Univax Biologics Inc. said Monday that it will test its vaccines using Nova Pharmaceutical Corp.'s Liposphere technology as a delivery system. The Rockville, Md., company (NASDAQ:UNVX) hopes Nova's technology will enhance the effectiveness of its vaccines, for example by allowing the use of lower doses of antigen. In preclinical studies, the potency of Univax's anti-endotoxin vaccine was increased seven- to eightfold when it was incorporated into the Lipospheres, according to Univax. Univax
Immune Response Corp. said investors misread the company's priorities when they bid down the stock on Friday based on reports that the company was delaying clinical tests of its preventive AIDS vaccine. The company said it remains on track to file next year for marketing approval for a therapeutic vaccine. The stock (NASDAQ:IMNR) fell $1.75 to $26.75 after trading as low as $24.75 during the session. News reports said the preventive vaccine would be delayed because of liability issues
For two health care funds that started this year, the current retreat of many biotech stocks makes now a good time to shop selectively for inexpensive shares. "We think it's the best of times to come out with a fund like ours because there are bargains," said John Kaweske, who manages the Global Health Sciences Fund, a new closed-end fund. GHS in January raised $300 million in an initial public offering of 20 million shares (NYSE:GHS) priced at $15 per share. Kaweske already manages the $1.1
Celtrix Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised $23.6 million in a secondary offering of 2.5 million shares at $10.50 per share. The offering included 225,000 shares sold by stockholders, primarily investors in BioGrowth Inc., which merged with Celtrix (NASDAQ:CTRX) in December. The stock closed down 50 cents at $10 on Friday. Celtrix, which is developing therapeutic products based on naturally occurring, cell-regulating proteins, is focusing its efforts on BetaKine and IGF-BP3. BetaKine
Shares of Immunomedics Inc. rose $2.25 to $13 on Friday after the company presented results of Phase III clinical studies of its ImmuRaid-CEA colorectal cancer imaging agent. In a presentation at the International Conference on Monoclonal Antibody Immunoconjugates for Cancer in San Diego, the company said that in 35 percent of patients imaged with ImmuRaid, new or additional information about the disease was provided. The new information, which supplements data from CT scans, primarily involved
Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp. has begun Phase I studies of its 3C9 antibody in HIV-positive asymptomatic patients, the company said Friday. The drug is designed to stimulate a patient's immune system to launch a response against HIV by triggering antibody production from a specific subset of B cells. Idec expects 3C9 to complement many of the anti-viral drugs in development. New York Life Insurance Co. entered into a funding agreement with Idec in 1988 to provide $8.3 million in funding for the
Exogene Corp., a developer of oxygen-enhancing technologies for microbial fermentation and cell culture processes, said it has raised $6.1 million in a second round of venture funding. The Monrovia, Calif., company, which had expected to raise about $3.75 million, said the funds should be sufficient until Exogene becomes profitable in the third quarter of 1994. Investors this round include new investor Jeffry M. Picower and the initial investors, Montgomery Medical Ventures II and MedCorp
Houston Biotechnology Inc. has named A. Douglas Peabody chairman. J. Russell Denson was named president, chief executive officer and director. Peabody, who had been a director, was recently named president and managing principal of Inco Venture Capital Management. Denson was a partner in The Denson Publishing Group. Privately held Houston Biotechnology is developing products for the prevention and/or treatment of eye diseases and disorders. Thomas R. Beck has been named chairman and chief
WASHINGTON -- FDA Commissioner David Kessler on Thursday unveiled initiatives designed to speed the review of new drug applications through the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, including the appointment of Kathryn Zoon as director of the CBER. In a speech to the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Kessler also said the FDA plans to hire 50 research and review staff "for the sole attention of biotech products." Kessler said that "FDA stands ready to fulfill our duty to review
WASHINGTON -- FDA Commissioner David Kessler on Thursday announced that Kathryn Zoon, a career government scientist, has been appointed to fill the long-vacant director's job at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "Dr. Zoon was the driving force in the licensing of the first interferon product and in the licensing of other products derived from biotechnology. She has represented the agency globally on issues involving biotechnology," Kessler said in a speech to the Massachusetts
