* CombiChem Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., raised $10.64million in a private placement. Participants in thefinancing for the privately held company were led by theSprout Group, a New York-based venture capital firm.

* Houston Biotechnology Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas,received a $100,000 Small Business Technology Transfergrant from the National Eye Institute to develop polymerimplants for delivering drugs that inhibit cell growth totreat cataracts and glaucoma.

* Magainin Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Plymouth Meeting,Pa., began its second Phase III trial of its topical drug,MSI-78, for treatment of infection in diabetic foot ulcers.Both trials, expected to be complete by the third quarterof 1996, are equivalence studies testing Magainin'sproduct against the standard antibiotic treatment,ofloxacin.

* Matrix Pharmaceutical Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif.,submitted a marketing authorization application for itsAccusite injectable gel to the European Union'sCommittee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (CPMP).Under the CPMP's mutual recognition process the firstapproval will be sought in the U.K. Matrix is seekingmarket clearance for the product to treat genital warts.

* The Upjohn Co., of Kalamazoo, Mich., entered into aresearch agreement with the Royal Postgraduate MedicalSchool at Hammersmith Hospital in London to identifygenes of disease-causing bacteria, such as staphylococcusaureus, and develop drug targets. Financial terms werenot disclosed. In August, Upjohn and Sweden-basedPharmacia AB agreed to merge creating a companyvalued at $13 billion.

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