Immunex Corp. said Thursday that it is starting Phase I clinical trials in sarcoma patients of PIXY321, a genetically engineered protein that stimulates the growth of white blood cells and platelets. Immunex said it hopes the "second-generation" colony stimulating factor will help patients suffering from chemotherapy or radiation therapy-induced blood disorders. These treatments may induce neutropenia, a decrease in the white blood cell count that can lead to infections, and thrombocytopenia
Celtrix Laboratories Inc. has begun a Phase II trial of its wound-healing growth factor as an aid in repairing a form of detached retinas, the Palo Alto, Calif., company announced Thursday. The multicenter clinical study is an extension of an investigator-sponsored investigational new drug study that used different doses of transforming growth factor (TGF) beta. The agent was placed on the detached, macular portion of the retina during an eye operation that is used to treat the condition known
Imre Corp. said the Food and Drug Administration has approved a clinical trial of its Prosorba column for the treatment of patients suffering from a major subcategory of lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus. About 500,000 people in the United States are affected by SLE, for which there is no treatment, according to Edward Yoshida, vice president of regulatory affairs at the Seattle company (NASDAQ:IMRE). The Prosorba column, which is used to treat a diseased patient's blood outside of the body
Deprenyl Animal Health Inc. on Tuesday said it has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute (ITRI) to evaluate the effects of the drug deprenyl on various physiologic functions during aging in dogs. Trials are expected to start this month, according to Deprenyl. The Overland Park, Kan., company (NASDAQ:DAHI) has committed about $1 million over the course of the five-year agreement and will retain all rights to pre
CellPro Inc. has begun marketing its first product, the Ceprate LC (CD34) Laboratory Cell Separation System, for cellular research. The monoclonal antibody-based system can be used to purify stem cells from bone marrow or blood. Stem cells, which constitute less than 1 percent of all cells in bone marrow, are responsible for generating all blood cells. CellPro estimates the world market for research cell separations at $50 million to $75 million. The Bothell, Wash., company said the market is
Mycogen Corp. on Thursday said it has filed for an offering of 2 million shares of common stock. About 1.3 million shares would be sold by the company and about 728,000 would be offered by stockholders who received their shares as part of Mycogen's acquisition of SoilServ, a crop-protection service, in August. If the offering is completed, Mycogen will have 14 million shares outstanding. Underwriters Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Piper, Jaffray & Hopwood Inc. have an option to buy an
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a broad patent for Centocor Inc.'s Centoxin, a monoclonal antibody to treat gram-negative bacteremia and septic shock. Analysts said the patent further strengthened Centocor's lead over rival Xoma Corp., driving Centocor stock (NASDAQ:CNTO) up $3.50 to $53.50. The patent is comparable to a broad European composition of matter patent on Centoxin that issued in July, said Centocor spokesman Richard Koenig. The U.S. patent contains additional method
Roberta Friedman, Ph.D. Special to BioWorld Preliminary results with an AIDS vaccine made of a core protein show that 16 HIV-negative volunteers so far have responded in a promising manner, with induction of killer cell activity, as well as stimulation of T cell replication. The results were announced Wednesday at an AIDS vaccine con- ference by Alpha 1 Biomedicals Inc. of Washington, D.C., and Cel-Sci Corp. of Alexandria, Va., who have formed a joint venture, Viral Technologies Inc., to
Cytel Corp., a developer of carbohydrate-based treatments for inflammatory conditions, has filed for an initial public offering of common stock. Cytel, which Wednesday confirmed that it has done a "silent" filing for its IPO, revealed few details of the offering. About 2.5 million shares will be offered through underwriters Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Alex. Brown & Sons Inc. On Tuesday, the San Diego company said it had agreed to acquire GlycoGen Inc. for an undisclosed sum. GlycoGen of South
Enzo Biochem Inc. on Wednesday said it expects to gain a strong position in genetic antisense technology as a result of the settlement of a patent dispute between the State University of New York and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Enzo, SUNY's exclusive licensee, predicted it would receive broad patent protection for its technology as a result of the settlement. But Gilead Sciences Inc., MIT's licensee, downplayed the significance of the agreement. The Patent and Trademark Office
Ciba Vision Ophthalmics has formed a $10 million strategic alliance with InSite Vision Inc., giving Ciba co-exclusive licenses to three InSite products and rights of first offer on future products. The companies will collaborate on the development of other products. Slightly more than half of the deal, $5.4 million, is an equity investment in InSite, according to Harold Shlevin, Ciba's vice president of research, product and business development. Ciba Vision Ophthalmics of Atlanta, a division
