CellPro Inc. announced Tuesday that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will conduct two new human gene therapy trials -- one in patients with metastatic breast cancer and the other in patients suffering from multiple myeloma -- utilizing its stem cell concentration technology. Joyce O'Shaughnessy of the National Cancer Institute will head the breast cancer trial and Cynthia M. Dunbar of the national Heart, Lung and Blood Institute will conduct the myeloma study. The two trials will study
Vestar Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTR) of San Dimas, Calif. and Neutron Technology Corp. of Boise, Idaho, agreed to co-develop a new type of radiotherapy for treating brain cancer and AIDS- related cancers. Boron Neutron Capture Therapy involves loading cancer cells with boron, which, when exposed to a neutron beam, becomes activated and emits localized radiation that kills the cancer cells. Encapsulating boron inside liposomes allows large quantities of boron to be targeted to and concentrated within
Cambridge Biotech Corp. (NASDAQ:CBCX) agreed to license DynaGen Inc.'s (NASDAQ:DYGN) technology for developing tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diagnostic products. DynaGen of Cambridge, Mass., will supply its antigen to Cambridge Biotech of Worcester, Mass., which will then produce serology tests in the EIA microwell format, as well as in rapid slide immunoassays. Cambridge Biotech will distribute the products worldwide. The market for TB testing devices could exceed $20 million by 1994
Bio-Interfaces Inc. (BII) has sold 265,000 shares of the 330,000 shares of stock it received from Lifecore Biomedical Inc. of Chaska, Minn., as payment for Lifecore's acquisition of BII's dental implant technology. The sale of stock liquidates $2.05 million of Lifecore's debt to BII. In the original purchase transaction, the debt was scheduled to be liquidated in periodic cash payments through 1995, but the agreement was renegotiated to allow Lifecore (NASDAQ:LCBM) to substitute common stock for
Beckman Instruments Inc. of Fullerton, Calif., announced that it is one of a consortium of companies that has received a $9.23 million matching grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to develop technologies that could speed the process of DNA analysis. The award was announced Dec. 17 by Commerce Secretary Barbara Hackman Franklin. The technology in development, called "genosensors," could increase the speed and decrease the cost of genome mapping and sequencing, making DNA analyzers
Procyte Corp. (NASDAQ:PRCY) announced an agreement with Kaken Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. of Tokyo to develop and market Procyte's peptide-copper hair growth technology in Asia. The peptide compounds are being explored as a potential treatment for hair loss prevention and hair growth. Under the terms of the agreement, Kaken will have exclusive rights for specific peptide-copper compounds in Asia, which includes Japan, China, Taiwan, Southeast Asian countries, India and Korea. Procyte will supply
Applied Bioscience International Inc. said Tuesday that earnings per share for the fourth quarter will be about 8 cents compared with analysts' estimates of 11 to 16 cents. Kenneth H. Harper, the Arlington, Va., company's chairman, also said that Applied Bioscience intends to record restructuring charges of about $4 million, equivalent to 9 cents per share. The company will therefore report a loss of about 1 cent per share for the period. For the year, Harper said, the company anticipates
Surgeons at Duke University Medical Center used pig livers to sustain the life of a critically ill man for five days until they found a human liver for transplanting. During those five days, the patient's blood was filtered and circulated through five different pig livers via a process known as ex vivo xenoperfusion. The human liver transplant was performed on Nov. 30, and the patient is now out of critical care and doing as well as can be expected for someone who has gone through such a major
SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SCLN) of San Mateo, Calif. announced that it has restructured its Singapore joint venture to give SciClone 100 percent ownership and total operating control of the venture. SciClone's partners Singapore Bio-Innovations and Transpac Capital Pte. Ltd. have converted their equity in the joint venture into 175,000 shares of SciClone's restricted common stock. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ:GENZ) of Cambridge, Mass., has been granted two U.S. patents for producing phospholipids. Corresponding foreign applications are pending. The two patents contain claims to a salt of glycerol-3-phosphate, as well as methods for its preparation and use in the synthesis of phospholipids. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Seragen Inc. announced Monday that it has submitted a new drug application (NDA) with FDA to begin Phase I clinical trials on its IL-2 receptor-targeted fusion toxin in HIV-infected patients. The drug, DAB389IL-2, inhibits the replication of both lab strains of HIV-1, as well as fresh clinical isolates in cultured human lymphocytes. Researchers Lin Zhang and Clyde Crumpacker of Boston's Beth Israel Hospital reported these results in the December Journal of AIDS. Richard Svrluga, president and
