¿ Biovector Therapeutics, of Edmonton, Alberta, said that the National Cancer Institute started patient dosing in a Phase I trial treating B-cell lymphoma patients with an idiotypic vaccine strategy originally developed by Biomira SA, of Toulouse, France. Biomira's idiotypic lymphoma vaccines contain a patient-specific tumor antigen obtained from the patient's own cancer cells, combined with IL-2, a potent immune enhancer. It is encapsulated in a liposome for more effective delivery.
¿ Boston Life Sciences Inc., of Boston, will develop, under an exclusive worldwide license, a broad-based technology covering fusion toxins for the treating of solid tumors, multiple sclerosis and allergies. The technology was invented at Hadassah Medical School of the Hebrew University, in Jerusalem. These genetically engineered fusion toxins consist of a targeting molecule linked at the genetic level to a cell-killing toxin. The company also started a clinical development program of Altropane, aimed at the early diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
¿ Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, reported that the Cancer Research Campaign of London, selected for Phase I treating its polyglutamate paclitaxel (PG-TXL), a water soluble and potentially more effective form of the anti-cancer agent, paclitaxel, the active ingredient in Taxol.
¿ Enzon Inc., of Piscataway, N.J., and Schering-Plough Corp., of Madison, N.J., revised its 1990 PEG-INTROL licensing agreement, calling for Schering-Plough to pay Enzon royalties on sales at a higher effective rate than provided in the original agreement in exchange Enzon's U.S. manufacturing rights. In addition, Enzon granted a non-exclusive worldwide license, with limited right to sublicense, under Enzon's patents covering another form of PEG called "branched PEG", which uses a different PEG technology than PEG-INTROL. PEG-INTRON is a modified form of Schering-Plough's Intron A (interferon alfa-2b), developed using Enzon's PEG technology to have longer-acting properties.
¿ Genzyme Surgical Products Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., began trading Monday under the NASDAQ ticker of GZSP.
¿ Gilead Sciences Inc., of Foster City, Calif., and NeXstar Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Boulder, Colo., said that a vote by each company's stockholders relating to their proposed merger will take place July 29. (See BioWorld Today, March 2, 1999, p. 1.)
¿ Large Scale Biology Corp., of Rockville, Md., was awarded a Phase II SBIR grant by the National Institutes of Health to further develop a high-throughput, high-sensitivity detection technology for protein on 2-D gels. The technology enhances the automation of ultra-sensitive silver-based protein stains and has immediate application in its high-throughput proteomics platform.
¿ Lexicon Genetics Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, said, by using Lambda KOS, its gene targeting and gene replacement system, that it has a new understanding in the function of newly discovered human genes and in validating potential drug targets. Lambda KOS is designed to streamline and accelerate the drug discovery process through the identification of gene function and determine the roles genes play in various diseases. The technology is described in the June 1999 issue of Biotechniques.
¿ NeuroVir Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, filed for an investigational new drug (IND) application to start Phase I/II studies on NV1020, its tumor-killing engineered herpes simplex virus product, as a treatment for colorectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver. The study, which will be conducted at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York, is expected to start by the fourth quarter.
¿ Orphan Medical Inc., of Minneapolis, said that the U.K. Medicines Control Agency approved Antizol (fomepizole) injection as an antidote for suspected or confirmed ethylene glycol (antifreeze or coolant) poisoning in humans. Orphan's partner, Cambridge Laboratories, of Cambridge, U.K. will pursue regulatory approval for other countries in the European Union. Antizol was approved in the U.S. in 1997.