Genentech Inc.'s sales of tissue plasminogen activator are continuing their downward drift, according to third-quarter financial results released on Wednesday. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, total net sales of Activase t- PA, the company's heart attack drug, were $46.7 million. That figure includes about $5 million in sales of bulk to licensees in Japan, according to spokesman Jack Murphy. Sales of t-PA for the first nine months totaled $152.6 million. North American t-PA sales have fallen
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Wednesday said it intends to file by mid-1992 an investigational new drug application to begin clinical trials of CNTF. In remarks to analysts at a meeting held by EGS Partners, a New York investment fund, Dr. Leonard Schleifer, president and chief executive officer, said ciliary neurotrophic factor would be tested for treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The drug is one of several neurotrophic factors under development at the Tarrytown, N.Y., company
Collagen Corp. stock picked up $1.38 on Wednesday, closing at $17.75, after the company announced that another collagen implant suit against it has been dismissed. The suit alleged that Collagen Corp.'s injectable collagen implants were defective, that the company had failed to provide adequate warning of defects, and that use of the implants had caused the patient to develop the autoimmune disease polymyositis/dermatomyositis. The suit was dismissed in a summary judgment held by a U.S
Lidak Pharmaceuticals Inc. will create a subsidiary to focus solely on its patented Lidakol, an anti-viral and anti- inflammatory product, while the parent company pursues other technology. Forming the subsidiary will give potential licensees the ability to concentrate equity in Lidakol exclusively, and keeps open financing avenues for each compound in the La Jolla, Calif., company's pipeline, Lidak Chief Executive Officer David Katz told BioWorld. He declined to discuss financing plans for the
Scientists at Xoma Corp. have obtained evidence about the role of T cells in multiple sclerosis that suggests a route toward treating the degenerative neurological disease. MS affects 250,000 Americans yearly. To date, no effective treatment has been devised for the disease. The Xoma results, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that characteristics of T cells taken from people with the disease dovetail with suggestive data on a possible cure in animals
Gensia Pharmaceuticals Inc. plans to fund continued development of three of its early-stage ARA programs through a proposed $50 million unit offering. The company announced Tuesday that it has filed for a public offering of 2.5 million units of a newly formed company, Aramed Inc., at an expected price of $20 per unit. Each unit consists of one share of Aramed callable common stock and a warrant to buy a share of Gensia common stock. The offering will provide Gensia with contract revenue to
Cambridge NeuroScience Inc. on Tuesday announced a filing for a public offering of 1.5 million shares. The Cambridge, Mass., company is the fourth biotechnology company to launch a secondary offering this year after completing an IPO during the weak market last spring. The company's IPO was filed in April for 2 million shares. Completed in June, it raised $24 million, or $12 per share, well below the proposed $15-$17 per share. Underwriters Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. and Montgomery
Biogen Inc. stock has picked up $4.88 over the past two days, closing at $38.50 on Tuesday, following positive comments by Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Jeffrey Casdin. Casdin wrote that good results of a Japanese trial of native beta interferon to treat hepatitis C had positive implications for Biogen's recombinant beta interferon, now in Phase II trials in the United States and Europe. The Japanese results were reported Oct. 12 in The Lancet (See BioWorld for Monday, Oct. 14). "We have been
Athena Neurosciences Inc. on Tuesday said it has reached an agreement with Eli Lilly & Co. to extend for another five years their collaboration to develop treatments for Alzheimer's disease. During its first three years of collaboration with Athena, Lilly spent about $8 million in stock purchases and contract payments under an agreement that would have expired on Oct. 31. Under terms of the extension, Lilly will provide increased research funding of an undisclosed amount and invest an
Immunex Corp. said Thursday that it is starting Phase I clinical trials in sarcoma patients of PIXY321, a genetically engineered protein that stimulates the growth of white blood cells and platelets. Immunex said it hopes the "second-generation" colony stimulating factor will help patients suffering from chemotherapy or radiation therapy-induced blood disorders. These treatments may induce neutropenia, a decrease in the white blood cell count that can lead to infections, and thrombocytopenia