REHOVOT, Israel - D-Pharm Ltd. has received U.S. patent approval for a drug it is developing to treat epilepsy. The patent is based on its regulated activation of prodrugs (RAP) technology for prodrugs of valproic acid (VPA) with enhanced penetration into cells by covalently binding VPA to various lipids, including phospholipids of membranes. This is designed to reduce the side effects and epileptic attacks that patients suffer. The patent was granted on the basis of animal studies which

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Recent European thinking on developing gene therapy products has been drawn together into a new guideline from the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA), in London - the body that provides the scientific input for European Union authorization decisions on new biotechnology products. The EMEA's draft guideline on gene therapy product quality aspects in the production of vectors and genetically modified somatic cells, covering the safety studies to support clinical

PARIS - A commission set up by the government to look into ways of improving France's performance in the industrial application and commercial exploitation of scientific and technological research has recommended establishment of a public fund to provide seed money for biotechnology startups. Biotechnology is one of two sectors, along with information technology, considered to have great potential that is not being exploited fully. The commission recommended that the biotech seed fund be

LONDON - AIDS researchers have hypothesized for years that cytotoxic T lymphocytes must play an important role in the control of HIV infection, but no one has ever been able to prove that this is the case. Now a team of international scientists has provided evidence to support this theory. The research confirms that the many strategies for producing a vaccine to protect against HIV infection by boosting the response of cytotoxic T cells specific for the virus are probably on the right tracks

LONDON - Polyclonal antibody specialist Therapeutic Antibodies Inc. (TAb), headquartered in the U.S. but based in the U.K., is expected to hold an offering to raise £20 million in London. The company is low on funds, with a burn rate of US$19 million per annum in 1997 and a mere US$7 million cash at the end of 1997, according to annual results released last month. Losses for the year rose by more than 30 percent, to US$16.8 million. CEO Andrew Heath told BioWorld International, "The company

* PPL Therapeutics Ltd., of Edinburgh, Scotland, which specializes in the production of human proteins in transgenic animals, was awarded orphan drug status by the FDA in the U.S. for its lead product, alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT), in the treatment of cystic fibrosis. AAT is currently in Phase II trials in the U.K. * Scotia Holding plc, of Stirling, Scotland, raised £50 million through a convertible bond issue. However, existing shareholders took up only 20 percent of the bonds before the March

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Commission (EC) has been asked to sort out an apparent conflict between parallel legislative drafts on biotechnology in the European Union pipeline. Two European Union (EU) proposals for biotechnology legislation appear to contradict one another, it emerged in mid-March. The EU Council of Ministers has noted a draft EU regulation on plant variety rights provides for compulsory licenses uniquely on the grounds of public interest. But at the same time, the

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has issued a study outlining special problems in economic evaluation of biotechnology products. The just-published, wide-ranging study of the biotechnology sector by the Paris-based club of developed nations, titled "Economic aspects of biotechnologies related to human health," identifies some of the particular challenges faced by innovative biotechnology companies. For instance, the OECD said, innovations

LONDON - Drug development company Vanguard Medica Group plc has begun preparations for the launch of its lead product, frovatriptan for the treatment of migraine, in the U.S. and Europe. The program, which Vanguard is running in collaboration with London-based SmithKline Beecham, is one year ahead of its original schedule. CEO Robert Mansfield said efficacy results from the Phase III studies will be available by the end of the second quarter this year. "We plan to file for marketing approval

BEIJING - A transgenic goat capable of expressing active human Factor IX in her milk has entered lactation period in China. The transgenic goat was created by scientists at the Shanghai Institute of Medical Genetics and the Genetics Institute of Fudan University, of Shanghai. The research is a key project of the State High Technology Research and Development Program, one of the most important state programs helping biotechnology development and commercialization in China. "In October 1996

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Despite the fact that 80 percent of rare diseases are genetic in origin, the European Union (EU) draft program for orphan drug research has largely omitted them, according to Guido Viceconte of the European Parliament's (EP) public health and consumer protection committee. Viceconte, the EP's rapporteur in its debates on the EU's latest plans for rare diseases, argued any action program in this area should be slotted into a coherent policy covering orphan drugs and rare

HAMBURG, Germany - In the vicinity of the well-known Genzentrum Munich, of Martinsried, Germany, a new biotechnology company focusing on wound healing and skin diseases has been founded. Major goals of Switch Biotech GmbH will be the identification of the molecular compounds involved in wound healing and dermatological diseases and the definition of targets for new therapeutic drugs. As competitors in this field are lacking so far, the company expects to be in a good business situation

LONDON - Three U.K. start-up companies have raised a total of £10.5 million in their first round funding from the dedicated biosciences venture capital company the Merlin Fund. The three, Microscience Ltd., Eurogene Ltd. and ReNeuron Ltd., were established in 1997 through collaborations between academia and Merlin Ventures Ltd. Both the Merlin Fund and Merlin Ventures were founded by the biotech entrepreneurs Chris Evans, founder of Chiroscience plc, Peter Keen, former finance director of

SYDNEY - Brisbane-based Agen Ltd. intends to spend A$1.5 million making an injectable version of an antibody long used to diagnose blood clots, to compete with Eli Lilly and Co.'s blood-clot treatment, ReoPro. Agen Ltd., also the target of a A$17.8 million takeover bid by Biotech International Ltd., disclosed the new project when releasing its profit results for the half year to December 1997. In addition, at the same time as the release of its financial results, Agen formally told its

LONDON - More than 20 years after its existence was first predicted, scientists have unveiled the identity of a molecule that controls development of the malaria parasite in the mosquito. The finding could enable the development of a new generation of antimalarial drugs, and could eventually lead to biological methods of control for malaria, using mutant mosquitoes which lack the chemical concerned and which therefore cannot pass on the parasite. Since 1976, it has been known that a factor

LONDON - Oxford Asymmetry International plc (OAI) signed an 18-month research agreement with Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences Inc. involving discovery, synthesis and screening of new compounds that show potential for biological activity and for use as agricultural chemicals. OAI, of Abingdon, U.K., will receive a minimum of $1.2 million in fees plus development milestones and royalties. In a further development for OAI, Tuesday saw dealings commence in its shares on the London Stock

* NeuroSearch A/S, of Glostrup, Denmark, is offering 500,000 new shares on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange to raise DKra280 million. The proceeds will be used to advance lead compounds for the treatment of anxiety, dementia and depression, which are currently in Phase I studies, and compounds in preclinical studies, including treatments for epilepsy and cocaine addiction. The company's most advanced compound, brasofensine for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, is in Phase II trials.

MONTREAL - Supratek Pharma Inc.'s biotransport drug carrier technology has demonstrated it can increase the cellular uptake of antisense compounds. Antisense products traditionally have suffered therapeutic efficacy problems because of their poor penetration through cellular membranes, Oleg Romar, chairman and CEO of Supratek, told BioWorld International. The biotransport carrier technology is based on a concept that makes it possible to take a drug molecule and improve its biological and

British Biotech plc's stock fell 22 percent, closing Friday at 68.5 pence, after it reported suspending the head of clinical research, Andrew Millar, "pending an inquiry into alleged misconduct." The Oxford, U.K., company declined to elaborate while the inquiry is in progress. The dramatic loss of confidence by investors reflects the critical stage of British Biotech's two lead programs, the oral cancer treatment Marimastat, and Zacutex for acute pancreatitis, which are both in Phase III