HemaCare Corp.'s board has voted to extend to Oct. 21, 1992, the expiration date of the company's 700,000 warrants outstanding. The warrants, which were issued as part of the company's 1986 initial public offering, were due to expire on Oct. 21 of this year. The exercise terms remain unchanged. Each warrant may be used to purchase one share of common stock at $3.50. The Sherman Oaks, Calif., company may redeem the warrants after the market price of the common stock has equaled or exceeded $5.25
MGI Pharma Inc. has acquired the patent rights to a mouthwash form of pilocarpine for treating dry mouth from its inventor, Adib R. Mikhail. MGI plans to submit late this year or early next year a new drug application for Salagen, its tablet form of pilocarpine, to treat radiation-induced dry mouth in head and neck cancer patients. The Food and Drug Administration has granted Salagen orphan drug designation for this indication. The mouthwash formulation will give MGI the opportunity to look at
Epitope Inc. has been awarded a $467,000 grant to fund clinical trials for OraQuick, a 10-minute test for the detection of HIV antibodies in oral samples. The test consists of a membrane mounted on a plastic spoon- like device, which captures antibodies from the mucosal surfaces of the mouth, said John Fitchen, vice president of research and clinical activities at the Beaverton, Ore., company. Once antibodies are collected, the device is put in contact with viral antigens and a developer that
Centocor Inc. said Thursday that it has increased the size of its Euro-convertible subordinated debenture offering to $125 million from $100 million. The debentures, which will pay 6.75 percent interest, will be convertible into common stock (NASDAQ:CNTO) at $61 per share. The stock closed Thursday at $49.75, down $1.50. Lead managers for the offering are Credit Suisse First Boston Ltd., J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd. and PaineWebber International (U.K.) Ltd. Centocor anticipates that the offering
The deadline for Federal Trade Commission review of the proposed merger of Chiron Corp. and Cetus Corp. passed without any request for additional information from the agency, the companies said Thursday. The deadline for the review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act expired Wednesday. Cetus on Thursday also announced that the proposed sale of its polymerase chain reaction technology to F. Hoffmann-La Roche had cleared a second review, this one by the Committee on Foreign
Immunex Corp. stock lost $3.50 on Thursday, closing at $47.50, after Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Jeffrey Casdin said he was maintaining his "trading sell" on the Seattle-based company. Immunex (NASDAQ:IMNX) had gained $4.75 on Wednesday after news that the Patent and Trademark Office might not issue a patent on granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a white blood cell stimulator. Genetics Institute Inc. and Immunex have patent applications in interference at the PTO. Wrote
Immunex Corp. stock rose 10 percent on Wednesday on news that the Patent and Trademark Office might not issue a patent on granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor. If no patent issues, rival Genetics Institute Inc. will not be able to block Immunex from the market for the white blood cell stimulator, as some analysts had feared. The companies' patent applications have been in an interference proceeding at the PTO since 1990. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing related to its
Applied Immune Sciences Inc. said that researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have begun clinical studies using its CELLector-TIL to treat metastatic kidney cancer. The study, announced Wednesday, will help determine the safety and feasibility of using the device-based system to kill tumor cells. TIL cells, or tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, are anti-tumor cells produced by the immune system in response to cancer. Kidney cancer affects 24,000 Americans annually and often
Syntro Corp. has received approval for its second-generation vaccine against pseudorabies in pigs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The genetically engineered PRV/Marker Gold vaccine allows swine operations to distinguish vaccinated animals from infected animals in two independent ways. It also can replace either of two existing vaccination programs against the disease, which is targeted for control in the United States and Europe, William Davies, company vice president, told BioWorld
Whittaker Corp., which is spinning off its biotech business, BioWhittaker Inc., said Wednesday it will sell 19.9 percent of BioWhittaker to Boehringer Ingelheim of Germany for $23 million. BioWhittaker of Walkersville, Md., and Boehringer have agreed, subject to certain conditions, to form an equally owned joint venture to produce cell cultures, cell culture media and sera using BioWhittaker's technology. The venture will build and operate a plant in Belgium. The plant is expected to be
