British pharmaceutical delivery specialist Cortecs Ltd. is launching a sustained-release, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), with Warner Lambert subsidiary Parke Davis as an exclusive distributor in Great Britain. The product, Diclomax, will compete with Ciba Geigy's dicolfenac products, such as Voltaren, which is nearing the end of its patent protection in Europe, according to the London- based pharmaceutical industry research report company Datamonitor. Voltaren already has almost
Published Jan. 20+27 (EPO), Jan. 21WO), Jan. 20 (GB) Albert Einstein Coll. Med. DNA deletions, WO 93/01292 New York additions Directing deletions, additions, substitutions in chromosomal DNA, employing e.g. sequence having homology to target sequence. Amer. Biogenetic Science Hepatitis A WO 93/01279 Copaque, N.Y. vaccine Expression system, based e.g. on baculovirus vectors carrying DNA encoding Hepatitis A proteins capable of forming capsid particles. Amgen Inc. Streptomyces WO 93/00925
A team of researchers from Organogenesis published a tissue- graft study in the peer review journal Transplantation that a company spokeswoman called "very important for the credibility of our product." The article, "Neutral Allografts -- Lack of Allogeneic Stimulation by Cultured Human Cells Expressing MHC Class I and Class II Antigens," establishes that human dermal fibroblasts, epidermal cells and smooth muscle cells fail to activate T cells, a critical step in recognition of foreign cells
Pharmaceutical companies applauded President Clinton's intent to increase access to childhood vaccinations, but sought to influence the process after the president promised Friday to outline a $300 million vaccination program when he unveils his economic plan to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. "Like fluoridated water, fire protection and rodent control, vaccine should be recognized as a service we pay for as a nation in advance, then deliver to ourselves for our own protection," said
Sphinx Pharmaceuticals Corp. announced Friday that it intends to acquire Genesis Pharmaceuticals Inc. through an exchange of stock in a non-cash merger. Under the terms of this agreement, Sphinx of Durham, N.C., will acquire privately held Genesis of Cambridge, Mass., and all outstanding stock. Genesis' shareholders will receive 650,000 shares of Sphinx common stock and warrants to purchase 250,000 additional shares of Sphinx common stock. The warrants are exercisable upon attaining specific U
A promising tool to potentially correct defective genes within the brain is described by three research groups in the March 1993 issue of Nature Genetics, released in advance copies Thursday. The reports focus on using adenoviruses to insert genes directly into cells of the central nervous system. "The news is exciting, novel and of potential use," said researcher Beverly Davidson of the University of Michigan. Her group, and a team led by Marc Peschanski of INSERM in France, caused cells to
Chiron Corp. chief executive officer Edward Penhoet told attendees at a Merrill Lynch seminar in New York on Thursday that the company will report "substantial" losses for 1992, but should return to profitability in 1993. Penhoet attributed these losses--as well as those the Emeryville, Calif. firm incurred in 1991--to "acquisitions and restructuring." Chiron acquired Cetus Corp. in July of 1991, in a transaction that is usually valued at $660 million. Its subsidiary, Chiron Ophthalmics
ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. announced Thursday that it has completed its secondary public offering of 2.5 million shares of common stock at $9.50 per share, grossing $23.75 million for the Waltham, Mass. firm. It registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for this offering on Jan. 19. ImmuLogic has granted the underwritersHMorgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Hambrecht & Quist Inc.Han option to purchase up to 375,000 shares of common stock to cover any overallotments. This gives
Move over, E. coli. Stand aside, Vaccinia virus. Make way, CHO cells. Steer clear, yeast cultures. Here comes a new kid on the host organism block. It starts its life cycle as a single cell, and winds up (literally) as a multicellular slug. Meet Dictyostelium discoideum, (Dd) a soil amoeba, and (perhaps) future expression system. Late last year, a European patent application (WO 92/20806) disclosure revealed efforts by a fledgling Swiss company, Dictagene SA, of this Lausanne suburb, to
Abbott Laboratories is backing the research and development of a particular complex carbohydrate compound by Neose Pharmaceuticals Inc. The privately held Horsham, Pa. company announced Thursday that Abbott bought about 2.3 percent of its stockH$2 million in equityHin conjunction with the agreement, and will contribute up to $15 million toward the venture through 1996, if milestones are met. The agreement will partially fund Neose's manufacturing, preclinical and clinical development of the
PerSeptive Biosystems Inc. announced Thursday that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a public offering of 2 million shares of the Cambridge, Mass. company's common stock. The offering's managing underwriters are Alex. Brown & Sons Inc. and Cowen & Co. If the underwriters decide to exercise their over- allotment option, a current shareholder of the company will sell up to an additional 300,000 shares of common stock. This offering is
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
British pharmaceutical delivery specialist Cortecs Ltd. is launching a sustained-release, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), with Warner Lambert subsidiary Parke Davis as an exclusive distributor in Great Britain. The product, Diclomax, will compete with Ciba Geigy's dicolfenac products, such as Voltaren, which is nearing the end of its patent protection in Europe, according to the London- based pharmaceutical industry research report company Datamonitor. Voltaren already has almost