Biomatrix Inc. today reports that its treatment for osteoarthritis reduced pain and increased mobility in patients in clinical trials in Germany. Synvisc, the Ottawa, Ontario, company's first medical product, is a chemically modified version of the naturally occurring biomaterial hyaluronan, found in bacterial wall and in most body tissue. Hyaluronan functions as a lubricant, protectant and shock absorber in the joint. "We are confident that Synvisc will significantly improve the lives of
Agouron Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Wednesday that it received a $1.8 million NIH grant to begin a three-year AIDS research collaboration with NeXagen Inc. and Selectide Corp. The three companies will focus on the discovery of novel chemical compounds that block reverse transcriptase, an enzyme required for replication of the HIV virus. Commercial details of the deal were not released. According to Agouron spokeswoman Donna Nichols, the San Diego company will provide the structure of the
Amgen Inc. expects to collect $90 million from its one-time partner, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, under an arbitrator's decision announced Wednesday. The award was based on a finding that J&J's Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. failed to follow through in developing Amgen's hepatitis B vaccine and interleukin-2 (IL-2) products. Ortho returned both products to Amgen last year after taking them into Phase II clinical trials. The decision announced Wednesday nearly closes the book on one of the
Aphton Corp. of Woodland, Calif., said Wednesday that it plans to apply next month for approval to start clinical trials on patients with metastatic colon cancer in the United Kingdom. The company also said it spent more than $2 million on research and development in the fiscal year ending April 30, accomplishing all of its R&D objectives. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
The stock of Biogen Inc. rose $3 a share on Wednesday to close at $28 after Jeff Casdin of Oppenheimer & Co. in New York rated the Cambridge, Mass., company a "strong buy." Casdin estimates Biogen (NASDAQ:BGEN) will earn 40 to 50 cents a share this year and 50 to 75 cents a share next year, up from 15 cents a share in 1991. Casdin was optimistic about Biogen because, he said, royalty revenues from its alpha interferon (sold by Schering-Plough Corp.) and its hepatitis B vaccine (sold by
Biocontrol Technology Inc. of Indiana, Pa., said Wednesday that a medical advisory team associated with the company applied for a patent for a specialized method for whole-body hypothermia, including extracorporeal blood heating, an experimental procedure for the treatment of various blood viruses. The company said it plans to use this procedure in a study with patients infected with the AIDS virus. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Wednesday a five-year collaboration with Glaxo Inc. to develop drugs to treat and prevent atherosclerosis. Glaxo, the U.S. unit of London-based Glaxo Holdings plc, is picking up much of the research costs and also agreed to make a $10 million equity investment in the San Diego-based developer of receptor-based drugs. Glaxo has purchased $7.5 million of Ligand's preferred stock, which could be converted into 6 percent equity interest. It has committed an
Molecular Biosystems Inc. said that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office allowed a continuation-in-part for its patent application for an orally administered abdominal ultrasound contrast agent. The San Diego company received a patent for the agent in April. No ultrasound contrast agents for use with abdominal imaging are yet available commercially. The continuation of the patent expands the range of substances that may make up the agent. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights
ProCyte Corp said Wednesday that its investigational wound- healing drug, PC1020, showed "statistically significant" healing of chronic wounds of diabetic patients during a placebo- controlled Phase II trial. The Kirkland, Wash., company said that this is the first multicenter Phase II study to show significant drug-initiated healing in diabetic ulcers. In the study, 82 diabetic patients with chronic ulcers on their lower legs and feet received either the drug, trade named Iamin, or a placebo
The Food and Drug Administration approved the new drug application for Actinex, a topical treatment developed by Block Drug Co. and Chemex Pharmacuticals Inc. for pre-malignant lesions of the skin, cause by overexposure to the sun and by the aging process (actinic keratoses). The companies received a letter from the FDA announcing the approval on Tuesday. Block acquired Actinex from Chemex in June 1990 will begin to market the drug through Reed & Carnrick, its ethical pharmaceutical division
Applied Microbiology Inc. said Tuesday that it completed its previously announced acquisition of Aplin & Barrett Ltd. and certain technology in a stock transaction valued at $37.2 million. AMI of New York acquired the company from Burns, Philp & Co. Ltd. of Australia, a food processing conglomerate, in exchange for 9.3 million AMI (NASDAQ:AMBI) shares. Aplin & Barrett of Dorset, England, is a major worldwide supplier of nisin, a natural anti-microbial agent produced from fermented milk and
