Icos Corp., which is developing products to treat chronic inflammatory diseases, said Monday that it has filed for a secondary offering of 3 million shares of common stock. Icos (NASDAQ:ICOS) raised $36 million in an initial public offering of 4.5 million shares at $8 last June. It raised a record $33 million in its first round of private financing in 1990. Shares of the Seattle company closed up 25 cents at $12.75 on Monday. Icos, which has no products slated to enter the clinic this year
Somatogen Inc. has started Phase I trials of its rHb1.1, a synthetic, genetically engineered hemoglobin, the company said Monday. The hemoglobin is designed to provide oxygen transport from the lungs to the tissues as an infection-free red blood cell replacement for blood lost in surgery. About 7.7 million units of red blood cells are transfused annually in the United States. Somatogen shares (NASDAQ:SMTG) soared $6.50 to $40.50 in October after the Boulder, Colo., company said it had received
Mycogen Corp. on Monday said its board has adopted a stockholder rights plan designed to prevent a hostile takeover. The plan, which Mycogen said was not in response to any overture, would be triggered by an investor acquiring 15 percent of the San Diego company's outstanding stock (NASDAQ:MYCO). Stockholders would receive rights to purchase shares of a new class of preferred stock at a substantial discount. Mycogen shares closed unchanged Monday at $14. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants
Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. has netted $14 million through the redemption of its 10.2 million class A warrants outstanding. The warrants were exercised at $1.50 to purchase one share of common stock (NASDAQ:MDRXA) and one class B warrant. The B warrants are exercisable at $2.75 for one share of stock through March 28, 1995. The stock closed at $3, down 3 cents, on Monday. After the redemption, the New York developer of dermatology products has 40 million shares outstanding. (c) 1997 American
Aphton Corp. has entered into an agreement with Ciba-Geigy Ltd. in which the Swiss company will test the Woodland, Calif., company's immune system stimulants against parasites in animals. Based on the results of the project, Aphton (NASDAQ:APHT) said the companies will negotiate terms to commercialize the immunogens for both farm and pet animals. The products direct the animals' immune systems to make antibodies that will neutralize the parasites' hormones, said Fred Jacobs, company controller
Air Methods Corp. has an agreement with Oncotech Inc. to develop Air Methods' ImuVert cancer therapeutic. ImuVert was developed by Cell Technology Inc., which merged itself into Air Methods in November and began phasing out of biotechnology. Phase II trials of ImuVert "were just not compelling enough" to proceed with development, said William Critchfield, Air Methods' executive vice president and chief financial officer. Licensing ImuVert will allow Air Methods to concentrate on its primary
Cambridge Biotech Corp. of Worcester, Mass., has signed an agreement with Gull Laboratories Inc. of Salt Lake City to manufacture its line of 15 enzyme immunoassay diagnostic kits under Cambridge Biotech's name. The kits are most commonly used by hospitals and laboratories to screen for early- or late-stage infections with cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Herpes simplex virus and measles virus, as well as Lyme disease and toxoplasmosis. The kits will augment Cambridge Biotech's existing
TSI Corp. said Monday that all of the 2 million outstanding shares of its convertible preferred stock have become convertible into TSI common stock (NASDAQ:TSIN) on a share- for-share basis. One million of the shares became convertible in December. The remainder became convertible after the close of trading last Friday, after the average daily price of the common stock exceeded $9.25 for 90 consecutive business days. The shares were down 88 cents to $10 on Monday. If all the shares are
Cytel Corp. researchers reported Friday in Cell the discovery of a novel approach to blocking immune response that they said is 100 times more potent than existing approaches. The approach will permit Cytel to design drugs to treat autoimmune diseases and allergies that will be more selective and more potent than conventional major histocompatibility complex (MHC) blockers under development, said Jay Kranzler, president and chief executive. Cytel shares (NASDAQ:CYTL) rose $1.50 Friday to $15
Diatech Inc., a developer of peptide-based imaging and therapeutic products for cardiovascular diseases, was to announce today that it has raised $5.2 million in a first round of venture financing. Lead investors are Burr, Egan, Deleage & Co., Medical Science Partners L.P. and the Sprout Group. Diatech, which was formed in March 1990, raised $2 million in a seed round with Burr, Egan and Medical Science Partners. The New Londonderry, N.H., company will use part of the funds to move its lead
Immunomedics Inc. has filed for Canadian government approval to market its ImmuRaid-CEA colorectal cancer imaging agent, the company said Thursday. ImmuRaid, which the FDA is reviewing in the United States, consists of a monoclonal antibody fragment labeled with technetium-99. Shares of the Warren, N.J., company (NASDAQ:IMMU) closed up 13 cents at $12.13 on Friday. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
