A promising approach to gene therapy for hemophilia has been reported by researchers at the University of Michigan medical school. The scientists, writing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have transformed capillary cells from rats with the human gene for Factor IX, the protein missing in hemophilia B. The researchers used a mouse retrovirus to ferry the human Factor IX gene into the rat capillary cells. Hemophilia B, inherited from the mother, appears in about
Chiron Ophthalmics Inc., a subsidiary of Chiron Corp., said Wednesday that it has received Food and Drug Administration approval to begin marketing its Chiroflex silicone, foldable, intraocular lenses for cataract surgery. Chiron Ophthalmics said it will begin shipping Chiroflex II and Chiroflex lenses imediately. In June, an FDA advisory panel recommended approval of Chiron Ophthalmics' epidermal growth factor in corneal storage media to preserve endothelial cell conditions. The company is
Using transgenic mice, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have shown that the high-density lipoprotein portion of blood cholesterol can protect against the early stages of atherosclerosis induced by a fat-rich diet. High concentrations of HDL, which ferries fat in and out of the bloodstream, have been linked with protection against atherosclerosis. However, the current study, published today in Nature, directly demonstrates the protective action of human HDL. A strain of
TSI Corp. announced that it has financed continued development of its four transgenic disease and toxicology animal models through a $7 million private placement. The financing involved the sale of units offered jointly by TSI and Exemplar Corp., a new company formed to finance TSI's research and development activities. TSI and Exemplar sold 280 units priced at $25,000. Each unit consists of 2,000 shares of callable Exemplar stock and 2,000 warrants to purchase an equal number of TSI shares
Procyte Corp. on Tuesday said its reformulated drug Iamin has improved the wound-healing ability of animals in new tests of the compound. The animal study was presented last week by company collaborator H. Paul Ehrlich, a wound healing researcher at the Shriner's Burn Institute and Harvard University, at a symposium in France. The results with Iamin, composed of three amino acids complexed with copper, show that the drug can bring impaired healing of immune-deficient rats back on a par with
Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp. has raised $45 million in an initial public offering of 3 million shares priced at $15 per share. The La Jolla, Calif., developer of monoclonal antibody-based drugs increased its offering by 500,000 shares from the preliminary prospectus, and sold the shares at the high end of its $13 to $15 price range. After the offering, Idec has 8.4 million shares outstanding. Idec has four products in clinical trials. Specifid, its most advanced drug, is in Phase III trials to
Epitope Inc. has raised $7.3 million through a private placement with European institutional investors. The placement, announced Tuesday, was for 234,100 units priced at $31 each. The units consist of 2 shares of Epitope common stock (AMEX:EPT) and a warrant to purchase an additional share at $16 per share. Epitope stock closed at $16.88, up 25 cents, on Tuesday. The company will use the funds primarily to fund its oral diagnostic research and development program. The Beaverton, Ore., company
Ameri-Can Pedigreed Seed Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Calgene Inc., has requested U.S. Department of Agriculture approval for field trials of genetically engineered winter canola that produces a modified vegetable oil. The canola contains a gene for the stearoyl-ACP desaturase enzyme, which leads the plants to produce increased levels of stearic acid. The gene was isolated from a non-canola oilseed plant and incorporated into canola using an Agrobacterium tumefasciens vector. The high
In an attempt to alleviate concerns about the safety of its products raised by negative media reports and Food and Drug Administration re-labelling requests, Collagen Corp. announced a physician indemnification program on Tuesday. The program indemnifies physicians "against damages and legal fees arising from lawsuits brought to a jury trial alleging that a patient's polymyositis/dermatomyositis (PM/DM) was caused by collagen injections administered in accordance with the package insert." The
Alpha 1 Biomedicals Inc. said it has begun Phase III clinical trials of Thymosin alpha 1 in combination with recombinant interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. The goal of the trial at the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colo., is to determine if Thymosin can improve remission rates reported for Intron A interferon, which was approved for treatment of hepatitis C in February. The overall remission rate in Intron A trials has been about 25 percent, and interferon
The Salk Institute Biotechnology/Industrial Associates Inc., a company founded by the Salk Institute to develop diagnostic and therapeutic products for neurodegenerative diseases, has signed license and research agreements with the University of California for several proteolytic enzyme inhibitors. The agreements, which are linked, cover rights to existing patent applications and future discoveries of brain-specific proteolytic enzymes made in the laboratory of Dennis Cunningham at UC Irvine
