Cell Therapeutics Inc. (CTI), a privately held Seattle biotechnology company, told BioWorld late Wednesday that it has raised $38.5 million in a private placement by D. Blech and Co. and Alex. Brown & Sons. Blech provided the initial seed capital for CTI, which was incorporated in September 1991. The company is developing therapeutics to interfere with abnormal cellular functions, such as inflammation and cancerous cell growth, by way of a unique second messenger pathway, the Bursten pathway
Glycomed Inc. (NASDAQ:GLYC) announced Wednesday that it has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public offering of $50 million in principal amount of convertible subordinated debentures, plus an additional $7.5 million to cover overallotments. The debentures will be due in 2003. The Alameda, Calif., company is developing carbohydrate drugs for treating heart disease, including restenosis and blood clots, and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine and ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp., both in Palo Alto, Calif., have devised a way to prevent and possibly treat multiple sclerosis (MS) in animal models. Amitabh Gaur, Garrison Fathman and their associates reported in last Friday's issue of Science that they can prevent experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the mouse equivalent of MS, in susceptible animals by inducing tolerance to fragments of myelin, the protein that forms a
Immunomedics Inc. announced that it has begun advanced clinical trials in Europe on six of its monoclonal antibody-based diagnostics and one therapeutic product. The imaging agents, which incorporate the radioisotope technetium-99m, include ImmuRAID-CEA. Immunomedics (NASDAQ:IMMU) filed for marketing approval in Europe for ImmuRAID-CEA for detecting colorectal cancer in March. The trials will be conducted in England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Austria, and will test ImmuRAID-CEA
Alamar Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:ALMR) has developed a non- toxic indicator dye called Alamar Blue for use in in vitro testing of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, household cleaners and personal hygiene products. The Sacramento, Calif., company said that the new dye is the first non-toxic test of its kind. Company officials believe that the product could significantly reduce the practice of toxicity testing on animals because it is harmless to humans, cells and the environment. Formed in 1988, Alamar
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) of Washington, D.C., has asked about 100 biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and state regional biotech centers to elaborate on their legal and technical concerns regarding the Convention on Biological Diversity -- article by article. UNEP culled the mailing list for its survey from the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association, the Association of Biotechnology Companies, the Industrial Biotechnology Association and the North Carolina
Cortech Inc. announced Tuesday that it has filed an initial public offering of 4 million common stock units at $8 per unit. Montgomery Securities and Hambrecht & Quist Inc. are co- managing the offering. According to the company, the net proceeds will be used to finance clinical trials (approximately $10 million), research and development (about $8 million) and capital expenditures (about $2 million). All of the units consist of one share of common stock and one common stock conversion right
Cytel Corp. announced Tuesday two major restructuring efforts in the focus of its major research program on antigen recognition and in its collaborative research plans with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Sandoz AG. Cytel (NASDAQ:CYTL) will now concentrate on developing therapeutic vaccines, largely through Sequel Therapeutics, its joint venture with The Scripps Research Institute. Gone is the drug CY727 for treating rheumatoid arthritis that Cytel and Sandoz were developing, but the obligations of
The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) space tissue loss (STL) project, the military's top-ranking life sciences project, will send 16 billion cells into space aboard the shuttle Discovery next week to further investigate the effect of microgravity on cellular activity. The mission, due to depart Dec. 2, will take a closer look at effects studied on a flight in March that involved bone and muscle cells, and will extend the scope of those studies to include immune and bone marrow
National Institutes of Health Chief Bernadine Healy's "blue ribbon" review panel on the gp160 AIDS vaccine voted unanimously on Monday to recommend multiproduct trials rather than a trial exclusively devoted to MicroGeneSys Inc.'s gp160 AIDS vaccine. Healy had assembled the panel following Congress' unprecedented vote providing the Army with $20 million for a trial of MicroGeneSys' vaccine. The panel will make recommendations to Congress about how any trials should be conducted. There is
