Bio-Technology General Corp. (NASDAQ:BTGC) has licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to its patented aminopeptidase enzyme for processing genetically engineered proteins to Sandoz Pharma Ltd. the largest of parent company Sandoz Ltd.'s operating divisions. New York-based BTGC will also supply the bacterial enzyme (which it makes in its Israel facility) to Sandoz, which intends to use the aminopeptidase to process pharmaceutical proteins, such as interleukins, which it produces in E. coli
Protein Polymer Technologies Inc. of San Diego (NASDAQ:PPTI) announced Wednesday a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent Office for a purification process for silk-like materials called BetaSilk. The large recombinant proteins remain insoluble while soluble contaminants are removed. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Celltech Biologics Inc., a subsidiary of the U.K.-based Celltech Group plc, announced last week that it will build a manufacturing facility at New Hampshire's Pease International Tradeport. As part of New Hampshire's redevelopment of the former Pease Air Force Base, the Pease Development Authority (PDA) will provide $30 million to finance the construction and equipping of the 43,000 square foot biotechnology manufacturing facility, while Celltech will contribute $2 million for preparing the
LifeCell Corporation of The Woodlands, Texas (NASDAQ:LIFC) has received a $740,000 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. Army to extend storage life of transfusable human platelets that are essential for blood clotting. Existing storage life for platelets is three to five days. The company aims in the two-year study to refrigerate platelets up to 21 days without losing function, using its ThromboSol stabilizing solution. Cold temperatures normally degrades platelet
Greenwich Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPI) announced Wednesday that it has filed a product license application (PLA) in Britain for its drug Therafectin. The Ft. Washington, Pa., company is developing Therafectin as a chronic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. H Calgene Inc., target of an activist campaign demanding that it label its genetically engineered tomato as such, is evidently espousing Mark Twain's precept: "If you can't lick 'em, jine 'em." Thomas L. Churchwell, president and chief executive officer of Calgene Fresh Inc., showed a multi-colored tomato sticker to a morning session here on "Safety and Acceptance of Biotech Foods" at the Seventh International Biotechnology Meeting and Exhibition. [As of mid
SyStemix Inc. announced Wednesday that it has formed a joint venture with Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. to develop hematopoietic cell-based somatic gene therapies for HIV infection. Both companies will license their relevant technologies to the joint venture. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. "The merging of Sandoz' expertise in gene transfer with SyStemix's knowledge of stem cell biology and HIV pathogenesis in vivo creates a uniquely synergistic combination of technologies," said
Protein Design Labs Inc. (PDL) announced Wednesday that it has acquired four human anti-viral antibodiesHas well as a humanized anti-tumor antibody and its murine progenitorH from Sandoz Pharma Ltd. and Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp., of East Hanover, N.J., PDL of Mountain View, Calif., also acquired exclusive rights to Sandoz's technology for producing human monoclonal antibodies as well as the patents and manufacturing equipment. PDL is paying Sandoz $5 million for the antibody package. The
ImClone Systems Inc. announced that it has obtained an exclusive worldwide license from the University of California for monoclonal antibodies targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), as potential cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. EGFR is overexpressed on the surface of many cancer cells, including squamous, breast, ovarian, colorectal and lung cancer cells. For instance, 25 percent of the 183,000 new cases of breast cancer annually in the U.S. overexpress EGFR; 65 percent of
EDITEK, Inc. of Burlington, N.C. (AMEX:EDI.EC) has received patent No. 5,202,268 for a one-step assay device using a multi- layer test card. The company works in clinical, drug and food safety testing. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
DNA Plant Technology is marketing its VineSweet tomato, developed through tissue regneration, in Philadelphia and Columbus stores, the company announced Wednesday. A similar version that has been genetically engineered for longer shelf life is planned for commercial launch in late 1994 or early 1995 after regulatory review. The company hopes the version developed through cell culture will provide information about consumer reaction in the $4 billion retail fresh tomato market. In other news