Univax Biologics Inc. on Monday said it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Walter Reed Army Institute of Research to develop a recombinant AIDS vaccine. Under the agreement, Walter Reed owns the patent rights to the vaccine and granted Univax of Rockville, Md., an exclusive license to develop and market it. Univax will manufacture the vaccine and Walter Reed will be responsible for preclinical and human trials. Privately held Univax will pay sales
WASHINGTON -- The label for Collagen Corp.'s injectable collagen product should include a warning that suggests there is an association between collagen injections and two rare autoimmune diseases, according to a letter faxed to the company by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. According to Collagen's Ann Mathieson, director of product management, the letter said the agency had not determined that the disorders, polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM), are caused by the injections
Stock of Synergen Inc. rose $3 on Monday, closing at $61.25, after Alex. Brown & Sons. analyst David Webber raised his 1994-96 earnings estimates and repeated a "strong buy" on the stock. Webber also raised his six-to-12 month price target for Synergen stock (NASDAQ:SYGN) to $75 per share. "We feel increasing confidence that Synergen's Antril interleukin-1 receptor antagonist for treatment of sepsis is meeting with success in Phase II clinical trials and that a product license application could
WASHINGTON - As President Bush awarded 14 outstanding technologists the 1991 Medal of Technology on Monday, a team led by some of the nation's top biotechnology executives established a foundation to support the medal. The Foundation for the National Technology Medal will publicize the medal, which was first awarded in 1985, and its recipients and establish educational programs in science and technology, according to George Rathmann, Icos Corp. chairman, who is the foundation's co-founder and
The board of directors of IAF BioChem International Inc. on Monday approved a 2-for-1 stock split intended to make the shares more accessible to investors. IAF BioChem stock (NASDAQ:BCHXF) closed at $28.75, up $1.25, on Monday. The Laval, Quebec, company has 18 million shares of common stock outstanding prior to the split, which is subject to approval by regulatory authorities. The split will take effect Nov. 4 for shareholders of record as of Oct. 30. (c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All
Lidak Pharmaceuticals has received a Phase I SBIR grant to optimize a mouse model intended for cancer research in which a human tumor is grown in mice with an inborn immune deficiency. The $50,000 grant from the small business innovative research program of the National Institutes of Health will enable the La Jolla, Calif.-based company to further characterize and optimize the mouse model, which the company said will allow more rapid development of anti-cancer drugs. Human cancers of the white
ImmunoGen Inc., has begun a Phase II clinical trial of Oncolysin B to treat multiple myeloma, a fatal form of bone marrow cancer, at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. ImmunoGen of Cambridge, Mass., estimates that 12,300 new cases of multiple myeloma will occur in the United States in 1991. Oncolysin B links the monoclonal antibody Anti-B4 with blocked ricin, a plant toxin. The B4 antigen is expressed on stem cells, the precursors of blood cells, within the malignant myeloma
Ivax Corp. and Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday that they have signed a letter of intent for Ivax to acquire Noven in a deal valued at $47 million. Ivax would acquire the 13.4 million outstanding shares of Noven stock (NASDAQ:NOVN) for $3.50 a share, payable in shares of Ivax common stock. Noven stock closed at $3, down 63 cents, on Friday. Based on its Friday closing of $30.63, Ivax (AMEX:IVX) would issue about 1.5 million new shares. Ivax has about 40 million shares outstanding before
Baxter Healthcare Corp. has asked for a summary judgment to dismiss patent litigation brought against it by Rhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc. and The Scripps Research Institute. Rhone-Poulenc and Scripps allege that Baxter is infringing Scripps' Factor VIII:C patent Re. 32,011. Rhone-Poulenc and Scripps last week filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Delaware for a preliminary injunction to prevent sales of Hemofil-M by Baxter's Hyland Division. Hemofil-M is a non- recombinant, monoclonal-purified
A promising approach to gene therapy for hemophilia has been reported by researchers at the University of Michigan medical school. The scientists, writing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, have transformed capillary cells from rats with the human gene for Factor IX, the protein missing in hemophilia B. The researchers used a mouse retrovirus to ferry the human Factor IX gene into the rat capillary cells. Hemophilia B, inherited from the mother, appears in about