Cygnus Therapeutic Systems announced Tuesday that an electrically enhanced drug delivery system in early-stage development has been shown to have applications in the delivery of peptide-based therapeutics, the treatment of solid mass tumors and in non-invasive glucose monitoring. The transport technology, called electroporation, uses pulsed electrical fields to enhance the permeability of human tissue in a highly controlled and reversible manner, the Redwood City, Calif., company (NASDAQ:CYGN
Cephalon Inc. announced at the H&Q conference that it has begun Phase II clinical trials of Myotrophin in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease) patients. The West Chester, Pa., company (NASDAQ:CEPH) said it plans to enroll about 200 patients into a double-blind, placebo- controlled trial in clinics across the U.S. and Canada. "The Phase I data in normal subjects demonstrated an excellent safety profile for Myotrophin," said Frank Baldino Jr., president and chief
Telios Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Monday that it has signed a research agreement with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. to develop, test and market integrin-specific compounds for preventing and treating osteoporosis. Speaking at Hambrecht & Quist's 11th Annual Life Sciences Conference in San Francisco, Telios (NASDAQ:TLIO) also announced the results of its recently completed multicenter clinical trials on TelioDerm, an adhesion peptide that acts as a provisional matrix to accelerate
Sugen Inc. of Redwood City, Calif., announced Monday that it has formed an alliance with Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) of Thousand Oaks, Calif., to pursue receptor-based drug discovery and commercialization in the narrow field of megakaryocytopoiesis and the broad area of neurobiology. Amgen will fund four years of collaborative research, and has bought a 10 percent stake in Sugen. The collaborators will exploit Sugen's portfolio of receptor tyrosine kinases and receptor tyrosine phosphatases
If a certain baboon lives up to expectations, planning for human trials of a whole new concept in vaccines will reach Constantin Bona's drawing board in a matter of months. Bona, a microbiologist and immunologist at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital, has already shown that his genetically engineered antigen-activating strategy works in mice. In that demonstrator-model experiment, Bona and his associate, Habib Zaghouani, transfected a mouse immunoglobulin (Ig) gene with an influenza virus subunit
Chiron IntraOptics Inc. said Monday that it has signed agreements to develop and market a drug implant system for intraocular delivery of therapeutic products, and an excimer laser for refractive surgery. Chiron IntraOptics, a business unit of Chiron Corp. (NASDAQ:CHIR) of Emeryville, Calif., said it licensed exclusive worldwide rights for ophthalmic applications of drug delivery technology from Control Delivery Systems Inc. (CDS). Chiron IntraOptics has also purchased 30 percent of the equity
Embrex Inc. announced today that it has entered into a leasing and licensing agreement with poultry producer Golden Poultry Co. Inc. for its Inovoject automated egg injection system. Golden, a majority-owned subsidiary of the world's third- largest broiler producer, Gold Kist Inc., will fully convert one of its poultry hatcheries to incorporate two of Embrex's patented in ovo injection systems. Gold Kist has the option of converting additional hatcheries over the terms of the agreement, which
LifeCell Corp. announced that 97.6 percent of its outstanding warrants were redeemed by shareholders, generating approximately $3.4 million in new capital for the Houston company. The company (NASDAQ:LIFC) redeemed the remaining warrants on Dec. 31. "We plan to use the proceeds ... to fund the sales and marketing activities related to the commercial introduction later this year of our processed dermal skin replacement tissue AlloDerm ... and also to accelerate our product development programs
Greenwich Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPI) of Fort Washington, Pa., said Monday that it submitted a new drug application (NDA) to FDA for Therafectin, a treatment for the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Therafectin, a synthetic carbohydrate, may represent a new class of drugs to treat chronic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
By Lisa Piercey Business Editor The three-day 11th Annual Hambrecht & Quist Life Sciences Conference kicked off in San Francisco on Monday with more than 1,800 investors in attendance and standing room only crowds at many company presentations. David MacCallum, the firm's managing director of investment banking, said it was the "best-attended conference we've had." The investment firm's lead biotechnology analyst, D. Larry Smith, said attendance showed that investor interest in the
Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. scientists reported on the relationship between the structure of an RNA target and the ability of an antisense drug molecule to bind to that target in a recent issue of the journal Biochemistry, the Carlsbad, Calif., company (NASDAQ:ISIP) said. Researcher Walt Lima and associates found that antisense compounds designed on the basis of target RNA structure can distinguish the RNA for a normal ras gene from that for a mutant form of the gene, termed Ha-ras, that is
