Fibromed Inc. is a new company taking a side entrance to the crowded field of inflammation and tissue injury. "Fibrosis is a major, lethal, under-addressed medical problem," Edward Bernstine, the Boston company's chief executive officer and chairman, told BioWorld. With $500,000 in seed financing, completed in November 1992, Fibromed has licensed research from Boston University (BU) featuring a potent inhibitor of the collagen cross-linking enzyme that creates fibrosis. This scarring causes
Sphinx Pharmaceuticals Corp. of Durham, N.C., named H. Jeff Leighton executive vice president, research and development, and Sarah Hatty midical director, Europe. Leighton was president and chief executive officer of Genesis Pharmaceuticals Inc., a privately held biotechnology company being acquired by Sphinx. Hatty was a global clinical coordinator for oncology at the Lilly Research Centre Ltd. in England. Focal Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., named Eyal Ron director of materials and pharmaceutical
Alpha 1 Biomedicals Inc. said Thursday that it raised almost $11 million through the exercise of about 1.1 million class B warrants before the March 9 redemption deadline. The Bethesda, Md., company (NASDAQ:ALBM) said the revenue will be used for adding staff members; initiating additional clinical trials with Thymosin alpha 1 for treatment of hepatitis and AIDS; launching more clinical trials by its 50 percent- owned joint partner, Viral Technologies Inc., for the use of HGP-30 as an AIDS
Alza Corp.'s stock had risen $4.63 a share to $35.13 since Tuesday in anticipation of a positive announcement from the Palo Alto, Calif., drug delivery company at an analysts' meeting Thursday. The news turned out to be that Alza has formed a new company, Therapeutic Discovery Corp. (TDC). Alza stockholders will get a special dividend of units in the new endeavor, with each unit consisting of one share of TDC common stock and one warrant to purchase one-eighth of one share of Alza class A
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
Fibromed Inc. is a new company taking a side entrance to the crowded field of inflammation and tissue injury. "Fibrosis is a major, lethal, under-addressed medical problem," Edward Bernstine, the Boston company's chief executive officer and chairman, told BioWorld. With $500,000 in seed financing, completed in November 1992, Fibromed has licensed research from Boston University (BU) featuring a potent inhibitor of the collagen cross-linking enzyme that creates fibrosis. This scarring causes