FreshWorld, the joint venture between DNA Plant Technology Corp. (DNAP) and DuPont, has expanded the geographic distribution of its premium vegetable products as well as added more products to its list, the Cinnaminson, N.J., firm announced Tuesday. As it stands, the FreshWorld agreement encompasses VegiSnax carrots, celery and peppers (packaged as "snacks") and VegiSweet peppers (packaged in bulk), with distribution on a regional or selected basisHincluding to McDonald's, 7-Eleven convenience
A newly identified gene, implicated in a rare, hereditary immune deficiency already inhibits autoimmune diseases in animal models. Until this discovery, reported in whole or part by at least four research teams, immunologists assumed the immunodeficiency represented a disorder of T or B cells, rather than a breakdown in communication between the two, as the new findings show. Tomorrow's Science will describe the discovery in a report entitled: "CD40 Ligand Gene Defects Responsible for X-Linked
In their first collaboration, CytoTherapeutics Inc. and Genetic Therapy Inc. (GTI) are stepping up to the bat with an agreement to study a potential hemophilia gene therapy. CytoTherapeutics (NASDAQ:CTII), based in Providence, R.I., encapsulates cells for implantation in semipermeable membranes to mask cell components that might provoke an immune response. The membranes allow therapeutically beneficial cell products to leak into surrounding tissue. GTI (NASDAQ:GTII) of Gaithersburg, Md
Alanex Ltd. Laboratories for Molecular Design of San Diego announced today the members of its newly created scientific advisory board. They include: Floyd Bloom, chairman of the department of Neuropharmacology at the Scripps Research Institute; Palmer Taylor, professor and chairman of the department of pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD); Charles Perrin, professor of chemistry at UCSD; and Jean Rivier, professor of chemistry at the Salk Institute. Arris Pharmaceutical
Syntex Corp. is phasing out its only drug-manufacturing plant on the mainland, shifting its entire production for the U.S. market to Puerto Rico. About 280 people work at the Palo Alto, Calif., plant, which will be phased out over several years. The move, announced Feb. 8, is the second major cost-cutting step announced by the company. In November, Syntex cut 1,000 jobsH500 of them vacant positionsHfrom marketing, administrative and research departments. It reduced its San Francisco Bay area
WASHINGTON, D.C. H It came as quite a shock to National Institutes of Health (NIH) chief Bernadine Healy last week when Representative Ron Wyden (D-Or.) informed her of a $300 million dollar deal that Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. had made with NIH-funded Scripps Research Institute, probably the largest independent, non-profit biomedical research center in the U.S. Healy had been ignorant that any such large-scale agreements existed between pharmaceutical manufacturers and research institutions
Hoping to cash in on the green revolution, biological pest control developer Biosys announced plans Tuesday to acquire its first company, pheromone-based AgriSense. Biosys (NASDAQ:BIOS) has staked its claim in the fermentation of beneficial nematodes. The Palo Alto company has signed marketing and development agreements with several large corporate partners since its founding in 1983, and went public in January 1992. AgriSense was formed in 1988 in Fresno, Calif. as a joint venture between
Cell Genesys Inc. announced late Tuesday that it has received a $10 million commitment in second-phase research funding of its human monoclonal antibody technology from JT Immunotech USA, its joint venture partner. JT Immunotech, a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco Inc. and Cell Genesys, of Foster City, Calif. formed the joint venture Xenotech in June of 1991 to commercialize the technology, which harnesses Cell Genesys' gene targeting and related technologies to develop a new strain of mice with
Cephalon, Inc. has filed for a secondary offering of 2 million shares of common stock, the company announced Tuesday. The West Chester, Penn. company completed its first round of public financing in 1991 and has 9.8 million shares outstanding. On a fully dilluted basis, there are 15 million shares outstanding, said spokeswoman Lyn Hyduke, including options and warrants that either cannot be exercised yet or are unlikely to be exercised. Cephalon has issued 2 million options, of which only 1
Emisphere Technologies Inc. (EMIS) priced the1.8 million shares in its secondary offering at $13 per share after the market closed Tuesday. The shares will be publicly traded starting today. The Hawthorne, N.Y., company, which grossed $19.5 million from the offering, has 9.79 million shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis. Emisphere specializes in drug delivery technologies using proteinoid microspheres to encapsulate compounds for oral delivery. The offering was managed by Cowen & Co
MacroChem Corporation (NASD Bulletin Board:MCHM) has raised approximately $7.45 million in a private placement netting about $6.3 million. The Lexington, Mass. company has 12,834,000 fully diluted shares outstanding. MacroChem develops and licenses transdermal drug delivery systems and components, including patented absorption enhancers that accelerate passage of drugs and other compounds across the skin and other membranes. This program will be the focus of the money raised Jan. 28. The