DNA Plant Technology Corp. (DNAP) of Cinnaminson, N.J., said Monday that it has successfully used a patented plant-based selectable marker gene, the acetolactate synthase gene (ALS), to develop genetically engineered foods. The standard selectable marker gene used in genetically engineered foods has been the kan (r) gene, which is not derived from plants and can confer resistance to an antibiotic. It has been the subject of review by FDA regarding its safety when used as a food ingredient
Patients with chronic skin ulcers treated with Celtrix Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s BetaKine investigational growth factor therapy showed "significant clinical response" in initial clinical trials, the company reported Monday at a wound healing workshop at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. "Venous stasis ulcers are often resistant to a variety of therapies, including growth factors," said clinical instigator Martin Robson of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston
Robert Abbott, president and chief executive officer of Viagene Inc., will announce Wednesday at the H&Q meeting that his company has entered into a $9 million, three-year agreement with Miles Inc. of Pittsburgh to develop a gene therapy product to treat hemophilia A. Viagene, a privately held company based in San Diego, and the Pharmaceutical Division of Miles, will collaborate on establishing the feasibility of using retroviral vectors to treat deficiencies in factor VIII, the clotting
The Liposome Company Inc. (TLC) announced Friday that it raised $57 million in a preferred stock offering, the largest amount it has raised in a single offering. Hambrecht & Quist Inc. and Dillon, Read & Co. served as underwriters. The Princeton, N. J., company (NASDAQ:LIPO) hit its target amount in a selective market, Anne Van Lent, senior vice president, told BioWorld. The offering -- the first preferred stock offering since the company has been publically traded -- began Dec. 4 and ended
Xenova Group plc., a British biotechnology company, announced Friday that it has raised $30.3 million -- primarily from U.S. investors -- through a private placement under Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933. Xenova believes this equity offering is the largest financing to date completed in the U.S. by a European biotechnology company. "Ninety-five percent of the investors were from the U.S.," said Louis Nisbet, Xenova's chief executive officer. PaineWebber Inc. acted as the sales agent
Repligen Corp. announced Friday that it has filed an investigational new drug (IND) application to begin testing recombinant platelet factor-4 (rPF4) in a Phase I clinical trial with patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. Fermented in e. coli extracts of the naturally occurring protein have been extensively tested in small animals, Ramesh Ratan, chief financial officer, told BioWorld. The human safety trial with rPF4, trade-named Replistatin, is the first in a series of clinical studies
United Biomedical Inc. announced Friday that FDA approved a Phase I trial in healthy volunteers of a synthetic prototype peptide AIDS vaccine. The prototype vaccine, described in an October 1991 issue of Science, produced higher levels of protective antibodies to a wider variety of AIDS virus strains over a longer period of time than other candidate vaccines tested by that time. The six-month trial in up to 36 people will allow the privately held Hauppauge, N.Y., company to explore how to
As the Association of Biotechnology Companies (ABC) and the Industrial Biotechnology Association (IBA) prepare to merge, their leaders, Thomas G. Wiggans, chief operating officer of CytoTherapeutics Inc., and Stephen A. Duzan, chairman and chief executive officer of Immunex Corp., have sent a strong letter to President-elect Clinton, urging him to attend to the industry's most immediate concerns. Capital formation is the premier item on the ABC/IBA agenda for Clinton, including provisions for
The chiefs of Association of Biotechnology Companies (ABC) and the Industrial Biotechnology Association (IBA) announced Friday that the two trade groups have agreed, in principle, to merge. The new group will be called the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). The action is subject to ratification by the membership of both associations at their respective annual meetings -- February for IBA and April for ABC. "I do expect it to be ratified by a landslide," said a source affiliated with
Cygnus Therapeutic Systems announced Tuesday that an electrically enhanced drug delivery system in early-stage development has been shown to have applications in the delivery of peptide-based therapeutics, the treatment of solid mass tumors and in non-invasive glucose monitoring. The transport technology, called electroporation, uses pulsed electrical fields to enhance the permeability of human tissue in a highly controlled and reversible manner, the Redwood City, Calif., company (NASDAQ:CYGN