Rex Bright was named president and chief executive officer of Arcturus Pharmaceutical Corp of Woburn, Mass. He was marketing director of the dermatological division of Johnson & Johnson's Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. of New York named Harold E. Chappelear president and chief executive officer. He was corporate executive vice president of the Upjohn Co. Applied Bioscience International Inc. of Foster City, Calif., named Swep T. Davis to its board of directors and made
SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Wednesday announced that Nichimen Corp., a Japanese trading company, has made a strategic investment of $1 million in SciClone. Nichimen purchased 73,800 shares of restricted common stock from the San Mateo, Calif., company for $13.55 per share. SciClone stock (NASDAQ:SCLN) closed Wednesday at $10.63 a share, up 38 cents. Nichimen has had an ongoing relationship with SciClone under which the Japanese company has helped SciClone evaluate and locate strategic
ICAAC Reporting at the 32nd Interscience Conference on Anti- microbial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) held this week in Anaheim, Calif., BioChem Pharma, of Laval, Quebec, said Phase I/II U.S. and European trials showed positive trends in surrogate markers such as CD4 cells, P24 antigen, B2 microglobulin and neopterin. Patients experienced weight gain and increased energy and appetite; no significant drug-related toxicity has been observed. BioChem expects to begin Phase II/III trials of 3TC in
Applied Biosystems Inc. (ABI) announced that shareholders of record on Oct. 23 will receive 0.81 shares (0.48 preferred shares and 0.33 common shares) of Lynx Therapeutics Inc. stock for each of their ABI shares. ABI of Foster City, Calif., last week spun off Lynx, which was its therapeutics subsidiary. According to Jackie Cossman, ABI's director of investor relations, the ratio represents the proportion of preferred to common shares that ABI owns in Lynx. The Lynx shares will be valued at $1
Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp. announced Tuesday that it received a $500,000 Phase II small business innovative research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health to extend studies of Idec's HIV therapeutic vaccines. Idec is using monoclonal antibodies as therapeutic vaccines to stimulate the immune system to make neutralizing antibodies intended to block HIV from infecting immune system cells. Idec's Theravir vaccine is in a Phase I double-blinded clinical study at the University of
Multiple Peptide Systems (MPS) of San Diego announced Tuesday that the malaria vaccine it is producing for the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research has entered clinical trials. MPS is producing the putative vaccine in its Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) peptide production facility. "MPS is making multiple-gram quantities of this peptide for Walter Reed, all under GMP-certified conditions," said Glen Ambra, MPS's vice president of marketing. "The vaccine was developed by Dr. Manual
WOUND HEALING AND MANAGEMENT Organogenesis Inc. reported Tuesday at the International Symposium on Wound Healing and Wound Management in New Orleans that its Graftskin treatment for burn wounds caused no immune reaction or adverse response in human clinical trials recently completed at Western Pennsylvania Hospital. Graftskin is a full-thickness living skin equivalent containing both the dermal and epidermal layer of the skin. When Graftskin was used on patients with full-thickness wounds, the
Vestar Inc. announced Tuesday that it has received approval to market its liposomal formulation of amphotericin B in Germany. The product, AmBisome, is for treating severe systemic fungal infections, which can cause mortality rates as high as 70 percent in cancer patients who have received chemotherapy, in recipients of organ and bone marrow transplants, and in AIDS patients. Amphotericin B is commonly used to treat these infections; however, it is very toxic at doses that are only slightly
VimRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Tuesday that it will begin human clinical trials of VimRxyn, its hypericin-based anti-viral drug for human papillomavirus (HPV), in a joint agreement with Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. The trials, due to begin Nov. 1, will involve one intravenous dose of VimRxyn followed by administration of a light treatment on the wart area. "We're looking to see if this dose and treatment combination works in clearing the warts," said Joanne Kompare, a clinical research
Synaptic Pharmaceutical Corp. said it received on Tuesday U.S. patent No. 5,155,218 relating to human serotonin-1D receptors that represent new targets for drugs to treat migraine headaches, depression and anxiety. The patent covers the discovery of genes encoding two new human serotonin receptors, 1D alpha and 1D beta, and use of these receptors expressed on the surface of genetically engineered cells as targets for drug discovery and development. According to Kathleen Mullinix, Synaptic's
