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
A low-tech route using nitric oxide blockers to treat sepsis has been patented by U.S. researchers who are filing to get their compounds into the clinic. The nitric oxide route to stopping sepsis has been discussed in recent editions of The Lancet, in some cases involving dramatic uses of common chemicals to reverse septic shock in patients near death. Some researchers have assumed that the readily available compounds were not patentable, and therefore unlikely candidates for commercial
Somatix Therapy Corp. said on Thursday that it raised $34.5 million in a secondary offering of 3 million shares of common stock at $11.50 per share. The Alameda, Calif., company said the proceeds would be used to develop gene therapy products. Somatix plans to enter the clinic late this year with a cancer treatment consisting of inactivated tumor cells that have been genetically modified by inserting lymphokines. The stock (NASDAQ:SOMA) lost 13 cents to $11.63 on Thursday. After the offering
Interneuron Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised $7 million through the redemption of its 3.18 million class A warrants outstanding. Following the exercise, the Lexington, Mass., developer of products to treat neurological and behavioral disorders (NASDAQ:IPIC) has 21 million shares outstanding. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.
NeoRx Corp. announced on Thursday that it has signed a second collaboration with Genentech Inc. to test an antibody-guided radiotherapy for cancer. The first collaboration tested a mouse antibody directed to the HER2 oncoprotein expressed by breast and ovarian cancers. HER2 causes a virulent form of cancer that responds poorly to traditional therapies. The antibody binds to the protein, preventing it from causing the unchecked growth of tumor cells. Genentech (NYSE:GNE) tested the mouse
CytRx Corp. on Thursday said its licensee, Burroughs Wellcome Co., has initiated Phase II testing of RheothRx in myocardial infarction and sickle cell crisis. The CytRx product is a proprietary copolymer used to treat problems with vascular blood flow, such as heart attacks, strokes and blood clots associated with sickle cell anemia. RheothRx coats the blood cells, making them slippery and easing their passage around blood clots. Wellcome has worldwide rights to the agent, and will pay
Frustrated Wall Street analysts expressed dismay at Centocor Inc.'s handling of its announcement on Wednesday that the FDA has requested more information on Centoxin. The stock (NASDAQ:CNTO) closed down $8.13 on Wednesday at $33.13 after the company said the issues raised by the FDA, if not resolved satisfactorily, "could have a material adverse effect on the application and the company." The Malvern, Pa., company would not provide details about the new request for information about the anti
A chimpanzee injected with a mouse-human monoclonal antibody remains free of signs of HIV infection after 52 weeks, while a control animal given the same viral challenge is infected. The report by researchers from Repligen Corp. and Merck & Co. Inc. is a year-long follow-up on the status of the chimp inoculated with an antibody to the V3 loop of the viral coat. The data showed that the anti-V3 antibody can prevent infection if given immediately after challenge with HIV. Another chimp
Ivax Corp. said Wednesday that its wholly owned subsidiary, Baker Cummins Pharmaceuticals Inc., is starting Phase II trials of Alzene in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Alzene is believed to improve neuronal cell membrane fluidity associated with the disease by modifying the fatty acid composition of the neuronal cell membrane. According to the Miami company, preliminary data from Israel indicated that Alzene improved the cognitive functions of 70 percent of Alzheimer's patients taking the
Syntro Corp., Hoechst-Roussel Agri-Vet Co. and Hoechst Veterinar GmbH said Wednesday that they have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on the development of cattle and equine vaccines based on Syntro's viral vector technology. The Hoechst companies will fund the multiyear development program, which is expected to cost $6 million to $7 million. The disease targets haven't been disclosed. Under the proposed agreement, Syntro (NASDAQ:SYNT) will perform the molecular biology to develop the
InnoVet Inc. (NASDAQ:IVET) on Wednesday said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire DRA Associates, a private company specializing in developing and marketing test strips for fitness, sports nutrition and veterinary medicine. The Lenexa, Kan., company, formerly known as Bioquest Inc., would receive an undisclosed amount of InnoVet stock. DRA's 1992 sales were about $500,000, according to InnoVet CEO D.F. Myers. It has filed an application with the FDA to market urine test strips that
