Abgenix Inc., of Fremont, Calif., and Agensys Inc., of Santa Monica, Calif., formed a research collaboration, option and license agreement, under which the companies will use Abgenixs human antibody technologies to develop fully human monoclonal antibody therapies against selected cancer antigen targets supplied by Agensys. Agensys has option rights to exclusive product licenses for up to 25 antigen targets during the five-year collaboration. For each selected antigen, Abgenix will receive research license payments and could receive additional fees and milestone payments, as well as royalties on any future product sales. Agensys will be responsible for product development, manufacturing and commercialization of any products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Incyte Genomics Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., and the Guys and St. Thomas Hospital NHS Trust, of London, formed a genomic research partnership to study osteoarthritis. Incyte will own the intellectual property resulting from the collaboration. Financial terms were not disclosed. Scientists at Guys and St. Thomas and at Incytes European laboratory in Cambridge, UK, will design and conduct a genetics study to clarify the role that genes play in the onset and progression of osteoarthritis, particularly in the knee.
Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Durham, N.C., filed an investigational new drug application with the FDA for its INS37217 respiratory nasal spray in the treatment of sinusitis. The company also reported initiating a Phase I trial. The trial is a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending-dose safety and tolerability study of INS37217 respiratory spray in 60 subjects.
Lexicon Genetics Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, said it altered more than one half of the genes in the mouse genome for use in human drug discovery. The company called it a major milestone in its OmniBank functional genomics operations. Lexicon evaluated DNA sequences from the 177,000 knockout mouse embryonic stem cell lines in OmniBank against thousands of randomly chosen full-length mouse genes and achieved 51.3 percent coverage.
MPB Cologne GmbH, of Cologne, Germany, licensed its proprietary gene switch technology to Aventis CropScience, of Lyon, France. The technology, based on a ligand-inactivated recombinase, allows controlled regulation of gene expression. Terms were not disclosed.
OraSure Technologies Inc., of Bethlehem, Pa., said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of Atlanta, selected the OraQuick rapid HIV test to be used to provide results to pregnant women as part of the CDC-funded clinical study, the Maternal Infant Rapid Intervention at Delivery (MIRIAD) project. The project will take place at public hospitals in five U.S. metropolitan areas with relatively high (0.8 percent to 4 percent) HIV seroprevalence among pregnant women. MIRIAD is expected to offer voluntary rapid testing annually to between 6,000 and 8,000 women with unknown HIV status late in pregnancy and offer antiretroviral therapy to prevent perinatal transmission of HIV to the fetus.
Paradigm Genetics Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., published details of the discovery of the genetic similarity between two filamentous fungi Magnaporthe grisae, a tropical rice pathogen, and Neurospora crassa, the classic bread mold. The findings have application in industrial-scale fermentation, crop protection and antifungal chemical discovery, the company said. The paper was authored by Paradigm researchers and published in the July 26 issue of Fungal Genetics and Biology.
Prescient NeuroPharma Inc., of Toronto, reported successfully completing a Phase I trial demonstrating the safety and tolerability of Anhydrovinblastine (AVLB). The trial was a single-center, 24-person, open-label, nonrandomized, dose-finding safety and tolerance study of AVLB in patients with advanced solid tumors. The company expects to release the final trial report by the end of September.
Tularik Inc., of San Francisco, filed with the SEC to periodically sell up to $250 million in common stock and debt securities. According to the shelf registration filing, the company plans to use the proceeds for research and development, as well as general corporate purposes. The company may sell securities from time to time, or in one or more separate offerings in amounts, prices and terms determined at the time of sale. Tularik develops novel oral drugs that act through the regulation of gene expression.
V.I. Technologies Inc., of Watertown, Mass., completed the divestiture of its plasma operations. The transaction is valued at $32 million, $25 million of which V.I. Technologies (known as Vitex) will receive in cash. The remaining consideration includes a guarantee by the buyer of a $3.5 million Red Cross advance and the assumption of other liabilities. Vitex may receive an additional $5 million in cash over the next two years based on the new companys performance against certain financial targets and by satisfying the representation provisions in the agreement. The company said it would use the proceeds to advance its product development efforts and upcoming clinical trials. Vitex retained all rights to $2 million in plasma operations deposits made to a government agency in connection with ethanol used in the manufacturing process. The deposits are expected to be recoverable over the next year, and the company will receive 20 percent of any gain if the plasma operations business is sold within the next three years. Vitex expects to post a one-time charge of $9.9 million on the sale, representing the difference between the book value of the assets divested and the transaction value. The divestiture was management led, and Wellesley, Mass.-based Ampersand Ventures, a current Vitex stockholder, is an equity investor in the new privately held company, Precision Pharma Services Inc.