* Immune Response Corp., of Carlsbad, Calif., began a clinical trialin Switzerland combining its HIV vaccine, Remune, with newer antiviraldrug combinations in a collaboration withHoffman-La Roche AG, ofBasel, Switzerland andGlaxo Wellcome plc, of London. One drug regimenwill combine abacavir as an antiretroviral, and the protease inhibitorsViracept (developed byAgouron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of La Jolla,Calif., and marketed by Roche in Europe) and saquinavir, which is soldby Roche. The second regimen will combine abacavir and the protease inhibitorsamprenavir and Viracept. Abacavir and amprenavir are under developmentby Glaxo Wellcome.

* Pacific Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said rats injectedin a preclinical trial with its cancer immunotherapy showed total eradicationof the tumors and untreated metastases at remote sites in a significantpercentage of the treated population. The treatment consists of co-injectionwith the immunoadjuvant galactochitosan and a photosensitive infrared dyedirectly into the tumor, followed by illumination with an infrared laser.Pacific said the treatment may offer an improvement over current treatmentsfor breast, lung and prostate cancer.

* Sibia Neurosciences Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., began dosingin a Phase II trial of its drug for Parkinson's disease, SIB-1508Y. Thedrug is a selective brain cholinergic agonist to treat the motor, cognitiveand affective deficits associated with the disease. It has been shown inpreclinical studies to regulate the release of dopamine and acetylcholine,which are neurotransmitters relevant to those deficits.

* Trega Biosciences Inc., of San Diego, and the Torrey PinesInstitute for Molecular Studies (TPIMS), also of San Diego, ended theirresearch and licensing agreement, begun in March 1990. Trega had fundedcombinatorial chemistry research at TPIMS in exchange for an option tolicense resulting inventions. Trega's research has changed from the fieldof mixture-based peptide libraries to single-based heterocyclic compoundarrays.

* Systems Integration Drug Discovery Co. Inc. (SIDDCO), of Tucson,Ariz., signed a combinatorial chemistry consortium agreement with KirinBrewery Co. Ltd., of Tokyo. Kirin will provide research support andwill receive SIDDCO's combinatorial chemistry technology on a royalty feebasis. Specific terms were not disclosed.

* SangStat Medical Corp., of Menlo Park, Calif., received a "completereview" letter from the FDA for Thymoglobulin, a rabbit antithymocyte polyclonalantibody. The company and Thymoglobulin partner Pasteur Merieux Connaught,of Lyon, France, plan to respond to additional FDA questions within thenext two to three weeks.