Clinical scientists at the annual meeting of the European Association for the study of diabetes in Prague report that Type I diabetics do not secrete enough amylin, a newly discovered pancreatic hormone, and that this deficiency increases their risk of developing insulin-induced hypoglycemia. Andrew Young and Christopher Moyses of Amylin Pharmaceuticals of San Diego made their report at a company- sponsored workship entitled "Amylin: Biological Activity and Therapeutic Potential," Amylin
Genta Inc. announced Tuesday a research, development and licensing agreement with the Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories division of American Home Products Corp. for an antisense treatment of a human infectious disease under development by Genta. Genta declined to specify financial details or the disease target but said this is its first collaboration with Wyeth-Ayerst. Under terms of the agreement, Wyeth-Ayerst will receive exclusive worldwide marketing rights to products arising from the
Immune Response Corp. announced Tuesday that it has begun Phase I/II clinical trials with a vaccine therapy to treat rheumatoid arthritis. The treatment is designed to target specific T cells responsible for the disease. Immune Response spokesman Steven Basta said he believes the company is the first to enter human trials with a therapeutic vaccine for rheumatoid arthritis. The treatment, based on Immune Response's core technology, involves the stimulation of a response against T cells, which
Dura Pharmaceuticals announced Tuesday it has launched Tornalate Inhalation Solution .02 percent (bitolterol mesylate), its first patented pharmaceutical product. Tornalate is indicated primarily for the treatment and prophylaxis of asthma. Dura's line of nebulizers can deliver solutions such as Tornalate to the lung. The company estimates that the Tornalate products give it access to a market with sales of almost $600 million in 1991 and will more than double the size of the markets served by
Two long-awaited biotechnology stock option indexes -- the AMEX Biotechnology Stock Index and the CBOE Biotech Index -- may finally be ready to make their market debuts at the end of the month, according to their sponsors. The Chicago Board of Option Exchange (CBOE) expects to file today with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) an amendment to its application for a biotechnology stock option index. The American Stock Exchange (ASE), which filed last January with the SEC to
Allelix Biopharmaceuticals Inc. of Toronto named Suman Rakhit director of medicinal chemistry. He had been director of chemistry for Bio-Mega Inc. in Montreal. Roberts Pharmaceutical Corp. of Eatontown, N.J., named Robert W. Loy chief operating officer. He had been vice president for international sales and marketing for Hollister Inc. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Alamar Biosciences Inc. announced Friday that it received FDA marketing approval for its gram-positive bacterial test kits for in vitro diagnosis. The test kit will determine, for up to 16 different antibiotics, which medication and what dosage will be effective in treating a gram-positve bacterial infection. According to Kenneth D. Miller, Alamar's chief executive, the test kit will complement the company's previously approved test kit for gram-negative bacterial infections. The Sacramento
A study reported Saturday in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) showed that thrombolytic therapy with SmithKline Beecham's anistreplase was most effective when the heart attack patients received therapy within two hours of the onset of symptoms. The study corroborated reports presented in April at an American College of Cardiology meeting in Dallas involving SmithKline Beecham's clot-dissolving agent anistraplase, trade name Eminase, and Genentech Inc.'s clot-buster, Activase. The two companies
Rare and exotic palms from the Fairchild Tropical Garden Center in Miami, which were devastated by Hurricane Andrew, may offer the National Cancer Institute (NCI) a valuable source of drug compound possibilities According to Michael Balick of the New York Botanical Garden, samples from 25 palms were shipped to cancer institute laboratories on Friday. The Natural Products Branch of the NCI will screen the palms for compounds to use against the AIDS virus and 60 kinds of cancer. Douglas Daley
Biomatrix Inc. today reports that its treatment for osteoarthritis reduced pain and increased mobility in patients in clinical trials in Germany. Synvisc, the Ottawa, Ontario, company's first medical product, is a chemically modified version of the naturally occurring biomaterial hyaluronan, found in bacterial wall and in most body tissue. Hyaluronan functions as a lubricant, protectant and shock absorber in the joint. "We are confident that Synvisc will significantly improve the lives of