* Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc., of New Haven, Conn.,said its lead complement inhibitor compound waseffective in an ex vivo model of cardiopulmonary bypass.Also, the company received a $750,000 small businessinnovation research grant for development of arecombinant complement inhibitor for complications ofcardiovascular surgery.

* Aronex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of The Woodlands,Texas, was awarded four Phase I small businessinnovation research grants totaling $400,000 fordevelopment of AR177, for HIV, and AR132, forcytomegalovirus.

* Chiron Corp., of Emeryville, Calif., completed itsacquisition of San Diego-based Viagene Inc. Chiron paidabout $36 million in cash and issued 915,000 new sharesof stock to acquire the Viagene shares it didn't alreadyown.

* GelTex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Waltham, Mass.,registered to sell 2.5 million shares in an initial publicoffering. The shares are expected to be priced at $12 to$14 each. The company said it develops non-absorbed,polymer-based drugs that selectively bind to andeliminate target substances from the intestinal tract.

* Genta Inc., of San Diego, signed an agreement withBaxter Healthcare Corp., of Deerfield, Ill., for a limitedfeasibility study of Anticode oligonucleotides to promotethe death of mature human T cells. They said it may beuseful in treating cancer patients undergoing allogeneicbone marrow transplantation.

* Guilford Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Baltimore, adopted astockholder rights plan to deter coercive or unfairtakeover tactics.

* ID Biomedical Corp., of Vancouver, British Columbia,said its wholly owned subsidiary, ID Vaccine Corp.,entered into a license and collaboration agreement withPasteur Serums & Vaccins S.A. and ConnaughtLaboratories Ltd., a member of the Rhone-PoulencGroup, relating to ID's tuberculosis vaccine technology.The subsidiary received an up-front licensing fee,development support and an equity investment totaling$4.5 million.

* IG Laboratories Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., approvedthe merger into Genzyme Corp., also of Cambridge.Genzyme, which already owned 70 percent of thegenetics testing company, will combine IG Labs into itsdiagnostic services unit.

* Organogenesis Inc., of Canton, Mass., submitted apremarket approval application for its Graftskinmanufactured human skin for treatment of venous ulcers.

* Somatix Therapy Corp., of Alameda, Calif., obtained aworldwide exclusive license from Yale University for anon-invasive method of delivering genes to cells of thedigestive tract using adeno-associated viral vectors.

* SyStemix Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., said investigatorsreported that SyStemix's blood-derived hematopoieticstem cell transplants can take hold in myeloma patients inclinically relevant time intervals. Those preliminary datacame from a Phase I/II trial.

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