* Cell Genesys Inc., of Foster City, Calif., reported thatit's engineered bone marrow stem cells that can preventthe occurrence of cancers in animals. The stem cells weregenetically engineered with tumor-specific receptors anda variety of immune cells that destroy cancer cells.

* Celtrix Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif.,exercised its option to receive an additional equityinvestment from Genzyme Corp., of Cambridge, Mass.The $4.5 million investment raised Genzyme's stake inCeltrix from 11.3 percent to a maximum of 19.9 percent.

* CoCensys Inc., of Irvine, Calif., said results of a 97-patient Phase I trial of CCD 1042, being developed forepilepsy, showed the agent was well tolerated after singleand multiple dosing. The drug is in Phase II studies inrefractory pediatric patients.

* Matrix Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., saidits new drug application for AccuSite injectable gel wasaccepted for filing by the FDA.

* OraVax Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., was awarded aPhase II small business innovation research grant of$523,740 to help fund the continued evaluation of itsvaccine for Helicobacter pylori infection.

* Pharmacopeia Inc., of Princeton, N.J., priced its initialpublic offering of 2.6 million shares at $16 per share. Thecompany uses combinatorial chemistry and high-throughput screening in its discovery efforts.Pharmacopeia initially filed to sell 2.25 million shares at$14 to $16 each. (See BioWorld Today, Oct. 20, 1995, p.1.)

* Researchers at Boston University said interleukin-16,formerly called lymphocyte chemoattractant factor,stimulates growth of CD4+ T cells, which are infected byHIV.

* IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corp., of San Diego, is getting$1.5 million for expanding its marketing collaboration forIDEC-C2B8, a potential B cell lymphoma drug, withGenentech Inc., of South San Francisco, to include Japanand other Asian countries. Genentech already has rightsoutside the U.S. and Canada, where the two companiesshare rights. Also, Zenyaku Kogyo Co. Ltd., of Tokyo,then licensed rights to the product in Japan.

* Intercardia Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C.,received $5 million and can receive more in milestonesthrough an agreement with Astra Merck Inc., of Wayne,Pa., related to U.S. development and marketing ofbucindolol, a drug in Phase III trials for congestive heartfailure. Intercardia is a majority-owned subsidiary ofInterneuron Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lexington, Mass.

* Researchers from the University of Texas M.D.Anderson Cancer Center and Aastrom Biosciences Inc.,of Ann Arbor, Mich., at the American Society ofHematology in Seattle Monday reported clinical resultsdemonstrating the feasibility and safety of an ex vivostem and progenitor cell production approach inautologous bone marrow transplantation that mayenhance hematopoietic recovery.

* Somatix Therapy Corp., of Alameda, Calif., and BaxterHealthcare Corp., of Deerfield, Ill., said a collaboratorpresented preliminary results from a Phase I trial ofprogenitor cell gene therapy for chronic granulomatousdisease. In two of three patients evaluated, granulocyteswith fully restored function were detected.

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