Clinical studies on Gynex Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s drug Oxandrin (oxandrolone) have shown that the compound significantly reduces the mortality rate in alcoholic hepatitis patients with moderate malnutrition. The results of the multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on 273 patients, which was conducted by the Department of Veteran Affairs, were reported in the current issue of the journal Hepatology. In the trials, Oxandrin, which is a testosterone analog that is thought to
The methods developed by scientists at Cryopharm Corp. to freeze-dry and rehydrate human red blood cells (RBCs) have enabled the company to extend the shelf life of those cells, according to results published in the April issue of the journal Transfusion. Researchers at privately held Cryopharm of Pasadena, Calif., found that they could put the human RBCs into suspended animation during freeze-drying, and that these cells remain intact and fully functional upon rehydration. Because they retain
Molecular ophthalmologists at the University of Iowa are training their sights on the long arm of chromosome 1, where they hope to pinpoint the gene for familial glaucoma. They pin their hopes on a five-generation extended Midwestern family, where half the members are at risk of the blindness- threatening eye disease. Edwin Stone of the university hospital eye clinic on Monday spoke to a gathering of science journalists, organized by the New York-based Research to Prevent Blindness, which is
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. received a key patent interference declaration Monday for the sequence to its ciliary neurotrophic factor, which it is developing in competition with Synergen Inc. for treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN) of Tarrytown, N.Y., filed a patent application on the human DNA sequence for CNTF one week after Synergen (NASDAQ:SYGN) of Boulder, Colo., which received a patent on the sequence in May 1991. With the
Response Biomedical Corp. has entered a marketing and distribution agreement for its first product with a German pharmaceutical company, Alpha Therapeutic GmbH, that should raise $634,400 for the Vancouver, British Columbia, biotechnology company (VSE:RBM.V). The product, a disposable diagnostic test for measuring granulocyte levels, will be marketed to chemotherapy patients, who can use it to monitor their response to treatment at home. It will allow patients to gauge how quickly their immune
Gensia Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Monday that it has signed an agreement with The Upjohn Co. (NYSE:UPJ) and its Australian subsidiary, Delta West Pty. Ltd., to manufacture and market generic pharmaceuticals for oncology and pain management in the U.S. Delta West is currently marketing these drugs, which include etoposide, cisplatin, doxorubicin, carboplatin, fluoruricil and cytarabine, as injectable formulations packaged in plastic containers in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia
As part of an ongoing effort to create a transgenic, small- animal model of AIDS, researchers at TSI Corp. have produced transgenic mice that express the human CD4 receptor (which HIV targets) in a tissue-specific manner. Reporting in the May issue of the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology, Samuel Wadsworth and colleagues demonstrated that the expression of the human CD4 gene in murine tissues was limited to the same cells -- primarily peripheral blood mononuclear cells, as well as thymus
Alpha 1 Biomedicals Inc. announced Monday that it has enrolled the final patient in its Phase III clinical trial of Thymosin alpha 1 for treating chronic hepatitis B. The patient will be treated for six months and then followed for another six. The Phase III trials on Thymosin alpha 1, which is a synthetic version of the natural hormone, and may act as an immunomodulator, started in February 1991. The Bethesda, Md., company (NASDAQ:ALBM) expects to submit a new drug application (NDA) with FDA
Xenova Ltd. announced Friday that it has formed a $15 million collaboration with Suntory Ltd. of Japan to discover and develop new small molecule drugs for treating immune- inflammatory disease, especially rheumatoid arthritis. Xenova will receive up to $12 million in up-front fees, research payments and milestone payments from Suntory, which will also make a $3 million equity investment in the Slough, England, drug discovery company. There may be payments for additional product development
Calgene Inc. and Monsanto Co. cleared a path to market on Friday by executing a broad cross-licensing agreement, but some potential pitfalls loom ahead in the form of conflicting patent positions with other companies. "I think this is the largest cross-licensing agreement ever between any two biotech companies, ag or otherwise," Roger Salquist, Calgene's chief executive officer, told BioWorld. "We're the two leaders in the area, with more to show. I think it ought to be taken damn seriously by
