The biotechnology sector ended a bad week on a down note, as both biotechnology stock indexes shed more that 4 points on Friday. The AMEX Biotechnology Stock Index closed the week at 129.13, off 4.22 points for the day and down 14.88 since the previous Friday. The Chicago Board Option Exchange Biotech Index lost 14.94 points over the same period and 4.83 points for the day, closing at 119.42. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) lost $8.88 a share since Feb. 12 and closed last week at $45 a share, down $4
When Scotgen Ltd. of Aberdeen, Scotland, merged with the U.S. company Vasocor Inc. to form Scotgen Biopharmaceuticals Inc. in early February, one of the leading incentives for the U.K. company was to gain access to working capital to finance ongoing research and development projects. "Scotgen Ltd. felt that if it became part of a U.S. company, it would be able to access capital more readily," explained Robert Fildes, the chairman and chief executive officer of Scotgen Biopharmaceuticals. "They
American Cyanamid of Wayne, N.J., named Albert Costello chairman and chief executive officer. Costello is currently the company's president, and is replacing George Sella, who is retiring at the end of March. Frank Atlee, currently an executive vice president, will succeed Costello as president. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Birmingham, Ala., elected to its board of directors Randolph Steer, a consultant to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry who was chairman, president and chief
Escagenetics Corp. has entered into a partnership with a Saudi Arabian agricultural and horticultural company to mass- produce elite varieties of date palm in great demand in the Middle East. I.M. Boumarah and Sons will contribute more than $5 million in capital investment for laboratory buildings and greenhouses. IMB has also agreed to purchase 35,000 shares of Escagenetics' stock in a related transaction. As of last Dec. 31, the company had 4.9 million shares outstanding. Escagenetics will
The merger between Applied Biosystems Inc. and the Perkin- Elmer Corp. became effective Thursday, the companies announced. First announced last October, the union was awaiting a final blessing from shareholders of both companies. Shareholders of Applied Bio (NASDAQ:ABIO) of Foster City, Calif., will receive 0.678 shares of Perkin-Elmer stock (NYSE:PKN) for each ABIO share held as of the merger date, as per the terms of the initial agreement. The deal is valued at approximately $400 million
Experimental results on the successful in vitro growth of cartilage and bone tissues were reported in five separate presentations at Thursday's annual meeting of the Orthopedic Research Society in San Francisco. The researchers, from Boston's Children's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, the Deborah Heart & Lung Institute in Brown Mills, N.J., Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., and Advanced Tissue Sciences Inc. (ATS), used ATS's proprietary tissue engineering technology in their
At the final annual meeting of the International Biotechnology Association (IBA), members voted unanimously to merge with the Association of Biotechnology Companies (ABC). The new entity is called the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). ABC will vote on the merger at its own final annual meeting in April. The result of that vote, like the IBA vote, is a forgone conclusion. The two biotechnology trade organizations have established a joint committee, consisting of five board- appointed
Cel-Sci Corp. announced that it has signed a manufacturing agreement with Chesapeake Biological Laboratories (CBL) of Baltimore. Cel-Sci (NASDAQ:CELI) of Alexandria, Va., will use CBL's production facility to manufacture its mixed-cytokine based drug BC-IL for clinical trials. BC-IL is a mixture of natural human cytokines, produced in cell culture. "We expect BC-IL to be a low-cost out-patient treatment with low toxicity, useful in the treatment of certain categories of cancer patients and
Bio-Technology General Corp. (NASDAQ:BTGC) announced that FDA has granted its recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) orphan drug designation as a treatment for cachexia (wasting syndrome) in AIDS patients. The New York company has already demonstrated in pilot clinical studies that its rhGH can reverse this wasting, or severe weight loss, which is associated with a compromised immune system and greater susceptibility to opportunistic infections. BTG is currently testing its rhGH in Phase I
Cambridge Biotech Corp. (NASDAQ:CBCX) announced that it is seeking to withdraw its $100 million shelf registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that was filed Dec. 3, 1992. "The shelf registration led people to believe that a large public offering was contemplated in the near term," said Peter Hartman, vice president of finance and chief financial officer. "This was never the company's intention. Our intent was to utilize revised SEC shelf registration rules in order to