ProCyte Corp. on Friday said it has received a notice of allowance for a U.S. patent on its peptide-copper compounds that help smooth wrinkles by increasing subcutaneous fat cells in the skin. ProCyte (NASDAQ:PRCY) has conducted preclinical studies of these compounds, as well as other peptide-copper compounds that enhance or restore skin texture by triggering collagen and proteoglycan synthesis. The patent will be the first issued to the Kirkland, Wash., company for "skin health" applications
Idexx Laboratories Inc. has registered an offering of 1.5 million shares of common stock (NASDAQ:IDXX). The Westbrook, Maine, company is developing veterinary diagnostics, food quality assurance tests and life science research products, particularly immunoassays, DNA probes and clinical chemistry tests. "Analysts generally seem to be projecting growth from roughly $30 million in revenues in 1991 to $50 million to $60 million in 1992, so the proceeds from this offering will help fund some of
Centocor Inc. said Friday that it will distribute $12.4 million to the limited partners of Centocor Partners II L.P. to exercise its option to buy the limited partnership interests. By exercising the option, the Malvern, Pa., company (NASDAQ:CNTO) will retain rights to Centoxin, its monoclonal antibody to treat gram-negative sepsis, as well as certain cancer imaging agents in early development. Centocor will also make future payments based on sales of products developed by CPII, which raised
Allelix Biopharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday that it will supply Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. of Seoul, South Korea, with genetically engineered epidermal growth factor for Daewoong to incorporate into pharmaceutical products. Under the agreement, Allelix (TSE:AXB) of Mississauga, Ontario, will supply EGF to Daewoong for formulation and marketing in Korea and other Asian markets. EGF is a naturally occurring protein that stimulates the growth of many cell types, particularly epidermal cells
Pharmatec Inc. said that it has received $4.5 million from investor David Blech in the final stage of a previously announced $5.5 million financing. The Alachua, Fla., company (NASDAQ:PHTC) issued 3 million units at this stage of the financing. At the initial closing for $1 million in December, Blech received 666,666 units. After the placement, Blech owns 60 percent of Pharmatec shares outstanding. Each unit consists of two shares of common stock and one class A warrant. Each A warrant may be
Argus Pharmaceuticals of Houston has appointed David M. Leech president and chief executive, following the retirement of George Goldenberg. Leech was president and CEO of Houston Biotechnology Inc. Argus is developing potential treatments for AIDS, cancer and serious fungal infections. Enzymatics of Horsham, Pa., has named Donald E. Kuhla executive vice president and chief operating officer and William R. Patterson vice president of operations. Kuhla was president and chief operating officer of
Centocor Inc.'s continued silence on the fate of its Centoxin product at the FDA has left analysts scrambling to make reasonable projections about the future of the drug -- and the company. Following Wednesday's news that the Food and Drug Administration has requested more information on the sepsis treatment, Cowen & Co. analyst David Stone knocked 75 cents off his 1992 earnings estimate, to a 70 cent per share loss from a 5 cent profit. Stone, who lowered his rating to "neutral" from a "short
Centocor Inc.'s Centoxin apparently saved an 8-month-old boy with meningitis in septic shock, Irish physicians report this week in The Lancet. "Once HA-1A (Centoxin) was started, there was an impressive and sustained improvement, the child's recovery being remarkable for the short hospital stay and normal neurological outcome," according to the doctors at Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. "Centocor, the manufacturers, tell us that 14 of 16 children have survived meningococcal sepsis
Liposome Technology Inc. on Thursday said it has entered into a collaboration with Amgen Inc. to research protein delivery by LTIZ's Stealth liposomes. The companies are not disclosing which Amgen protein will be involved. "This is an exploratory agreement," said Nick Arvanitidis, CEO of the Menlo Park, Calif., company that is seeking to validate its Stealth technology beyond the cancer field. The company's shares (NASDAQ:LTIZ) closed at $21.75, up $3, on Thursday. The Stealth technology uses
Icos Corp., which is developing products to treat chronic inflammatory diseases, said Monday that it has filed for a secondary offering of 3 million shares of common stock. Icos (NASDAQ:ICOS) raised $36 million in an initial public offering of 4.5 million shares at $8 last June. It raised a record $33 million in its first round of private financing in 1990. Shares of the Seattle company closed up 25 cents at $12.75 on Monday. Icos, which has no products slated to enter the clinic this year