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- You can still count on the fingers of one hand (not including thumb) the number of companies dedicated to producing high-value, high-volume proteins in transgenic animals. All four of these major players commercializing pharmaceuticals, respectively, in the milk of cows, sheep and goats, and the blood of pigs, updated the status of their programs here Monday at a workshop on "Transgenic Animal Technology and Food Production" at the Seventh International
A Scottish company that focuses on producing recombinant human proteins in the milk of transgenic livestock has achieved a toehold in the U.S. through its merger with TransPharm Inc. of Blacksburg, Va., announced Tuesday. TransPharm, which has expertise in creating transgenic pigs to produce the blood coagulation factor Protein C, will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the newly formed Pharmaceutical Proteins Holdings plc. Meanwhile, Pharmaceutical Proteins Ltd. (PPL) of
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Tuesday that it has signed a $20 million agreement with Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to collaborate on developing orally active drugs for treating HIV infection and AIDS. Kissei of Matsumoto City, Japan, will contribute technical assistance and provide funding over three years to support Vertex's research on drugs designed via rational, structure- based methods to inhibit HIV protease, the enzyme required for the virus' replication. Vertex's senior
Biosys has granted exclusive rights to market and distribute its nematode-based products to the commercial turf market in Japan to a joint venture company, SDS Biotech K.K. SDS was formed by Sandoz Ltd. of Switzerland and Showa Denko K.K. of Japan. Biosys (NASDAQ:BIOS) of Palo Alto, Calif., has worked with SDS for three years to confirm the efficacy of Biosys' products to control pests on commercially grown turf, especially golf courses. "In Japan, governmental restrictions on the continued
Sphinx Pharmaceuticals Corp. has formed a joint venture with ICAgen Inc. to treat diseases influenced by the way ions cross cell membranes. Calcium channel blockers are already used to treat hypertension and angina. Other disabling or life-threatening conditions that might be conducive to ion-channel therapies include multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, cancer, osteoporosis and viral infections. ICAgen (Ion Channel Advances), based in North Carolina and formed in 1992, is based on proprietary ion
Telor Ophthalmic Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Tuesday that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering of 2.5 million shares of common stock, which it expects to price at $12-14 per share. Alex. Brown & Sons Inc. is the managing underwriter for the offering. Telor of Woburn, Mass., is developing prescription pharmaceuticals for use in ophthalmic surgery and for treating age-related eye diseases. The company has
BLOOD CELLS THAT REMOVE HIV Researchers for Sheffield Medical Technologies Inc. of Houston have completed laboratory studies of a system to use modified red blood cells to remove HIV from circulation. In the studies, red blood cells have the HIV-binding receptor CD4 electrically inserted onto their surface, where free AIDS virus particles can attach, then be broken down when the red blood cell ends its normal life span of about 120 days and is engulfed and dismantled by macrophages. The
Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced a collaboration and expansion Monday. The San Diego pancreatic hormone company (NASDAQ:AMLN) will scale up its recombinant process for bulk intermediate production of an amylin agonist AC137 in an agreement with the Alberta Research Council (ARC) in Edmonton, Canada. AC 137 is the company's first product candidate for the treatment of Type I diabetes. Amylin, a newly discovered pancreatic hormone, may play a role in the regulation of carbohydrate, fat and
Genta Inc. will collaborate with CV Therapeutics Inc. and Stanford University researcher Victor Dzau to develop and commercialize antisense drugs for preventing and treating restenosis, the San Diego company (NASDAQ:GNTA) announced Monday. Dzau, chief of the division of cardiovascular medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, will collaborate with Genta to investigate the mechanisms of restenosis and to identify antisense compounds that may be useful in preventing or treating
Bio-Technology General Corp. (NASDAQ:BTGC) has licensed the exclusive worldwide rights to its patented aminopeptidase enzyme for processing genetically engineered proteins to Sandoz Pharma Ltd. the largest of parent company Sandoz Ltd.'s operating divisions. New York-based BTGC will also supply the bacterial enzyme (which it makes in its Israel facility) to Sandoz, which intends to use the aminopeptidase to process pharmaceutical proteins, such as interleukins, which it produces in E. coli