The Liposome Company Inc. (TLC) said Monday it reacquired worldwide rights to its anti-fungal drug, TLC ABLC, licensed to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMS) in 1986. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Edward Silverman, TLC's vice president for strategic planning and business development, said the company will negotiate with BMS to establish BMS's marketing participation for TLC ABLC. If the two companies are unable to agree on terms, BMS will receive royalties on the drug from
Bio-Imaging Technologies Inc. announced Monday that it has signed two new project contracts worth more than $325,000 with Immunomedics Inc. (NASDAQ:IMMU) of Morris Plains, N.J., and Centocor Inc. (NASDAQ:CNTO) of Malvern, Pa. A month ago, Bio-Imaging (NASDAQ:BITI) of West Trenton, N.J., signed contracts worth $500,000 with Warner-Lambert Co. of Morris Plains and Cytogen Corp. (NASDAQ:CYTO) of Princeton, N.J. All of these contracts are for the respective companies' "product development
CellPro Inc. (NASDAQ:CPRO) announced Monday that company scientists have used the its Ceprate avidin-biotin based immunoaffinity system to isolate and concentrate fetal cells from maternal circulation. Researchers Jeff Hall and Sheryl Williams reported at this month's meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics that they were able to achieve a 100-to-3,250-fold concentration of fetal cells expressing the stem-cell marker CD34+, meaning a ratio of one fetal cell per 1,030 maternal cells
Embrex Inc. of Research Triangle Park, N.C., announced Monday that the USDA has approved a combination Marek's disease vaccine for poultry, to be administered via Embrex's Inovoject automated egg injection system. The bivalent vaccine, HVT/SB-1, produced by Tri Bio Laboratories of State College, Pa., defends against the two most prevalent virulent field strains of the virus that causes Marek's disease. Marek's disease causes nervous system tumors in chickens, "which make the birds unable to
Collagen Corp. on Monday objected to what it called "inaccurate and misleading comments" in a report by the House Committee on Government Operations on issues concerning the FDA and off-label uses of drugs and devices. The committee's news release accompanied a report by the Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee, issued last month. That report was the result of a congressional hearing on June 11, 1991, to address three products -- injectable silicone, Retin-A, and
In a move designed to combine complementary technologies, Alkermes Inc. announced Friday that it has signed a definitive agreement to merge with Enyztech of Cambridge, Mass. Under the terms of the agreement, Alkermes, also of Cambridge, will exchange 2.9 million shares of its common stock (NASDAQ:ALKS) for all outstanding shares of Enzytech capital stock. Alkermes could not release further financial detail until the registration is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said Richard
The New York City Council last week passed a resolution calling for FDA to adopt regulations requiring the labeling of genetically engineered foods. And the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) was quick to praise the action. "The New York City Council sent a strong message to Washington on behalf of the city's millions of consumers," said EDF attorney Douglas Hopkins. "EDF hopes the council's action jump-starts an FDA stuck in a deregulatory stall." FDA issued a policy statement in
Incstar Corp. (ASE:ISR) announced that it has acquired an advanced fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) medical diagnostic technology from Dallas research firm Robert Dowben Associates. Incstar's systems will now use a new fluorescent dye and fully automated instrumentation for the immunoassays. Stillwater, Minn.-based Incstar, an affiliate of the Italian-based Fiat Group (NYSE:FIA), manufactures and distributes immunodiagnostic products for health care professionals and manufacturers
Hem Pharmaceuticals Corp. of Philadelphia announced that its investigational RNA therapeutic for treating chronic fatigue syndrome will be distributed to Canadian patients through an expanded-access program set up to allow patients with serious or life-threatening diseases to receive promising new treatments prior to marketing approval. The Canadian Health Protection Branch has also given approval to Hem to start its controlled Phase II/III clinical trials of the drug Ampligen in Canada. The
Molecular Biosystems Inc. (MB) announced last week that the FDA has requested additional information for its review of the company's cardiac ultrasound imaging agent Albunex, which is derived from human albumin. Although this probably means a delay in FDA's final pre- market approval for the diagnostic, the San Diego company said it is confident that the product will still be approved. However, at least one analyst downgraded his recommendation, and the stock (NYSE:MB) tumbled $5.88 a share on
Cell Therapeutics Inc. (CTI), a privately held Seattle biotechnology company, told BioWorld late Wednesday that it has raised $38.5 million in a private placement by D. Blech and Co. and Alex. Brown & Sons. Blech provided the initial seed capital for CTI, which was incorporated in September 1991. The company is developing therapeutics to interfere with abnormal cellular functions, such as inflammation and cancerous cell growth, by way of a unique second messenger pathway, the Bursten pathway