ImmunoPharmaceutics, a subsidiary of Synbiotics Corp., was to announce today that it has solved the three-dimensional X-ray crystal structure of endothelin-1, a naturally occurring protein that raises blood pressure. The structure is pharmacologically inactive and hence useless for drug design. But ImmunoPharmaceutics believes the discovery validates the company's drug discovery technology. In November, the San Diego company used supercomputers to design endothelin-1 antagonists. The company
Spanish surgeons report unimpressive results using transplants of patients' own adrenal glands to treat Parkinson's disease. In the current edition of The Lancet, an anatomy researcher from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, suggested that co-transplanting peripheral nerve tissue along with the adrenal tissue would help survival of the adrenal cells that make dopamine, the nerve messenger missing in Parkinson's disease. The doctors from Universidad Autonoma in Madrid used this approach
Escagenetics Corp. said Wednesday that it has raised $6.75 million in a private placement of 900,000 shares of unregistered common stock at $7.50 per share (AMEX:ESN). The placement, primarily to institutional investors, was managed by Vantage Securities Inc. The proceeds will be used to expand Escagenetics' phytopharmaceutical division, which the company is in the process of staffing. Escagenetics set up the division last year to develop drugs using its cell culture technology. Escagenetics
Shares of SyStemix Inc. (NASDAQ:STMX) fell $15 to $39.75 on Wednesday after Sandoz Ltd. completed its tender offer for 60 percent of SyStemix's shares at $70 per share. The offering was oversubscribed, with Sandoz receiving 7.5 million shares, or about 92.6 percent of the shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis. Sandoz accepted for payment about 4 million shares, or 53.5 percent of the shares tendered. Under the merger deal announced in December, the Swiss company cannot increase its
Epitope Inc.'s scientific advisory board met on Wednesday to discuss plans for the company's compounds to treat malaria and other diseases, following last week's announcement that a collaboration with SmithKline Beecham will end on Aug. 4. In addition to malaria, the board recommended that Epitope (AMEX:EPT) of Beaverton, Ore., look at the activity of the compounds against fungal infections, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other mycobacterial infections, said John Fitchen, vice president of
A new approach to treatment of HIV infection is promised by test tube evidence showing that entry of the virus into cells can be stopped. Scientists at Johns Hopkins reported Saturday in The Lancet that the drug 3-deaza-adenosine is highly effective in blocking viral entry and exit without being toxic to cells or to animals. The drug does not block reverse transcriptase, the viral enzyme targeted by the nucleoside agents AZT and ddI, but instead interferes with cell membrane processes
A patent on a potential treatment for sepsis issued Tuesday to Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc., which is co-developing the agent with Genentech Inc. in competition with Xoma Corp. Patent No. 5,089,274 issued to the Palo Alto, Calif., company covers use of human bactericidal/permeability increasing protein (BPI), or analogs or fragments of the protein, for the treatment of endotoxin- related disorders. The patent also claims ways to purify BPI, which is made by the neutrophil white blood cells
The Bard Urological Division of C.R. Bard Inc. has filed to begin testing a biomaterial to treat urinary incontinence. The injectable gel made by Biomatrix Inc. (NASDAQ:BIOX) is a chemically cross- linked form of a natural carbohydrate, hyaluronan. The submission for an investigational device exemption requests authorization to start clinical trials of Hylagel-Muscle, which would be injected into the sphincter muscle of the bladder to prevent un- controlled flow of urine. Bard will fund and
Epitope Inc.'s scientific advisory board is to meet today to discuss plans for the development of the company's compounds to treat malaria and other diseases. Epitope (AMEX:EPT), which began in 1989 a collaboration with SmithKline Beecham to develop the compounds, has announced that the collaboration will end on Aug. 4. SmithKline lost interest in the research early on, after an analog of methylthioribose (MTR), which worked against malaria strains in vitro, showed only limited efficacy in
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