Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman announced Friday a USDA proposal to ease regulating biotech-derived plants by simplifying the approval process for field tests and exempting adequately tested plants from any further regulations. However, the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) does not intend to totally deregulate agbiotech. Where currently a company or academic institution must apply to USDA for a permit to field-test an engineered plant, in the future it may
Oncor Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md., said it formed an exclusive marketing agreement with Amersham Buchler of Braunschweig, Germany, for the sale of Oncor's products in certain European countries. According to Steven Turner, Oncor's chief executive officer, under the terms of the agreement Amersham will receive exclusive distribution rights in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and some Eastern European countries in exchange for a guarantee that Amersham achieves a minimum level of sales of Oncor's DNA
Under a plan to diversify its portfolio, CoCensys said Thursday that it will join with Acea Pharmaceuticals Inc. to develop treatments for neurological and emotional disorders. Under the terms of the partnership, CoCensys will receive exclusive rights to Acea's proprietary compounds that target the NMDA receptor, a newly discovered glycine receptor believed to have potential in regulating critical central nervous system (CNS) functions. CoCensys also has an option to acquire all of Acea if
Shareholders of Vivigen Inc. on Thursday approved the acquisition of the Santa Fe, N.M., genetic testing laboratory by Genzyme Corp. and its subsidiary, IG Laboratories Inc., completing the $40 million transaction announced in July. Vivigen shareholders will receive 0.3741 shares of Genzyme stock (NASDAQ:GENZ) per Vivigen share (ASE:VIV). Approximately 963,900 Genzyme shares will be issued, the Cambridge, Mass., company said. The acquisition is a tax-free exchange and will be accounted for as
At Penn State University, monoclonal antibodies -- often depicted as "molecular seeing-eye dogs" -- are being bred into potential pit bull terriers. Chemistry professor Stephen J. Benkovic has raised an initial litter of catalytic antibodies that can mutilate and inactivate peptides and proteins rather than merely track them down. "With such tailor-made antibodies," Benkovic told BioWorld, one could think, for example, of attacking coat proteins on an AIDS virus, or seizing a small hormonal
Pharmos Corp. announced Thursday that it has completed its $65 million dollar merger with Pharmatec Inc. Pharmatec's stock ceased trading at the end of Thurday's trading day, and Pharmos, the combined entity, will begin trading today on NASDAQ under the symbol PARS. Under the terms of the merger, Pharmatec will issue 13.4 million shares of a new class of its convertible common stock (class B) to Pharmos shareholders in exchange for all of the 17.5 million issued and outstanding shares of
In a move that will cut 85 jobs, Xoma Corp. announced Thursday that it is restructuring its Berkeley, Calif., and Santa Monica, Calif., operations and altering its product focus. "Due to the delays we have encountered with E5 and CD5 Plus, we are refocusing and streamlining our organization," said company President Jack Costello, "We've decided to shift Xoma's principal research focus to BPI because of its clinical and commercial potential," Costello said. Xoma's new strategy will focus on
Lederle-Praxis Biologicals (Lederle) announced that an advisory committee to the FDA voted in support of its new pediatric vaccine combination. The combination vaccine consists of a whole-cell DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) and a Haemiphilus b conjugate vaccine, both of which are already available from Lederle as single-entity vaccines. According to Lederle, a subsidiary of American Cyanamid Co., after hearing results of U.S. clinical trials of the product, the FDA committee strongly
Oxigene Inc. of New York announced Thursday that it has filed an investigational new drug application (IND) for its variant of metoclopramide, a drug that improves the efficacy of chemo- and radiation cancer therapies by interfering with the cancer cells' ability to proliferate. Although chemo- and radiation therapy damage the DNA in cancer cells, those cells can often repair the damage and go on to proliferate anyway. Oxigene's product interferes with the DNA repair mechanism itself
Since May, the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition has received between 2,800 and 3,000 letters responding to the agency's call for public opinion on its policy for genetically engineered foods, and 95 percent of the responses reviewed so far have been negative. The FDA last May announced that it would not impose special labeling or other restrictions on biofoods, based merely on their recombinant origin. The public comment period ended Oct. 15, though the agency will continue to