Biotechnology industry observers adopted a "wait and see" attitude Thursday following the unveiling of President Clinton's economic plan in his first major address Wednesday night. "I personally know several companies that have either pulled their secondary offering, have decided not to file for a secondary, or are having second thoughts about going on a road show for an initial public offering," Craig Jones, senior vice president and general partner of Dillon Read Venture Capital, which
Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc. announced that its licensed patent for blood-clotting protein Factor VIII-C used to treat hemophilia has been upheld by the European Patent Office despite opposition from five European companies. The Factor VIII-C patent is owned by the Scripps Research Institute and Rhone- Poulenc has an exclusive license. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Mexican authorities have approved the use of Mycogen Corp.'s genetically engineered bioinsecticide MVP in 18 crops, the San Diego company (NASDAQ:MYCO) announced Thursday. MVP controls black diamond moth larvae, which ingest the naturally occurring Bacillus thuringiensis toxin when they nibble on leaves that have been sprayed with dead bacteria containing the protein. The toxin is harmless to humans and washes off without leaving a residue. Mycogen engineered the proprietary CellCap method of
Hemosol Inc. has filed for a "primary" public offering in Canada. The Etobiocoke, Ontario, company announced that it is in the process of filing with the securities regulatory authorities in the provinces of Canada a preliminary prospectus relating to the offering of approximately 3 million shares of its common stock. The public offering is being underwrtitten by Gordon Capital Corp., Midland Walwyn Capital Inc. and Wood Gundy Inc. "Technically, this is not an IPO," said Alun Davies, Hemasol's
Vical Inc. announced that it has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a patent covering the company's lipid-based gene delivery technology. The patent covers several classes of "cytofectins," proprietary lipids for delivering functional genes to tissues. The San Diego company filed for an initial public offering in January. It is developing proprietary technology for the effective administration of polynucleotide and gene based drug products to treat
SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. has started treating patients with Zadaxin (thymosin alpha-1) in a Phase III clinical trial in Mexico, the San Mateo, Calif., company announced Thursday. The multinational trial, being conducted at Mexico City's Instituto Nacional de la Nutricion, will study 100 hepatitis B- infected patients from six countries -- Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia and Guatemala -- in a controlled, blinded trial designed to yield safety and efficacy
Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Carlsbad, Calif., promoted Daniel Kisner to chief operating officer from executive vice president and Christopher Mirabelli to executive vice president of research and preclinical development from senior vice president. Isis also promoted B. Lynne Parshall to senior vice president and general counsel. She retains her title as secretary of Isis' board of directors. Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. of San Diego, named Gary Lyons president and chief executive officer. Lyons
A San Diego company that wants to stop brain cell death following stroke has received a small business innovation research (SBIR) grant to study one of its clinical candidates. Cypros Pharmaceutical Corp. (formerly NeuroTherapeutics), a biopharmaceutical company, is developing a drug to fuel brain cells when the supply of oxygenated blood is low. The Phase 1 SBIR grant is for CPC-211. This small molecule activates an enzyme linking production pathways of the cell fuel ATP in the presence or
Research Corporation Technologies (RCT) of Tucson, Ariz., announced last week that it has granted AmpliMed Corp., also of Tucson, an exclusive license to develop a family of chemical compounds called azonafides as treatments for breast, ovarian, colon, prostate, lung and other cancers. The azonafides are anthracene analogs of the anti-cancer agent amonafide, which has been shown to bind to DNA and thus inhibit the topoisomerases necessary for cellular replication. Researchers have shown that
Centocor Inc. told its 190-person U.S. sales force two weeks ago that most of their jobs will be eliminated by the end of the first quarter. According to spokesman Richard Koenig, the company will have a total of 850 employees after the last member of the sales force leaves -- down from 1,600 in April of last year. Koenig told BioWorld that the approximate annual cost of maintaining the sales force -- including salaries, benefits, travel and support staff -- was $20 million, an average of about
The biotechnology sector ended a bad week on a down note, as both biotechnology stock indexes shed more that 4 points on Friday. The AMEX Biotechnology Stock Index closed the week at 129.13, off 4.22 points for the day and down 14.88 since the previous Friday. The Chicago Board Option Exchange Biotech Index lost 14.94 points over the same period and 4.83 points for the day, closing at 119.42. Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) lost $8.88 a share since Feb. 12 and closed last week at $45 a share, down $4