* Cortecs International, of London, signed a 15-year salesand distribution agreement with Towa PharmaceuticalCo. Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, for marketing in that country ofCortecs' oral form of salmon calcitonin for osteoporosis.Financial terms were not disclosed. Towa already sells aninjectable calcitonin, but must seek regulatory approval ofthe oral drug. Cortecs filed an investigational new drugapplication last month with the FDA to begin clinicaltrials with the oral calcitonin treatments in the U.S.Preliminary results of Phase II trials in Europe showedthe oral compound was effective in reducing rate of bonebreakdown.

* Cortex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said itraised $4 million in a private placement of 160 shares ofpreferred stock to overseas institutional investors. Forty-five days after the closing, the shares are convertible toCortex common stock at $2.825 per share or 85 percentof market value of the stock, whichever is lower. SwartzInvest

* Enzon Inc., of Piscataway, N.J., received FDA approvalfor clinical trials of its hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier,PEG-hemoglobin, for boosting the effectiveness ofradiation therapy in cancer patients. In the study,participants will receive a once-a-week dose of PEG-hemoglobin for each five days of radiation during a three-week treatment program.

* Genetics Institute Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., completedits acquisition of its spin-off company, SciGenics Inc., for$14 per share.

* Isotec AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, entered a licensingagreement with Chiron Biocine Co., of Emeryville, Calif.,for development of Isotec's adjuvant vaccine technology,Iscoms, for prevention and treatment of herpes simplex.Chiron Biocine, a unit of Emeryville-based Chiron Corp.,also has an option to license Iscoms for use with othervaccines, such as cytomegalovirus and hepatitis C. Isotecis a subsidiary of CSL Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia.

* Neoprobe Corp., of Dublin, Ohio, reached an agreementwith Nordion Europe S.A. for distribution of Neoprobe'sRIGScan radiopharmaceutical products in Europe, Africaand the Middle East.

* Neoprobe Corp., of Dublin, Ohio, said preliminaryresults of Phase I/II trials of its adoptive cellular therapy,which is based on the company's RIGS technology, showthe treatment may be able to extend the lives of late-stagecolorectal cancer patients.

* North American Biologicals Inc., of Boca Raton, Fla.,said it is expanding its donor stimulation program forStaphGAM beyond the 70 healthy adults alreadyparticipating. StaphGAM, a polyclonal antibody, isdesigned to prevent staphylococcus aureus infections inhospital patients. Antibodies generated by the donors arepurified and formed into StaphGAM. The expandeddonor program will help supply North American withenough StaphGAM for its Phase I trials in late 1996.

* Telor Ophthalmic Pharmaceuticals Inc., now of NorthAndover, Mass., and Occupational Health +Rehabilitation Inc., of Hingham, Mass., signed a letter ofintent to merge the companies. Privately heldOccupational Health develops and operates outpatienthealth care facilities.

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