* Athena Neurosciences Inc., of South San Francisco, said the FDAaccepted for review the company's new drug application for Diastat,a gel form of diazepam, to treat acute repetitive seizures in epilepsypatients.

* BioTransplant Inc., of Boston, and MedImmune Inc., ofGaithersburg, Md., initiated the first trial of BTI-322, a monoclonalantibody to treat and prevent organ transplant rejection. The PhaseI/II study will assess tolerability and potential efficacy.

* Cambridge Antibody Technology Ltd., of Melbourn, U.K., enteredinto a collaboration with Techniclone International Corp., of Tustin,Calif., for development of monoclonal antibodies to deliver a dose ofradiation directly to cancer tumors. Cambridge Antibody has themonoclonal antibody expertise and Techniclone has developed whatit calls tumor necrosis technology. Financial terms were notdisclosed. The two firms said they will form a joint venture, equallyowned, for development of cancer therapies and diagnostics.Techniclone will retain worldwide manufacturing rights.

* Chiron Viagene, of San Diego, signed an agreement with the VirusResearch Institute, of Cambridge, Mass., for development ofintracellular immunizing agents for HIV and other infectiousdiseases. Financial terms were not disclosed. The companiesdescribed intracellular immunization as a gene therapy designed toexpress within infected cells genetically modified antibodies, calledintrabodies, to disrupt viral functions. Chiron Viagene will use itsgene therapy techniques with Virus Research Institute's intracellularimmunizing technology. Chiron Viagene is part of ChironTechnologies, which is a business unit of Emeryville, Calif.-basedChiron Corp.

* CytRx Corp., of Atlanta, said its shareholders approved a 1-for-4reverse split of its common stock, reducing outstanding shares from31.4 million to 7.9 million. CytRx also said that its subsidiary, VaxelInc., of Atlanta, began a Phase I clinical trial of its vaccine adjuvant,Optivax, which is based on synthetic copolymers and is designed toimprove effectiveness of a variety of vaccines. Optivax is beingtested in association with a vaccine for metastatic cancer developedby ImmunoTherapy Corp., of Tustin, Calif.

* Dekalb Genetics Corp., of Dekalb, Ill., and Monsanto Co., of St.Louis, announced a definitive agreement on a long-term research anddevelopment collaboration in agricultural biotechnology, particularlycorn and soybean seed. Monsanto will acquire 10 percent of DekalbClass A stock and up to 45 percent of Class B stock.

* Diatech Inc., of Londonderry, N.H., changed its name to DiatideInc. The company develops peptides labeled with the radioisotope,technetium-99m, for diagnostics. Diatide expects to file its first newdrug application in early 1997 for a product to detect deep veinthrombosis.

* Enzon Inc., of Piscataway, N.J., completed a private placement ofcommon and convertible preferred stock with an institutional investorresulting in gross proceeds of $7 million. About 1.1 million shareswere purchased for $3 million and the rest involves preferred sharesthat can be converted at 80 percent of average market value. Also,639,000 five-year warrants to purchase Enzon at $4.11 will be issued.

* Genelabs Technologies Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., exercised thecall provision of warrants issued in an August 1995 private financing.Holders of the warrants can purchase a total of about 3.2 millionshares at $3.39 per share, generating $10.8 million for the company.

* GeneMedicine Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, said BoehringerMannheim Group, of Mannheim, Germany, made a $4 million equityinvestment, paying $9.56 per share for 418,629 shares. The twocompanies are collaborating on gene therapies for head and neckcancers and melanoma. Boehringer Mannheim is a subsidiary ofBermuda-based Corange Ltd., which now owns 7 percent ofGeneMedicine.

* MicroGeneSys Inc., of Meriden, Conn., and Pasteur MerieuxSerums & Vaccins S.A., along with its North American subsidiaryConnaught Laboratories Inc., signed a definitive agreement todevelop a recombinant influenza vaccine and other products usingMicroGeneSys' manufacturing technology. An agreement in principlewas signed last October.

* Neurobiological Technologies Inc., of Richmond, Calif., said its2.4 million share public offering did not go off after all. The offeringwas postponed because two company officers purchased companystock prior to the offering, a violation of the Securities Exchange Actof 1934.

* Oxford GlycoSystems Group plc, of Oxford, U.K., changed itsname to Oxford GlycoSciences plc, effective immediately. Thechange reflects the company's broader discovery research incarbohydrates. The old name will be continued for the instrument andreagents business.

* Hybridon Inc., of Worcester, Mass., raised an additional $7.5million in conjunction with its January 1996 initial public offering(IPO) when underwriters Lehman Brothers, of New York, andParibas Capital Markets, of London, exercised their option to buy750,000 shares to cover overallotments. Sale of the shares increasedtotal gross proceeds from the IPO to $57.5 million. Total shares soldwere 5.75 million at $10 per share. (See BioWorld Today, Jan. 26,1996, p. 1.)

* Intercardia Inc., of Research Triangle Park, completed its initialpublic offering of 2.2 million shares for $15 per share, raising grossproceeds of $33 million. The offering was managed by MontgomerySecurities of San Francisco and Raymond James & Associates Inc.,of St. Petersburg, Fla., who have an option to purchase 330,000additional shares to cover overallotments. Intercardia is a majorityowned subsidiary of Interneuron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington,Mass. (See BioWorld Today, Dec. 12, 1995, p. 1.)

* Lynx Therapeutics Inc., of Hayward, Calif., said the company'sshareholders approved a 1-for-10 reverse split for all outstandingcommon and preferred stock.

* Protein Design Labs Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., said it receiveda milestone payment from partner Boehringer Mannheim Group, ofMannheim, Germany after a humanized monoclonal antibody againstinflammatory diseases demonstrated efficacy in a baboon model of anundisclosed human disorder. Protein Design Labs' SMART Anti-L-Selectin antibody binds to the L-Selectin adhesion molecule onneutrophils, preventing the white blood cells from migrating intotissues and causing damage. The companies did not reveal theamount of the milestone payment.

* Quintiles Transnational Corp., of Research Triangle Park, N.C.,said it signed a letter of intent to acquire PMC Contract ResearchAB, of Uppsala, Sweden. Quintiles has agreed to purchase all PMCstock for 273,000 Quintiles shares plus $1.3 million in cash. PMC isa contract research organization that manages clinical studies andconducts Phase I evaluations. The acquisition is expected to becompleted this quarter.

* Roche Bioscience, of Palo Alto, Calif., entered into acollaborations with the Institute of Microbiology in Beijing and theShanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry for drug discovery researchaimed at pain and urinary tract disorders. Both institutes are part ofthe Chinese Academy of Sciences. Financial terms were notdisclosed. Roche Bioscience is a division of Syntex (USA) Inc., ofPalo Alto, a subsidiary of Roche Holdings Ltd., of Basel,Switzerland.

* Schering-Plough Corp., of Madison, N.J., completed its $54.5million acquisition of Canji Inc., a San Diego gene therapy company.The takeover was announced in December 1995. (See BioWorldToday, Dec. 13, 1995, p. 1.)

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.