Boron Biologicals Inc. (BBI) received a $50,000 small business innovation research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop enzyme inhibitors that could eventually shut down virus functions. BBI research may have implications for the treatment of viral infections such as herpes and HIV, and cancer. BBI of Raleigh, N.C., was founded in 1986 to promote commercial development of a proprietary class of compounds based on boron that can have key applications in drugs
Creative BioMolecules Inc. announced that its underwriting group, led by Montgomery Securities and Prudential Securities Inc., has exercised its option in connection with the company's initial public offering to purchase an additional 450,000 shares of common stock. The company, which began trading Dec. 18, raised $21 million in its 3 million-share IPO. The Hopkinton, Mass., company (NASDAQ:CBMI) is a leader in the discovery and development of proprietary protein-based products for the
MicroProbe Corp. has received FDA permission to export a test kit for identification of microorganisms associated with periodontal disease, the most common cause of tooth loss in adults. The privately held Bothell, Wash., company plans to export its Affirm DP Microbial Identification Test System to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland. The system, which has no FDA market clearance in the U.S., represents the first direct
Sibia Inc. and the Pharmaceutical Sector of the Belgian drug and chemical company UCB announced that they have agreed to develop and co-promote an anti-epileptic drug discovered by UCB. Sibia, a private biopharmaceutical company formed by the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in 1981, will take the drug through clinical trials for treating epilepsy and obtain regulatory approval in the U.S. and Canada. The La Jolla, Calif., company and UCB will co-promote the product in the U.S. and Canada
Forensic geneticists are tracking down an elusive killer wanted in nine or more states, from Florida to California. In 1991, this small, sap-sucking insect, the whitefly, cost vegetable and cotton growers in California and Texas alone more than $200 million in crop damage, and the loss of some 12,000 farm jobs. "Whiteflies are not flies," said entomologist Thomas M. Perring of the University of California, Riverside. True flies, he told BioWorld, belong to the taxonomic order, Diptera; so
Sphinx Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ:SPHX) announced Wednesday that it has filed an investigational new drug (IND) application with FDA to investigate Kynacyte's ability to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs -- including doxorubicin and cisplatin -- in treating solid tumors. The Phase I clinical trials will examine Kynacyte alone or in conjunction with doxorubicin in 20-30 cancer patients with one of several solid tumors. These patients will have either already failed previous
Quidel Corp. announced Wednesday that it has received marketing clearance from FDA for its one-step, one-minute home pregnancy test, Conceive. The test detects pregnancy as early as the first day of a missed period, the San Diego company (NASDAQ:QDEL) said. It's a monoclonal antibody-based assay that detects human chorionic gonadotropic hormone (hCGH) in urine, like all the other over- the-counter pregnancy tests now available to the consumer, said Mark Francois, Quidel's manager of investor
Analyst Peter Drake of Vector Securities International Inc. on Wednesday called the sell-off of MedImmune Inc. shares "meaningfully overdone" on the heels of "unexpected research results," and issued a "buy" recommendation after the stock (NASDAQ:MEDI) tumbled more than 17 percent to $19.25 on Tuesday. The stock picked up $1.75 a share on Wednesday, closing at $21. In addition, according to MedImmune spokesman Anthony Russo, analyst Jeff Casdin of Oppenheimer & Co. has issued a long-term buy
A Japanese pharmaceutical company interested in going global has entered into an agreement with Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. to co-develop an antisense oligonucleotide analog effective against cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections. Eisai Co. Ltd. has collaborated with Isis on CMV research since 1990. Eisai has the option to license and co-develop antisense oligonucleotides from the program that meet pre-defined criteria, upon payment of a milestone fee. Oligonucleotides are short chains of nucleotides
Last year was lean for biotech drug approvals in the U.S. The FDA granted marketing rights to only two: Chiron/Cetus' Interleukin-2 and Genetics Institute Inc. (GI)/Baxter Healthcare's Factor VIII. FDA also approved a biotech diagnostic, Cytogen Corp.'s OncoScint, the first monoclonal antibody-based in vivo imaging agent to receive U.S. marketing approval. And 1993 might be only slightly better. "I'm not expecting a massive number of major new drug approvals in 1993," Denise Gilbert, an
