Deprenyl Research Ltd. has filed for Canadian approval to begin testing a drug for Alzheimer's disease in two clinical trials. One of the Phase II trials will test the effect of Alzene in Alzheimer's patients. The second Phase II study will look at the drug's effect on memory in normal adults. Ivax Corp. (AMEX:IVX), which has sublicensed Canadian rights for the drug to Deprenyl Research (NASDAQ:DEPLF), has also filed an investigational new drug application in the United States. "We anticipate
Alpha 1 Biomedicals Inc. said its Asian licensee, SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc., has formed a joint venture company to launch a Phase III clinical trial of Thymosin alpha 1 to treat chronic hepatitis B. SciClone owns 50 percent of the new company. Singapore Bio- Innovations Pte. Ltd., an entity of the Singapore government that was founded to commercialize biomedical research, owns 30 percent, and Transpac Capital Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based private venture capital company, owns 20 percent
Ribi ImmunoChem Research Inc. said Wednesday that S.R. One Ltd., the venture capital subsidiary of SmithKline Beecham, has invested $1.57 million through the exercise of warrants for 394,647 shares of common stock. The investment raises S.R. One's holding of Ribi shares outstanding to 11.1 percent. Of the warrants exercised, 94,647 were acquired in a June 1990 private placement and were exercised at $5 per share. Of the remaining 300,000 warrants, which were acquired in a private placement last
NeoRx Corp. said Wednesday that it has received the $9 million balance of a previously announced $10 million financing agreement with New York investor David Blech. The company is issuing to Blech 10 million shares of common stock, five million five-year warrants to purchase common stock at $1.75 per share, and five million five-year warrants to purchase stock at $2.50 per share. NeoRx shares (NASDAQ:NERX) closed at $3.63, up 6 cents, on Wednesday. After the issuance of the 10 million shares
Mycogen has received an experimental use permit (EUP) from the Environmental Protection Agency to initiate large-scale field testing of M-Peril, a bioinsecticide that controls the European corn borer, the company announced on Wednesday. Shares of the San Diego company (NASDAQ:MYCO) picked up $2, closing at $14. Mycogen will conduct trials during the 1992 growing season and expects to begin marketing M-Peril in 1993, said company spokeswoman Marie C. Burke. She said that the product could
Synergen Inc. on Tuesday said it raised $225.4 million in the largest single financing in the history of the biotech industry. The Boulder, Colo., company sold 3.5 million shares, plus a 525,000-share overallotment, at $56 per share. Synergen stock (NASDAQ:SYGN) rose 88 cents on Tuesday to $57.50. The funds will be used primarily for research and development and clinical trials, the company said. Next year, Synergen will have five products in clinicals for between 12 and 15 indications
Affymax N.V. continued its impressive string of fund-raising efforts on Tuesday by completing an $80 million initial public offering. The developer of drug discovery technologies has raised $146 million since its inception in 1988, including the 4 million- share IPO priced at $20 per share. The proposed offering was increased by 1 million shares. The company's stock (NASDAQ:AFMXF) closed Tuesday at $24.75, down 25 cents. The IPO is the second largest this year, after Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
SyStemix Inc. shares are probably nearing the top of the range at which it pays to buy the stock, according to estimates by two analysts. The stock (NASDAQ:STMX) closed at $55 on Tuesday, up $2. The stock rose $19.75 on Monday after the announcement that Sandoz Ltd. would acquire 60 percent of the Palo Alto, Calif., company for $392 million. Sandoz will acquire slightly more than 4 million shares outstanding for $70 per share and purchase for $111 million about 2 million newly issued shares at
Stock of Anergen Inc. jumped $4.25 to $13 Tuesday on publication of research showing that its immune therapy for multiple sclerosis was able to ameliorate a model of the disease in animals. Researchers at the Redwood City, Calif., company (NASDAQ:ANRG) and colleagues at the University of Vermont, reporting in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, studied mice with experimentally induced allergic encephalomyelitis. The mouse condition mimics human symptoms of
Genta Inc. on Tuesday said it raised $25 million in its initial public offering of 2.5 million shares of common stock. The shares were priced at $10, within the range anticipated when the offering was filed. The stock (NASDAQ:GNTA) closed Tuesday at $10. In August, Genta filed to begin Phase I/II clinical trials of its antisense compound to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia. If approved, those trials would make Genta the first antisense company to enter the clinic. After the offering, the