Cephalon Inc. reported Wednesday at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Anaheim, Calif., that recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1 (rhIGF-1) is capable of enhancing the recovery of motor function after traumatic nerve injury. IGF-1 is one of the compounds being developed to treat Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a fatal disorder characterized by a progressive degeneration of motor neurons. These results provide a "functional correlate" to
DNX Corp. on Wednesday announced plans to expand its preclinical testing capability and capacity by acquiring Hazleton-France, itself a preclinical testing company owned by Hazleton Laboratories and Institut Merieux. DNX of Princeton, N.J., intends to combine Hazleton-France, for which it will end up paying a total of $10 million, with DNX's subsidiary, Pharmakon Research International Inc. Pharmakon offers pre-investigational new drug application testing services for biotech and
TheraTech Inc. announced Wednesday that it received a U.S. patent, No. 5,152,997, covering "method and device" for administering testosterone across non-scrotal skin at therapeutically effective levels. The patch, in advanced Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of testosterone deficiency, also known as hypogonadism, in men between the ages of 18 and 65, represents a new and efficient approach to administering the male hormone. "The patch is successfully providing normal hormone levels
Raggio-Italgene SpA announced Wednesday that it has signed a research and development and licensing agreement with Thomas Jefferson University to develop drugs using synthetic peptide technology. The four-year, $1.5 million deal gives the Italian biotech company exclusive worldwide rights to "several patent applications being filed on peptide synthesis and disease research," the company said. The Philadelphia university's Jefferson Cancer Institute brings to the deal its multi-million dollar
WASHINGTON -- The brouhaha continues over the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) effort to patent roughly 2,500 predominantly useless fragments of genes of unknown function. After the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) rejected the initial application on Aug. 20, Michael Astrue, general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, ordered NIH Chief Bernadine Healy not to file a new application and to refrain from releasing information on the matter. However, Healy testified
In an unprecedented event in plant biotechnology, Agracetus Inc. on Tuesday received a broad U.S. patent, No. 5,159,135, covering all genetically engineered cotton products. According to the Middleton, Wisc., company, this is the first reported case where one patent covers all transgenic plants of one crop. Agracetus, a wholly owned subsidiary of W.R. Grace & Co., is pursuing a particular market niche in the specialty natural fibers business by developing fibers through genetic engineering
Alkermes Inc. said it has received a patent on its technology for transporting drug molecules into the brain. The U.S. patent, No. 5,154,924, covers methods for using certain antibodies and antibody fragments to deliver therapeutics across the blood- brain barrier. According to Richard Pops, Alkermes' president and chief executive officer, the broad patent covers "the use of anti- transferrin monoclonals or antibody fragments to take molecules into the brain." The patented carriers bind to
EcoScience Corp. of Worcester, Mass., said it has received a $190,000 Phase II small business innovative research (SBIR) award from the Cooperative State Research Service to develop a biologically based commercial control product for corn rootworm. The company said it will use the award to support research into formulation and delivery systems to ensure efficacy and commercial viability of its proprietary corn rootworm product. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
ImmunoGen Inc. announced Tuesday that it has received a patent allowance on the use of its family of maytansinoids conjugated to monoclonal antibodies specific for tumor cell antigens. The maytansinoids -- highly toxic compounds that kill cells by inhibiting mitosis -- are linked by disulfide bonds to monoclonal antibodies or antibody fragments, said Mark Ratner, ImmunoGen's director of external communications. These compounds are designed to target and eliminate cancer cells. Mitchel Sayare
Cor Therapeutics Inc. announced Tuesday that it has started Phase II trials on Integrelin, its product for patients undergoing coronary angioplasty. Integrelin is a glycoprotein GPIIb-IIIa antagonist for treating diseases associated with arterial thrombosis. This is the second clinical indication for the compound, Laura Brege, chief financial officer for the South San Francisco, Calif., company (NASDAQ:CORR), told BioWorld. Integrelin has been in the clinic for the first indication, unstable
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman announced Friday a USDA proposal to ease regulating biotech-derived plants by simplifying the approval process for field tests and exempting adequately tested plants from any further regulations. However, the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) does not intend to totally deregulate agbiotech. Where currently a company or academic institution must apply to USDA for a permit to field-test an engineered plant, in the future it may