Procyte Corp. (NASDAQ:PRCY) completed a secondary offering TuesdayHits third round of public financingHwith the sale of 2 million shares of common stock at $9 per share. The Kirkland, Wash., company has 9.83 million fully diluted shares outstanding. Procyte is developing a new class of therapeutic products based on its proprietary peptide-copper compounds for tissue repair and healing. The offering was co-managed by William Blair & Company and Dain Bosworth Inc. The underwriters have not yet
About 75 AIDS activists chained themselves to the gates of the Hoffmann-La Roche headquarters in Nutley, N. J. Tuesday morning, delaying traffic coming into New York City as motorists slowed to observe the protest. An unidentified number were arrested at the unit of Swiss-based Roche Holding Ltd. The demonstrators demanded quicker testing of the company's experimental tat inhibitor and detailed plans for clinical testing of the ddC drug. The company denied delaying research of its tat
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Tuesday that it has received notice of allowance on its patent application for production of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in E. coli. Regeneron has already received an allowance for the CNTF gene sequence. Both applications, however, went directly to the interference branch of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office because the company faces potential interferences with two patents already issued to Synergen Inc. of Boulder, Colo. With only notices of
ImClone Systems Inc. announced Tuesday that it has started the first clinical trial on a vaccine for treating small cell lung cancer. The Phase I pilot trialHwhich will take place under an investigational new drug (IND) application assigned to the Memorial Hospital affiliate of New York's Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer CenterHis designed to establish a drug safety profile for ImClone's cancer vaccine, LuVax. LuVax is a monoclonal anti-idiotypic antibody [anti-id] designed to mimic, and
Epigen Inc. (ASE:EPN.EC) announced Tuesday that it has filed a U.S. patent application covering its proprietary human carcinoma antigen (HCA), HCA antibodies, HCA immunoassays and novel methods of imaging and therapy. HCA is a mucin glycoprotein generally found in large quantities on the cell membranes of carcinomas but not in normal tissue. The Wellesley, Mass. firm's first three products are covered by this patent application. The first is an in vitro test--termed the COD test-- to measure
Unipath Ltd. of Britain has chosen Cytogen Corp. as a development partner for its cancer monoclonal antibody program. "Cytogen is the only one to successfully bring these kind of monoclonal antibodies to market," said Cytogen spokeswoman Mary Beals. Unipath, a medical products company of Unilever, granted the Princeton, N.J., company exclusive worldwide rights to the research and development program. The rights include five monoclonal antibodies that target breast, colorectal and ovarian
Hollings C. Renton has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Onyx Pharmaceuticals, the privately held biotech firm announced Tuesday. Onyx, of Richmond, Calif., wasAformed in 1992 by Chiron Corp. (NASDAQ:CHIR) and a group of venture capital investors. And Renton had been Chiron's president and chief operating officer, a job he assumed when Chiron acquired its Emeryville, Calif., neighbor Cetus Corp.Hwhere he was presidentHback in 1991. Onyx was formed to develop and
For the rough-and-tumble world of military combat, blood researchers associated with the armed forces have long dreamed of supplying blood freeze-dried like coffee so it could simply be mixed with water and used. Unfortunately, red blood cells tend to deflate like a collapsed parachute under the rigors of freezing and drying. But a patent announced Monday may bring that dream a step closer to reality. Cryopharm Corporation of Pasadena, Calif. received U.S. patent No. 5,178,884 on Jan. 12
The chicken-and-egg question of how brain plaques affect development of Alzheimer's disease will be examined more closely by a private neuroscience pharmaceutical company under a small business innovation research grant announced Monday. Gliatech Inc. of Cleveland, Ohio, received the $50,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging to investigate the roles of certain cellsHmicroglia and astrocytesHin Alzheimer's disease. This progressive neurodegenerative disease is marked by the presence of
FreshWorld, the joint venture between DNA Plant Technology Corp. (DNAP) and DuPont, has expanded the geographic distribution of its premium vegetable products as well as added more products to its list, the Cinnaminson, N.J., firm announced Tuesday. As it stands, the FreshWorld agreement encompasses VegiSnax carrots, celery and peppers (packaged as "snacks") and VegiSweet peppers (packaged in bulk), with distribution on a regional or selected basisHincluding to McDonald's, 7-Eleven convenience