* AccuMed International Inc., of Chicago, and Alamar BiosciencesInc., of Sacramento, Calif., completed their previously announcedmerger. AccuMed shareholders will receive 2.43 Alamar shares forevery AccuMed share owned. The conversion will result in 16.9million shares outstanding. Upon completion, Alamar will adopt theAccuMed name and trade under the NASDAQ symbol ACMI.

* Alteon Inc., of Ramsey, N.J., began two Phase II trials of its leadcompound, pimagedine. One study is in Type I and II diabetics withend-stage renal disease; the other is in Type II diabetics with elevatedcholesterol levels.

* Atrix Laboratories Inc., of Fort Collins, Colo., said it filed a 510(k)premarket notification with the FDA seeking authorization to marketa dental product, the Atrisorb Barrier for Guided TissueRegeneration. The product stems from the company's Atrigelbiodegradable polymer technology.

* Biomerica Inc., of Newport Beach, Calif., received FDA clearanceto market an autoimmune test to detect and monitor antibodies tothyroid peroxidase.

* Cardiovascular Diagnostics Inc., of Raleigh, N.C., completed aninitial public offering of 2.125 million shares at $11 each, for grossproceeds of $23.4 million. The company develops and markets a testsystem that evaluates hemostasis at the point of patient care.

* Cytel Corp., of San Diego, signed an agreement with AbbottLaboratories, of Abbott Park, Ill., for the development ofmanufacturing processes for production of certain carbohydrates.Abbott will pay $2 million up front for an option on a worldwidelicense for limited applications under Cytel's patents andcarbohydrate synthesis technology.

* International Murex Corp., of Atlanta, launched a second-generation assay for serological genotyping of hepatitis C, coveringHCV types 1-6. Initially it will be marketed to clinicians andlaboratories outside the U.S.

* Techniclone International Corp., of Tustin, Calif., raised about $8.2million by selling 8,200 shares of preferred stock to offshoreinstitutional investors. The company, developing tumor necrosistechnologies, believes the financing will allow it to be relisted onNASDAQ. The preferred stock is convertible into common stock atan effective price of $3.069 per share of common, or 85 percent ofthe stock's market value at conversion, whichever is lower.

* Genelabs Technologies Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., completed astudy in primates demonstrating the feasibility of its prototypehepatitis E vaccine, GL438. With the news, the company saidSmithKline Beecham, of London, extended its financial and technicalsupport of the program.

* Gilead Sciences Inc., of Foster City, Calif., said its collaborativepartner, the ophthalmology subsidiary of American Home ProductsCorp., started a Phase I trial of topical ophthalmic cidofovir, which isbeing developed for treating viruses that can cause external infectionsof the eye.

* Paracelsian Inc., of Ithaca, N.Y., said Phase I studies of its anti-HIV compound, PN355, have been started at Bastyr University inSeattle. The compound, derived from an extract of a Chinese herb,will be tested in 13 patients, 10 of whom have HIV.

* T Cell Sciences Inc., of Needham, Mass., started a Phase IIa trialevaluating the use of the complement inhibitor, TP10, in patients withadult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It will be an open-label,single-dose study with about 20 patients. The objective is todetermine the effects on neutrophil accumulation in the lungs and toimprove clinical outcomes of ARDS patients.

* Techniclone International Corp., of Tustin, Calif., raised about $8.2million by selling 8,200 shares of preferred stock to offshoreinstitutional investors. The company, developing tumor necrosistechnologies, said the financing will allow it to be relisted onNASDAQ. The preferred stock is convertible into common stock atan effective price of $3.069 per share of common, or 85 percent ofthe stock's market value at conversion, whichever is lower.

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