its findings will influence the congressional debate over drug prices. Moreover, the agency's former director , Jack Gibbons, is President Clinton's
Ophidian Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received notification of a patent allowance for its anti-venom techniques. The privately held Madison, Wisc., company will be issued a U.S. patent, No. 5,196,193, that applies to both composition and methods for producing antidotes to poisonous animal bites and stings. Incorporated in December 1989, Ophidian acquired the technology from Sean Carroll of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. An antidote for treating poisonous snakebite in the U.S. has received
Advanced Polymer Systems Chairman John Williford died Monday of a heart attack, the company announced Tuesday. Williford, 62, had joined the Redwood City, Calif., company as president and chief executive officer in 1987, and became chairman in 1988. In 1990, he relinquished daily responsibilities as president and chief executive officer. Also on the boards of Chiron Corp., Akorn Inc. and Dick Clark Productions, Williford was nominated as Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992. He was known for
Biocyte Corp. this week was issued a U.S. patent, No. 5,192,553, that covers therapeutic uses of frozen stem and progenitor cells from blood recovered from infants' umbilical cords and placentas for later use in transplantation. Stem cells are immature cells that can regenerate the blood- forming system. Bone marrow transplants have been used to repair stem cell systems that have been damaged or destroyed, but this therapy requires immunologically matched donors. The use of cord blood stem
Cortecs International Ltd. announced Tuesday that it is seeking regulatory approval to start combined Phase II/III clinical trials of its anti-cancer targeting system. The London company's decision rests on the data from initial tests of its Oncholab system, which incorporates anti-cancer drugs into low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), that the company presented recently at the Sixth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems held in Salt Lake City. The data stem from
BioSurface Technology Inc. (BST) announced late Tuesday that it has put on hold clinical trials of its Acticel wound dressing in donor site wounds because an interim analysis of the results proved equivocal. The Cambridge, Mass., company (NASDAQ:BSRF) said that it will continue its ongoing and planned clinical trials of Acticel in other major wound healing indications, such as deep partial thickness burns and pressure ulcers. The decision follows a planned interim analysis of the donor site
ImmunoGen Inc. said Tuesday it has "evidence of efficacy" from an initial safety study of a potential drug for small-cell lung cancer. The Cambridge, Mass., company (NASDAQ:IMGN), treated 21 patients with relapsed and refractory small-cell lung cancer, a particularly invidious malignancy, using its second product, Oncolysin S. Oncolysin S combines a tumor-targeting monoclonal antibody with the toxin blocked ricin, a proprietary derivative of the powerful plant poison, to destroy cancer cells
Myco Pharmaceuticals Inc., formed in 1992 to develop novel pharmaceuticals from fungi, announced Tuesday that it has raised $6 million in its first round of private financing. The Cambridge, Mass., company recently closed on $4 million of that total, and will add another $2 million by the end of the year. Bessemer Venture Partners and Technology Leaders Management Inc. are the founding investors. "The funds will allow the company to accelerate its pharmaceutical discovery and development
PerSeptive Biosystems Inc. has completed an offering of 2 million shares of common stock at $18 per share. The offering, PerSeptive's first round of follow-on financing since it went public in May of 1992 at $7 a share, grossed $36 million. Lead underwriters were Alex. Brown & Sons and Cowen and Co. The underwriters retain a standard 15 percent overallotment option (300,000 shares) to fulfill any excess demand for the stock. PerSeptive now has 11.1 million shares of common stock outstanding
Vical Inc. announced Tuesday that it completed an initial public offering (IPO) of 2 million shares of common stock at $5 per share. The San Diego gene therapy company grossed $10 million from the offering. The shares will trade under the NASDAQ ticker VICL. Hambrecht & Quist Inc. and Vector Securities International Inc. co-managed the underwriting. The completed offering brought Vical far less than it had anticipated when it filed its registration statement with the Securities and Exchange
Researchers have identified a new growth factor from mouse pancreatic beta cell tumors that is a potent mitogen, and could play a role in pancreatic cancers and contribute to the vascular complications associated with diabetes. Scientists from Harvard Medical School in Boston, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Japan's Takeda Chemical Industries report in today's issue of Science that this new factor, betacellulin, is a member of the epidermal growth factor family and can