Immune Response Corp. has filed an investigational new drug application to test a therapeutic vaccine for rheumatoid arthritis in Phase I/II trials. The San Diego company (NASDAQ:IMNR) intends to begin the trial early next year in patients with advanced stages of the joint-crippling disease. The vaccine is derived from receptors on the surfaces of T cells that the company has found in samples from patients. In the Dec. 2 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, company
ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. said Tuesday that Marion Merrell Dow Inc. has purchased 1 million shares of ImmuLogic common stock for $18 per share as part of the companies' collaboration to develop ImmuLogic's allergy therapeutics. ImmuLogic (NASDAQ:IMUL) also received $1.16 million in consideration for a three-year option that the company granted MMD to acquire 250,000 shares of stock at an exercise price of $35 per share. The Cambridge, Mass., company's Allervax compounds consist of an
Chiron Corp. on Tuesday said it has received word from the British patent office that it will be issued a broad patent covering the hepatitis C virus, its antibodies and related compounds. The patent covers the antigenic viral polypeptides -- regardless of the method of production -- antibodies to the virus, and use of both in immunoassays. Also covered are the composition of virus polynucleotides and their use in recombinant proteins, and tests for the virus based on DNA probes and polymerase
A U.S. patent was issued Tuesday to Immunex Corp. for its fusion molecule, a combination of two immune proteins that may prove more powerful than either used alone. The patent, No. 5,073,627, covers configurations of analogs of the proteins GM-CSF and IL-3, immune system messengers that the company (NASDAQ:IMNX) is developing to treat blood deficiencies induced by chemotherapy. It also covers the segment of amino acids that links the molecules. The company said it also received a notice of
Protein Design Labs Inc. said Tuesday that it has filed for an initial public offering of 2.5 million shares of common stock with an estimated price of $10 to $12 per share. The Mountain View, Calif., company is involved in computer- based design of proteins, primarily monoclonal antibodies, to treat autoimmune disease and inflammation, cancer, and viral infections. PDL has developed five humanized mouse antibodies, which are produced from a human antibody gene that has been genetically
Stock of SyStemix Inc. jumped $19.75 to $53 Monday after the company announced that Sandoz Ltd. will acquire 60 percent of SyStemix's common stock for $392 million. Sandoz will acquire through a tender offer slightly more than 4 million shares, or 49 percent, of SyStemix shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis for $70 per share. The Swiss company will also make a $111 million equity investment through the purchase of about 2 million newly issued shares of stock (NASDAQ:STMX) at $56 per
Researchers at GenPharm International on Monday presented a new transgenic mouse that expresses a broad range of human antibodies, thus serving as a potential source of therapeutic monoclonals that will not be rejected by human patients. Using the mice, the Mountain View, Calif., company intends to develop monoclonals on its own and is "setting up relations with pharmaceutical companies that have antigens for which they want antibodies," Dr. Jonathan MacQuitty, president and chief executive
Gilead Sciences Inc. said Monday that it has filed for an initial public offering of 3 million shares of common stock at a proposed price of $12 to $14 per share. Gilead is developing drugs based on nucleotides, the building blocks of DNA and RNA. The company, which is targeting viral infections, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disease and cancer, is the last of the so-called antisense companies to go public this year. In July 1990, Gilead formed a $20 million corporate partnership with
Oncor Inc. that it has filed for a secondary offering of 3 million shares, its first foray into the public offerings market this year. Oncor markets for research use probes for the detection of cancer and genetic disease. The company also has Food and Drug Administration-approved probes and reagents for the diagnosis of leukemia and lymphoma. Oncor (NASDAQ:ONCS) was up 63 cents Monday, closing at $7.38. For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Oncor posted a net loss of $1.4 million, or 13 cents
The board of directors of U.S. Bioscience Inc. on Monday declared a 2-for-1 split of the company's common stock in the form of a 100 percent stock dividend. The dividend will be payable on Jan. 16 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 26. U.S. Bioscience will have 39.2 million shares outstanding after the split. Shares of the West Conshohocken, Pa., company's stock (AMEX:UBS) rose $2.25 to $78.63 on Monday. The stock was trading at $39.63 when the company announced Nov. 19 that its Ethyol
Deprenyl Research Ltd. has filed for Canadian approval to begin testing a drug for Alzheimer's disease in two clinical trials. One of the Phase II trials will test the effect of Alzene in Alzheimer's patients. The second Phase II study will look at the drug's effect on memory in normal adults. Ivax Corp. (AMEX:IVX), which has sublicensed Canadian rights for the drug to Deprenyl Research (NASDAQ:DEPLF), has also filed an investigational new drug application in the United States. "We anticipate