Agilent Technologies Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., formed a Life Sciences Business unit within the company's Chemical Analysis Group. The new unit will use a portfolio of existing products that includes DNA microarrays, informatics and lab-on-a-chip microfluidics.
Aquasearch Inc., of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, said it initiated a randomized, double-blind clinical trial of AstaFactor for patients with coronary heart disease. AstaFactor is the company's astaxanthin-containing algal extract. The primary efficacy endpoint in the study is the reduction of C-reactive protein levels.
Atlantic Technology Ventures Inc., of New York, said it completed a Phase I clinical trial of CT-3, its novel analgesic and anti-inflammatory derived from synthetic tetrahydrocannibinol, the active ingredient in marijuana. The animal study indicated CT-3 was safe and would not cause typical marijuana-like effects in humans.
BioChem Pharma Inc., of Laval, Quebec, said that guidelines released by the Asia Pacific Consensus Group on the prevention and management of chronic hepatitis B and C, in association with the Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, endorse the company's hepatitis treatment Zeffix (lamivudine), which is approved in China, for hepatitis B patients with active liver disease, liver failure or recurrent disease after liver transplantation. The guidelines also confirm the safety and tolerability of Zeffix for patients with chronic hepatitis B, the company said.
BioTransplant Inc., of Charlestown, Mass., said data presented by its chief scientist indicates the company may be able to produce a breed of pig that doesn't produce porcine endogenous retrovirus capable of productively infecting human cells. The development of such a breed could increase the safety of xenotransplantation, the company said.
Calypte Biomedical Corp., said Chinese officials approved the company's urine test for the HIV-1 strain that causes AIDS. News of the approval sent Calypte's stock soaring Friday, tripling the share price to close at $4.50. The stock (NASDAQ:CALY) closed down 9 percent Monday at $3.97.
Centocor Inc., of Malvern, Pa., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, presented results of a Phase III clinical trial at the 22nd Annual Congress of the European Society of Cardiology that appear to demonstrate that a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor may not be an appropriate treatment for certain patients with acute coronary syndrome. The findings, from the GUSTO IV-ACS trial that evaluated the safety and efficacy of ReoPro (abciximab), showed that the treatment did not show a statistically significant benefit over placebo. The drug already is on the market.
Cytogen Corp., of Princeton, N.J., said an agreement to acquire Advanced Magnetics Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., was mutually terminated. The deal would have involved the transfer of $60 million of Cytogen stock. Instead, the companies entered a marketing, license and supply agreement in which Cytogen will acquire some product rights to AM's imaging agents in exchange for 2 million Cytogen shares. The deal gives Cytogen exclusive rights to AM's magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent Combidex.
Derma Sciences Inc., of Princeton, N.J., said it concluded agreements with company President Edward Quilty, in addition to three investment firms, for the sale of $500,000 of the company's series E units at 75 cents apiece. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-tenth of a warrant to purchase a share at 85 cents, and each warrant will expire on July 18, 2005. Investors include Kensington Capital Management LLC, of New York; Dolphin Offshore Partners, of New York; and Redwood Asset Management, of Oslo, Norway. Separately, New York-based Galen Partners converted $375,000 of convertible bonds into units consisting of one share of series C convertible preferred stock and one-tenth of a series E warrant at 75 cents per unit.
GeneData Inc., of Basel, Switzerland, released version 3.0 of its GD Phylosopher system, a software system for the analysis and comparison of complete genomes. Version 3.0 includes tools for strain optimization with applications in industrial fermentation processes and metabolic engineering for the agrobiological and food sectors.
Genetronics Biomedical Ltd., of San Diego, said it entered a collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Research Pty Ltd., of Eveleigh, Australia, to investigate the feasibility of using electroporation, a Genetronics platform technology, for nucleic acid delivery in tumors in vivo. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Hyalose LLC, of Oklahoma City, said it received a $150,000 grant from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. The company, formed by Emergent Technologies Inc., of Austin, Texas, was founded to commercialize unique recombinant technology developed at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center focused on Hyaluronic acid, a biopolymer with possible therapeutic applications for osteoarthritis of the knee.