Quidel Corp. will begin marketing a rapid immunoassay test to detect antibodies to Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that causes chronic stomach upset and has been associated with recurrent ulcers. San Diego-based Quidel said Tuesday that the test, which uses a small blood sample, is the first in vitro immunoassay for H. pylori approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Existing methods include either cultures derived from stomach biopsies or a breath test after patients drink urea labeled
ProCyte Corp. will have its wound-healing candidate tested in inflammatory bowel disease by a Seattle investigator in a Phase I/II study, the company said Wednesday. The compound to be tested is an enema formulation with a different concentration of Iamin than the formulation now in clinical trials for diabetic ulcers. Tests of Iamin-IB in animals suggest that it fights inflammation and induces growth of epithelial tissue. The investigator for the bowel disease trial has asked not to be
Incstar Corp., which manufactures and distributes immunodiagnostic products, said Wednesday that its earnings for the third quarter ending Sept. 30 will be a lower-than- expected 5 to 6 cents per share. Orwin L. Carter, president and chief executive officer, said sales of Incstar's clinical assays product line had not reached forecasted levels. He said analysts had expected the Stillwater, Minn., company to earn about 9 cents per share. Last year, Incstar's third-quarter income before
SAN FRANCISCO -- Synergen Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jon Saxe predicted Tuesday that the company's Antril interleukin- 1 receptor antagonist will be the second or third product into the market to treat sepsis and septic shock. Saxe's remarks came in response to negative analyst comments about Antril that sent the company's stock tumbling. The stock (NASDAQ:SYGN) lost $7.13 on Monday after Merrill Lynch's Stuart Weisbrod predicted that Antril would be the fifth sepsis product to enter the
SAN FRANCISCO -- Lowell Sears, Amgen Inc.'s chief financial officer, on Tuesday said that based on sales for the first half of 1991, total sales are running at more than $500 million for the full year. The company also told the Montgomery Securities 21st Annual Investment Conference here that its Neupogen granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) had 88 percent of the CSF market based on sales through August. Neupogen recently received Italian marketing approval, and Amgen anticipates
The biotechnology industry is poised for tremendous growth, impelled by a new generation of products reaching the end of the R&D pipeline, and simultaneously is undergoing a consolidation that will result in fewer, larger companies, according to the authors of Ernst & Young's annual report on the biotechnology industry. "Biotech '92: Promise to Reality," released Tuesday, depicts an industry being transformed by a continuous flow of new products. Product sales in the past year reached $4
Crop Genetics International has agreed to acquire Espro Inc., a company that is developing a low-cost process for producing and purifying of a wide range of insect virus products (IVPs), which are used as biological pesticides. The deal has a total value of about $3.9 million. Crop Genetics will exchange 450,000 shares of its common stock (NASDAQ:CROP), which closed up 25 cents on Tuesday at $4.25, to acquire all of Espro's capital stock. In addition, Crop Genetics will pay up to $750,000 in
CellPro Inc. stock jumped $3 to close at $14 in its first day of trading on Tuesday after concluding an initial public offering at $11. The Bothell, Wash., company, which is developing cell separation technology, grossed $33 million in its 3 million- share IPO. The company had proposed to sell 2.25 million shares in the $8 to $11 range. After the offering, CellPro (NASDAQ:CPRO) has 8.3 million shares outstanding. Underwriters Paine Webber Inc. and Smith Barney have an option to buy 450,000
Pharmatec Inc., which is developing a carrier system for delivering drugs across the blood-brain barrier, on Tuesday said it will raise $5.5 million in a private financing with investor David Blech. In exchange for the funds, Pharmatec will issue 3,666,667 units composed of two new shares of common stock and one class A warrant. The warrant will be exercisable at $1.25 for a six-year period to purchase a unit consisting of a share of common and one class B warrant. The class B warrant may be
Deprenyl Animal Health Inc. will be the first company to participate in a program that aims to harmonize the U.S and Canadian review process for new animal drugs. The company (NASDAQ:DAHI), based in Overland Park, Kan., will submit a new animal drug application for the pharmaceutical deprenyl to both countries simultaneously and will have the applications reviewed jointly by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Canadian Health Protection Branch Bureau. In the United States, deprenyl
HemaCare Corp.'s board has voted to extend to Oct. 21, 1992, the expiration date of the company's 700,000 warrants outstanding. The warrants, which were issued as part of the company's 1986 initial public offering, were due to expire on Oct. 21 of this year. The exercise terms remain unchanged. Each warrant may be used to purchase one share of common stock at $3.50. The Sherman Oaks, Calif., company may redeem the warrants after the market price of the common stock has equaled or exceeded $5.25