Access Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Dallas, has begun a clinical trial for the use of OraDisc, a polymer disc that adheres to a wound and erodes, releasing a drug over time, to deliver amlexanox for the treatment of mouth wounds. The mouth wound trial, being conducted by the Queen's University of Belfast, School of Clinical Dentistry, is designed to evaluate the reduction in inflammation and the acceleration of healing in mouth wounds.
AVI BioPharma Inc., of Portland, Ore., presented results from studies of Resten-NG, an antisense compound being developed for the prevention of restenosis, at the 21st Congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona, Spain. The study, conducted in a rabbit model, showed that local delivery of Resten-NG inhibited excessive cell growth for up to 60 days. The company expects to file an investigational new drug application for Resten-NG later this year.
ChromaVision Medical Systems Inc., of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., has partnered with Roscoe Atkinson and the Kenneth Norris Jr. Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Southern California to develop a new Automated Cellular Imaging System test for angiogenesis or microvessel density. Determining the density of new blood vessels can identify aggressive cancers, as well as guide therapy, the company said.
Cypress Bioscience Inc., of San Diego, said it signed a $5 million loan agreement with Transamerica Business Credit Corp.'s technology finance division in Farmington, Conn. The company has drawn down $2 million of this loan. The new funds will support the launch of the Prosorba column, which was approved by the FDA for use in the therapeutic reduction of the signs and symptoms of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.
deCODE Genetics Inc., of Reykjavik, Iceland, licensed its GeneMiner bioinformatics software product to F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland. The product speeds up DNA analysis and will be used to find disease-relevant genes in order to enhance the understanding of particular diseases. Terms of the agreement, which is part of a five-year research alliance between Roche and deCODE, were not disclosed.
Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said its Phase I/II clinical trials in South Africa and the U.S. with HE2000 for the treatment of patients with HIV/AIDS is making encouraging progress. No drug-related serious adverse events have been observed, other than mild soreness associated with intramuscular injection. A preliminary analysis indicated the compound showed antiviral activity at all dose levels tested, the company said.