Immtech International Inc., of Vernon Hills, Ill., granted an undisclosed sum to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at the University of London, to study the activity of a new series of dication compounds against Leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease spread by sandflies. The dication compounds will be screened for activity in an in vivo assay against several strains of leishmania.
Inex Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, said it commenced a Phase II clinical trial to evaluate its lead product, Onco TCS, as a treatment for relapsed solid tumors in children and adolescents. The trial is the second of three Phase II studies to begin this year that broaden the clinical study of the off-patent cancer drug vincristine encapsulated in Inex's drug delivery technology, Transmembrane Carrier Systems, to include an indication for small-cell lung cancer in addition to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The compound is currently in a pivotal Phase II/III trial for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Invitrogen Corp., of San Diego, said the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period relating to the company's proposed acquisition of Dexter Corp., of Windsor Locks, Conn., and Life Technologies Inc., of Rockville, Md., expired. The acquisitions remain subject to additional closing requirements including completion of the sale of Dexter's non-wovens business to Ahlstrom Paper Group and stockholder approvals. The deal totals about $1.9 billion in cash and stock. (See BioWorld Today, July 11, 2000, p. 1.)
Isotechnika Inc., of Edmonton, Alberta, said preclinical and Phase I study results for its immunosuppressive drug ISAtx247, presented at the International Congress of the Transplant Society held in Rome, indicate the compound is three times more potent and up to five times less toxic than other immunosuppressives such as cyclosporine. The drug is designed for use in the prevention of organ rejection after transplantation and for treatment of autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and psoriasis.
Oncolytics Biotech Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, said it has kept its listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE:ONC), and terminated its listing on the Canadian Venture Exchage.
Paradigm Genetics Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., said the U.S. Department of Energy awarded it a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant for ongoing gene discovery work. The $750,000 grant, which represents the Phase II part of the SBIR, brings the total grant funding for Phase I and II awards to $825,000.
PPGx Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., was awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Department of Health and Human Services totaling $98,934 for the development of a Java toolkit for analyzing microarray data in pharmacogenomic research studies. The Phase I study plans to demonstrate technical merit, feasibility and usefulness of applying web-based visualization and analytical methods to detect patterns of gene expression.
Senomyx Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., said a paper in the September 2000 issue of Nature Genetics reported that V1RL1, a human pheromone receptor gene Senomyx exclusively licensed from The Rockefeller University, expresses in human olfactory mucosa a homologue of the V1R pheromone receptor found in rodents. The V1RL1 protein is a member of the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily.
Sequent Inc., of San Diego, will collaborate with the Public Health Research Institute of New York, to develop high-speed diagnostic tests to identify mulitdrug-resistant M. tuberculosis strains. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an NIH division, will fund the project through a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant.
The Scottish Technology and Research Center-Northeast USA coordinated a visit this week by 14 representatives of the Maryland biotechnology community to Scotland to explore new business opportunities and sign a strategic alliance designed to increase business and scientific collaborations between the Scottish and Maryland biotech communities. Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend will join the group for the trip.
Theragenics Corp., of Buford, Ga., said successful results of preclinical studies of Pd-103, a radiotherapeutic, indicate the compound inhibits restenosis, or arterial re-closing, in pig coronary arteries following balloon angioplasty. The successful results of the initial study will provide a basis for longer-term animal studies, the company said.
Vion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New Haven, Conn., said it initiated a Phase I intravenous clinical trial of Tapet, the company's tumor amplified protein expression therapy bacterial vector. The study is designed to determine safety and tolerability levels for Tapet in a broad group of cancer patients, and to assess Tapet's ability to preferentially replicate and accumulate within selected patients' tumors.
Xenogen Corp., of Alameda, Calif., said it entered an evaluation licensing agreement with Cubist Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., providing Cubist with access to Xenogen's proprietary real-time in vivo imaging technologies to assess their applications in preclinical evaluations of new antimicrobial agents. The Xenogen technology allows non-invasive visualization and tracking of fluorescent and bioluminescent cells in living animals.