Calgene Inc. announced Tuesday that it has asked FDA to issue a formal approval for use of the kanamyacin-resistant (kanR) selectable marker gene as a processing aid under the food additive provisions of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act. The voluntary move by Calgene comes as its genetically engineered Flavr Savr tomato is getting closer to the marketplace. The Davis, Calif., company (NASDAQ:CGNE) asked FDA in November 1990 to issue an advisory opinion on the use of the kanR gene in
Ecogen Inc. announced that its wholly owned Australian subsidiary, Ecogen Australia Pty Ltd., has established a cross- licensing agreement with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) of Australia to develop a nematode-based biopesticide product. The agreement gives Ecogen (NASDAQ:EECN) of Langhorne, Pa., co-exclusive rights to patents that CSIRO holds in insecticidal nematode fermentation, formulation and production processes, while CSIRO will receive co
Genta Inc. of San Diego announced Tuesday that on Dec. 29 it filed an investigational new drug application (IND) with FDA to begin testing a topical, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to treat psoriasis, acne and atopic dermatitis. The filing was Genta's fifth IND submission for a conventional dermatological drug completed in 1992. Genta's stock (NASDAQ:GNTA) closed Tuesday at $10.50, up $1.50 per share. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Celtrix Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Tuesday that FDA has granted orphan drug status to its transforming growth factor- beta-2, tradenamed BetaKine, for treating macular holes. Orphan drug designation confers seven-year exclusive marketing rights to companies that are first to the market with drugs that address disease populations of 200,000 or less. Bruce Pharriss, chief executive officer of the Santa Clara, Calif., company (NASDAQ:CTRX), told BioWorld that Celtrix will begin Phase III
Liposome Technology Inc. (LTI) announced Tuesday that it has filed a product license application (PLA) in the United Kingdom for its lipid-complexed amphotericin B product, Amphocil. The PLA represents the Menlo Park, Calif., company's first bid to market Amphocil anywhere in the world. LTI has requested approval of Amphocil for the treatment of life-threatening fungal infections in cases where toxicity or renal failure precludes the use of conventional amphotericin B, or in cases where prior
Procyte Corp. (NASDAQ:PRCY) of Kirkland, Wash., announced Tuesday that it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an offering of 2 million shares of common stock with an overallotment option of 300,000 shares. The offering will be co-managed by William Blair & Co. and Dain Bosworth Inc. This is the company's third round of public financing. Procyte went public in November 1989, raising $9.3 million. It raised another $7.1 million from a secondary offering completed last May
Cell Genesys Inc. announced Monday that it filed an amended registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its initial public offering of 3 million shares of common stock. The Foster City, Calif., company anticipates that the offering price will be $9-11 per share. The underwriting group is managed by Robertson, Stephens & Co., Invemed Associates Inc. and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. The amended statement, which Cell Genesys filed Dec. 16, was essentially an update of
Genelabs Technologies Inc. announced Monday that it has signed a non-exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) under which Abbott will develop and commercialize products for diagnosing and screening hepatitis X virus (HXV). The hepatitis X virus, as yet uncharacterized, is believed to cause those transfusion-transmitted cases of hepatitis not caused by hepatitis B or C virus. To date, five viruses that cause hepatitis, dubbed A-E, have been isolated and
MedImmune Inc. announced Monday that it has filed a product license application (PLA) with FDA for Respivir, its polyclonal antibody product for prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease in children. The Gaithersburg, Md., company (NASDAQ:MEDI) completed an efficacy trial for the product last April. The trial, begun in 1989 and conducted at five centers in the U.S., is the basis of the PLA. No trial results have been made public. The first presentation of data is scheduled for May
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) last week awarded three patents for transgenic mice -- numbers 5,175,383, 5,175,384 and 5,175,385 -- to Harvard University, GenPharm International and Ohio University, in that order. That makes the Harvard mouse the second-ever patented animal. The first, patented in 1988, was the "Harvard oncomouse," which Philip Leder, chairman of genetics at Harvard Medical School and a senior investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, engineered to grow
Boron Biologicals Inc. (BBI) received a $50,000 small business innovation research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop enzyme inhibitors that could eventually shut down virus functions. BBI research may have implications for the treatment of viral infections such as herpes and HIV, and cancer. BBI of Raleigh, N.C., was founded in 1986 to promote commercial development of a proprietary class of compounds based on boron that can have key applications in drugs