Cygnus Therapeutic Systems Inc., which is developing transdermal drug delivery systems, said Thursday that it has filed to offer 3 million shares of common stock. The Redwood City, Calif., company (NASDAQ:CYGN) expects its first commercial product to be its Nicotrol nicotine patch. Cygnus filed in December 1990 a new drug application with the FDA. Warner-Lambert has U.S. marketing rights to the patch. Three competitors have received FDA marketing approval since November. Alza Corp. and its
Neurex Corp. said Thursday that it has filed for an initial public offering of 3.5 million shares of common stock with a proposed price of $7 to $9 per share. The Menlo Park, Calif., company is developing peptide-based neuronal calcium channel blockers to treat disorders and diseases of the brain and central nervous system. Calcium channels regulate the entry of calcium into nerve cells and the release of neurotransmitters. Neurex plans to file its first investigational new drug application by
General Biometrics Inc. announced Thursday that it has received FDA approval to sell its two tests to detect Lyme disease and related disorders. The San Diego company has been marketing the kits in Europe and for research use in the United States, so the tests are available immediately to clinical laboratories at a cost of $1 to $3. Fred Adler, company general manager, said the U.S. market for the tests is $10 million to $12 million, and $10 million in Europe. The test uses a protein from the
Interferon Sciences Inc. said Thursday that it has received about $3 million through the exercise of warrants to purchase 432,600 shares of common stock. The warrants were exercisable at $6.85 per share. The stock (NASDAQ:IFSC) closed Thursday at $8.38, down 13 cents. The proceeds, together with $10 million raised in a stock offering last October, will be used to develop topical and low- dose oral formulations of natural-source alpha interferon. IFSC sells Alferon N injection to treat
Immune Response Corp. on Thursday said it has developed an assay of HIV infection that supports the company's desire to use viral burden as a surrogate end point in trials of its AIDS vaccine. Reporting in the current AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, the San Diego company said it has developed a polymerase chain reaction assay that measures the amount of HIV DNA in a patient's blood cells. Use of the assay has shown a correlation between the viral burden in HIV-infected people and the
Scientists at Athena Neurosciences Inc. and collaborators reported today that they have blocked paralysis in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. Using monoclonal antibodies, the researchers concluded that they have blocked the cell adhesion molecules in rats that allow misdirected white cells to enter the brain. A similar monoclonal, targeted to the same molecule in humans, will be developed by Athena (NASDAQ:ATHN) as a therapeutic. The test animals had been treated to create a model of MS
WASHINGTON -- Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. on Wednesday said that it expects to file an application to market taxol for refractory ovarian cancer by midyear. The announcement came at a joint hearing of the House Merchant Marine, Agriculture and Interior committees on the Pacific Yew Act of 1991. The bill provides for management of federal lands containing the Pacific yew tree to ensure sufficient supply of taxol, which currently can only be derived from the tree's bark. Zola Horowitz, vice
T Cell Sciences Inc. has reported data showing its lead therapeutic product reduces tissue injury in animal models of inflammation. The compound, soluble CR1, limited tissue injury by reducing neutrophil content in inflamed areas by at least 68 percent in the animal models studied. sCR1 is a recombinant version of a human regulatory protein of the complement system, a host defense mechanism made up of several proteins that circulate in the blood. Under certain circumstances, the complement
Findings announced in December on a model of Alzheimer's disease have been retracted by the study's authors. Scientists at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, collaborating with Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. of Tokyo and the National Institutes of Health, had published in Nature that they had created a transgenic mouse model of the disease. The mice supposedly had shown degenerative changes that more closely mimic the neuronal changes of the human disease, compared to other models. But the
Ecogen Inc. said it has gained regulatory approval for wider use of its Cutlass WP bioinsecticide. The Environmental Protection Agency approval expands its application from vegetables to include fruit and nut trees and field crops such as cotton, soy beans and alfalfa. Ecogen shares (NASDAQ:EECN) closed unchanged at $11.63 on Wednesday. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
Univax Biologics Inc. said Monday that it will test its vaccines using Nova Pharmaceutical Corp.'s Liposphere technology as a delivery system. The Rockville, Md., company (NASDAQ:UNVX) hopes Nova's technology will enhance the effectiveness of its vaccines, for example by allowing the use of lower doses of antigen. In preclinical studies, the potency of Univax's anti-endotoxin vaccine was increased seven- to eightfold when it was incorporated into the Lipospheres, according to Univax. Univax