Targeted Genetics Corp. (TGC) is moving out of its incubation space at Immunex Corp. and into a leased building in Seattle. TGC, a gene therapy research and development company spun off from Immunex in 1989, will now occupy a 25,000-square- foot complex, said H. Stewart Parker, chief executive officer. The complex will house research, administration and a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) plant to help prepare for more clinical trials, she said. TGC has entered Phase I/II trials with an ex
President Clinton on Friday appointed Bruce Lehman as the new commissioner of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). Lehman, who comes from the Washington, D.C., law firm of Swidler & Berlin, has already been brought into discussions about biotechnology patent issues and needs, according to Carl Feldbaum, president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the new entity created by the merger of the Association of Biotechnology Companies (ABC) and the Industrial Biotechnology
Medi-Ject Corp. announced Friday that it has entered into an agreement with Cangene Corp. of Toronto to package and deliver certain of Cangene's biopharmaceuticals, using a needle-less personal administration device being developed by Medi-Ject. Medi-Ject of Minneapolis said it believes that the devices, which will be based on the company's Medi-Jector insulin- administration system, will strongly compete with conventional needles and syringes for home use. Cangene is a biotechnology company
Published March 31 & April 7 (EPO); April 7 (WO) Amoco Corp. Genomic DNA probe WO 93/06246 Chicago Direct-label probe compositions, which counterstain genomic DNA, comprise mixed DNA segments, covalently bound to fluophore groups. Amoco Corp. DNA sequence WO 93/06246 Chicago transamination Probes formed of cloned DNA complementary to sequences in selected chromosome region of human genome; transaminated. Behringwerke AG Cytomegalovirus EPO 534 102 Marburg, Germany peptides Human
LILLY VET TO HEAD KHEPRI Eli Lilly and Co. veteran Ronald D. Henriksen has just taken the reins of office at privately held Khepri Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Alameda, Calif., as its president and chief executive officer. As Lilly's director of business development, Henriksen evaluated new life science technologies for the pharmaceutical company, and was responsible for negotiating R&D agreements, strategic alliances and equity transactions with biotechnology companies. Henriksen will now head the
Chemex Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Friday that Phase III clinical trials on the drug Amlexanox for treating canker sores will begin immediately. Chemex (NASDAQ:CHMX) of Fort Lee, N.J., is developing the anti-inflammatory agent through a joint venture with Block Drug Co. Inc. of Jersey City. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Sheffield Medical Technologies announced that it delisted from the Vancouver Stock Exchange on Thursday, but will continue trading in the U.S. The company (NASDAQ:SHEF) began trading Feb. 12 after raising $5 million from the sale of its units in the U.S. "We were very fortunate to be reportedly the only biotech company to succeed in raising money publicly during extremely difficult market conditions in February," Arthur Jenke, the company's chief financial officer said. The offering was not
Imutec Corp. announced Friday that it has filed with the Ontario Securities Commission a preliminary prospectus relating to a proposed follow-on offering of newly issued shares of common stock (CDN:IMUT; NASDAQ:IMUTF). First Marathon Securities Ltd. will offer the shares on a best- efforts basis. Imutec, which is developing biological response modifiers as therapeutics for treating cancer and other diseases, intends to use the proceeds for further developing its product Virulizin, including
Three Repligen Corp. R&D scientists are starting a new company, Glycan, for applying carbohydrate technology to pharmaceutical development. Repligen of Cambridge, Mass., will provide the seed capital to get the company off the ground, as well as incubator laboratory space at its Cambridge facility. In turn, Glycan will grant certain rights to Repligen for its technology, which will focus on the interaction of growth factors and other regulatory proteins with glycosaminoglycan-type cell-surface
Amgen Inc. reported its long-awaited first-quarter results on Thursday after the market closed, with earnings per share (EPS) of 61 cents (see earnings, Page 4). This was right on target with Wall Street's estimates of about 60 cents per share, but above what the Thousand Oaks, Calif., company predicted on Feb. 24, when it warned that first- quarter earnings would fall substantially below that figure -- by 10 percent to 15 percent. That pronouncement hammered the stock (NASDAQ:AMGN), which
Clinical studies on Gynex Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s drug Oxandrin (oxandrolone) have shown that the compound significantly reduces the mortality rate in alcoholic hepatitis patients with moderate malnutrition. The results of the multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on 273 patients, which was conducted by the Department of Veteran Affairs, were reported in the current issue of the journal Hepatology. In the trials, Oxandrin, which is a testosterone analog that is thought to