Oxford GlycoSystems Ltd. (OGS) announced Monday that it has developed a new method to systematically sequence oligosaccharide molecular structures, commonly known as complex carbohydrates. The technology uses an array of enzymes in mathematically determined mixes and relies on software algorithms to carry out the sequencing procedure. It will provide researchers of molecular structures with a method to rapidly complete such procedures. According to Dale Pfost, president and chief executive
The Immune Response Corp. (IRC) announced Monday that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire TargeTech Inc. of Meriden, Conn. The acquisition is expected to take place by the end of November, if not sooner, according to Henry Nordhoff, TargeTech's chief executive officer. Under the terms of the deal, IRC of Carlsbad, Calif., would pay $3 million in cash and issue 1,325,000 shares of the company's common stock (NASDAQ:IMNR) to acquire privately held TargeTech. If the acquisition is not
LifeCell Corp. and BioSurface Technology on Monday reported promising data from early wound treatment trials. LifeCell (NASDAQ:LIFC) said its dermal tissue product for treating full-thickness wounds becomes vascularized and supports the growth of host fibroblasts. And BioSurface Technology, a private company based in Cambridge, Mass., said that its wound healing dressing, which consists of cultured human cells, appears to promote healing in partial thickness burns. Both companies presented
Ixsys Inc. said Monday that it has entered into a research agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb for developing monoclonal antibodies directed against certain tumor antigens. The collaboration is an extension of an earlier feasibility study by the two companies. Under this agreement, Ixsys of San Diego will use its proprietary protein engineering technology for identification and optimization of MAbs for use in fighting certain cancers, said James R. Tretter, Ixsys' president and chief executive
Allelix Biopharmaceuticals Inc., a Canadian biotech company that has concentrated on developing therapeutics, announced Friday that it is branching into the diagnostics market with new imaging agents for inflammation -- and a company to develop them. The new entity, Resolution Pharmaceuticals Inc., was formed jointly by Allelix and Nordion International Inc., a radioisotope manufacturer and distributor that commands 70 percent to 80 percent of the world market of Technetium 99m, according to
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Friday that it is collaborating with E. Merck of Germany to discover and develop new drugs. At its own expense, Ligand will scan Merck’s extensive collection of steroid, flavonoid, and isoflavanoid compounds for drug candidates. Ligand’s patented assay detects compounds that interact with intracellular receptors, which play a key role in regulating the genetic processes affecting certain cancers, gynecological disorders, and cardiovascular, inflammatory
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that it has filed an investigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA to begin clinical trials on its psoriasis drug BCX-34. BCX-34 acts by inhibiting the enzyme purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP). In turn, this selectively prevents T cell proliferation. In animal models, the drug halts the progress of inflammatory disease. The privately held Birmingham, Ala., company is using its proprietary structure-based drug design technology to search for
Published Sept. 23 (EPO) and Sept. 17 (WO ) BioWorldLs weekly European patent preview lists in alphabetical order by assignee, and briefly summarizes, all salient biotechnology patent applications as they are made public in Europe. European patent offices publish full texts of patent applications worldwide within six months of their filing, and months to years before the corresponding U.S. patent issues. Two organizations, with Great Britain (GB) comprise the European system: -- The European
Enzon Corp. is about to obtain a partially exclusive license from the National Institutes of Health to produce a longer-lived version of Ceredase, Genzyme Corp.'s treatment for Gaucher's disease. Ceredase, which is a chemically remodeled-carbohydrate replacement for the enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GC), received FDA marketing and use approval in April 1991 as an Orphan Drug. NIH's technology was developed by Edward I. Ginns, who heads the neurogenetics section in the National Institute of Mental
By Michelle Slade Associate Editor Hemacare Corp. on Friday reported positive results from Phase I/II trials of its Passive Hyperimmune Therapy (PHT) treatment for AIDS. The Sherman Oaks, Calif. company said at the Fifth National AIDS Update Conference in San Francisco that PHT improves survival, preserves T4 lymphocyte levels and maintains immune competence in patients who began treatment with circulating blood T4 lymphocyte counts of at least 50/cu. mm. Patients who entered the study
Rex Bright was named president and chief executive officer of Arcturus Pharmaceutical Corp of Woburn, Mass. He was marketing director of the dermatological division of Johnson & Johnson's Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. of New York named Harold E. Chappelear president and chief executive officer. He was corporate executive vice president of the Upjohn Co. Applied Bioscience International Inc. of Foster City, Calif., named Swep T. Davis to its board of directors and made