Aviron, of Mountain View, Calif., said it sold 363,636 shares of its common stock to a financial institution for an aggregate price of $6 million, or $16 per share. Net proceeds will go toward operating costs, capital expenditures and working capital, which may include costs of FluMist regulatory filings and the manufacturing and commercialization of FluMist in its current formulation, the development of a second-generation formulation of FluMist, as well as research and development of other pipeline products.
Axys Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, said it discontinued further development of a topical cream-based formulation of APC-2059 for psoriasis based on results from a planned interim evaluation of a Phase II study. The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial initiated in May. Patients served as their own control. The analysis showed there was no difference between placebo and treated sites of skin disease in all 12 patients enrolled in the first stage. Axys also said it completed Phase Ic studies of an injectable formulation of APC-2059 to treat ulcerative colitis. That study showed the drug is well tolerated and produces the desired blood concentrations in normal volunteers. Axys will begin a Phase II study shortly.
Celgene Corp., of Warren, N.J., said Phase II results of the use of Thalomid (thalidomide) in multiple myeloma patients who have relapsed after high-dose chemotherapy found that 32 percent of patients had a partial response and 10 percent had complete or nearly complete remission. The study was published in the current edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Gliatech Inc., of Cleveland, amended its stockholder rights agreement, allowing the State of Wisconsin Investment Board to own up to 20 percent of the company's outstanding stock in certain circumstances without being deemed as an acquiring party.
Heska Corp., of Fort Collins, Colo., said its new proprietary equine influenza vaccine received USDA approval. The company expects to make Flu Avert IN vaccine available to veterinarians in about two weeks. The vaccine is administered by the use of a nasal applicator, rather than through injection.
Immtech International Inc., of Vernon Hills, Ill., entered into the large-scale manufacturing phase of its biotherapeutic recombinant mCRP protein for clinical trials in cancer. The company conducted human trials with HIV patients in 1996, and it plans to expand trials of its immune-stimulating protein in 2000 with cancer and HIV patients.
ImmunoGen Inc., of Norwood, Mass., said its tumor-activated prodrug (TAP), huN901-DM1, in development for small-cell lung cancer, showed exceptional anti-tumor activity in mice and minimal toxicity in monkeys when used alone and in combination with chemotherapeutic agents. Results were presented at an international cancer conference in Washington.
Lexicon Genetics Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, granted a sublicense to San Diego-based Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. giving Ligand non-exclusive rights to use certain aspects of Lexicon's positive-negative selection technology for the generation of cell lines for drug discovery programs. The technology is used in generating mutations in genes and is widely used in gene targeting experiments in mouse embryonic stem cells for the generation of knockout mice.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said it will exchange warrants to purchase shares of Ligand common stock at $7.12 per share and $1.12 per warrant. The offer will expire at 5 p.m. Dec. 17. The warrants were issued through a 1995 public offering of 3.25 million units at $10 each. (See BioWorld Today, June 6, 1995, p. 1.)
MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, said five abstracts pertaining to irofulven, formerly called MGI 114 or HMAF, and other acylfulvene analogues were presented at a cancer conference in Washington. The abstracts revealed that in a Phase I combination study of irofulven and CPT-11 (Camptosar), one patient experienced a 47 percent reduction in measurable tumor mass. Other data demonstrated the ability of irofulven to sensitize pancreatic tumor cells to the effects of radiation therapy.
Ortec International Inc., of New York, extended the expiration date of its Class B warrants to Jan. 31. The warrants have a $15 exercise price and were set to expire on Nov. 30. There are about 1.19 million Class B warrants and about 6.6 million primary common shares outstanding. The closing price of the common shares was $6.375 on Wednesday, but Ortec management does not believe the share price reflects fair value of the company, Ortec said.
PathoGenesis Corp., of Seattle, signed a distribution agreement with Amrad Pharmaceuticals Pty. Ltd., of Victoria, Australia. Amrad will distribute PathoGenesis' TOBI (tobramycin solution for inhalation) upon its regulatory approval in Australia. An application for regulatory approval was filed last December.
RiboGene Inc., of Hayward, Calif., and Cypros Pharmaceutical Corp. said they completed their merger and will now jointly be known as Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. The new company will be headquartered in Hayward at RiboGene's facility. Questcor will maintain its manufacturing facility in Lee's Summit, Mo., and continue to operate distribution activities, quality control and quality assurance laboratories at Cypros' facility in Carlsbad, Calif. The companies announced their merger in August. (See BioWorld Today, Aug. 6, 1999, p. 1.)
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said a Phase II trial of Incel (biricodar dicitrate) to treat advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer suggested the compound has activity against cancer multidrug resistance and contributes to reduction of PSA levels in some patients who have not received treatment with chemotherapeutic agents. Nine of 33 patients achieved a partial response. Vertex also said a Phase II trial of Incel to treat ovarian cancer refractory to chemotherapy suggested the compound was well tolerated and may restore tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy. Results were presented at a cancer conference in Washington.
Vion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New Haven, Conn., said its first TAPET candidate, VNP20009 for use as an antitumor agent and/or delivery vector, did not cause mortality in animal models, even at significantly high doses, and was completely cleared from the blood in 24 hours and from all organs in less than two months. Results were presented at a cancer conference in Washington.