¿ AlphaOne Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Alameda, Calif., said the protease inhibitor alpha 1-antitrypsin was shown to block airway hyperresponsiveness in six of eight patients tested. The results were reported at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Diego.

¿ Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said an eight-person study of AC2933 (synthetic exendin-4) in men with Type II diabetes showed the drug was safe and tolerable. There also was a dose-dependent lowering of plasma glucose concentrations. Plasma concentrations of the drug were seen up to 15 hours after administration.

¿ Cadus Pharmaceutical Corp., of Tarrytown, N.Y., said it has retained Hambrecht & Quist LLC, of New York, to explore strategic alternatives. The company cut staff in April, as an alliance with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., of New York, neared its conclusion. (See BioWorld Today, April 14, 1999, p. 1.)

¿ CytRx Corp., of Atlanta, said an independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board examined the efficacy and safety results from the first 112 patients enrolled in its pivotal Phase III clinical trial of Flocor, an intravenous solution for acute sickle cell crisis, and has recommended that the study proceed.

¿ Genta Inc., of Lexington, Mass., started a Phase I/IIa study of its lead compound, GS3139, at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington. The drug is designed to reduce the Bcl-2 protein level in cancer through an antisense mechanism that specifically targets the bcl-2 gene product.

¿ Immunex Corp., of Seattle, said Leukine (sargramostim) maintained viral suppression and extended duration of antiretroviral therapy in a Phase III trial in AIDS patients. Data were presented at the Eighth Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research in Victoria, British Columbia. Data from another Phase III study with Leukine, a white blood cell booster for cancer, were presented last year. (See BioWorld Today, July 1, 1998, p. 1.)

¿ Response Biomedical Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia, closed a private placement that grossed C$2.5 million (US$1.7 million). The company placed about 2.6 million shares at 95 cents per share. Yorkton Securities Inc. led the financing.