An FDA advisory panel late Friday split its vote on whether to recommend marketing approval for Epitope Inc.'s OraSure device for collecting oral specimens for anti-HIV antibody testing. Earlier that day, the Beaverton, Ore., company issued a "halt trading" order on its stock (AMEX:EPT) while it waited for the panel's opinion. The company's stock was off $3.63 a share on Monday, closing at $16.88. OraSure is a device for collecting oral samples -- cheek tissue and saliva -- to be used in the
Shaman Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Monday that it has filed an initial public offering (IPO) of 2.5 million shares of common stock at $13 to $15 per share, with an underwriters' option for an additional 375,000 shares to cover overallotments. Gary Fischer, Shaman's chief financial officer declined comment on details of the offering while the company is in registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). S.G. Warburg Securities of New York and The First Boston Corp. are co
Creative BioMolecules Inc. completed its initial public offering, grossing $21 million from the sale of 3 million shares of common stock at $7 per share. Montgomery Securities and Prudential Securities Inc. co- managed the offering. The Hopkinton, Mass., company (NASDAQ:CBMI) initially filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its IPO last March, but withdrew the offering in April due to poor market conditions. It resurrected the IPO on Dec. 1. The
Two research teams, one American and one French, reported last week finding a gene sequence that encodes the brain receptor that binds the active ingredient of marijuana. A third group announced that it has isolated a peptide produced by the brain itself, which also binds to that cannabinoid-thirsty receptor. Though none of the researchers hails from industry, all three stressed the potential of their findings for drug discovery. Besides its mood-changing euphoric high, marijuana's
Biomatrix Inc. announced that it has filed a product license application (PLA) in the United Kingdom to market Synvisc, its hylan product for treating osteoarthritis, in the European Community (EC). The United Kingdom will serve as rapporteur in obtaining approval in the other EC countries. Clinical trial data in the European PLA include reports from more than 1,400 knee joint injections of Synvisc, which is a chemically modified version of the naturally occurring substance hyaluron that acts
BioSurface Technology Inc. announced Friday that it has filed an initial public offering of 2 million common stock shares at $10 to $12 per share. Hambrecht & Quist Inc. and Cowen & Co. are co-managing the offering. The underwriters have an option to purchase up to 300,000 shares to cover overallotments. The Cambridge, Mass., tissue engineering company intends to use net proceeds from the offering for funding clinical trials and product research and development activities for its Acticel wound
Crop Genetics International Corp. has joined forces with a new, larger partner to assess feasibility of a bioinsecticide to control corn borers in field corn. ICI Agrochemicals, a division of Imperial Chemical Industries plc (NYSE:ICI) of London, will conduct multiple field trials of corn to measure yield improvement from a bacteria genetically modified by Crop Genetics that protects seed-grown plants from attack by corn borer larvae. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that this pest
Published Nov. 25 & Dec. 2 (EPO), Nov. 26 (WO), Dec. 2 (GB) BioWorld's weekly preview of European patent disclosures lists in alphabetical order by applicant and briefly summarizes all salient biotechnology patent applications, as they are made public in Europe. European patent offices publish full texts of worldwide patent applications within six months of their filing, which is months to years before the corresponding U.S. patent issues. Two organizations, plus Great Britain (GB) comprise
Deprenyl Animal Health Inc. said Friday it has received a U.S. patent for the use of L-deprenyl in all mammals, including humans, to maintain body weight during aging. "It opens up a very wide window," analyst David Saks of Gruntal and Co. told BioWorld. L-deprenyl is a selective monoamine oxidase type B inhibitor that has been approved in the U.S. and other countries as an adjunct therapy in Parkinson's disease, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system. The Overland Park, Kan
CellPro Inc. announced Tuesday that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will conduct two new human gene therapy trials -- one in patients with metastatic breast cancer and the other in patients suffering from multiple myeloma -- utilizing its stem cell concentration technology. Joyce O'Shaughnessy of the National Cancer Institute will head the breast cancer trial and Cynthia M. Dunbar of the national Heart, Lung and Blood Institute will conduct the myeloma study. The two trials will study