* Symphony Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Malvern, Pa., wasawarded a $1.7 million three-year grant from the NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology, to research themodulation of protein expression as a way to identifycompounds for treatment of a variety of disease.

* QLT PhotoTherapeutics Inc., of Vancouver, Canada,received an approvable letter from the FDA for thecompany's light activated drug, Photofrin, as a palliativetreatment for obstructing cancers of the esophagus. Inaddition, Canada approved the treatment for the sameindication.

* Sheffield Medical Technologies Inc., of Houston, begana Phase I/II trial of its drug, RBC-CD4, for treatment ofHIV at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center inBaltimore. The drug uses CD4 proteins, inserted in redblood cell membranes, to act as decoys, attracting HIVand removing the virus from the blood stream.

* Xenova Group plc, of Slough, England, said itsAmerican Depository Shares now trade on the NASDAQunder the symbol, XNVAZ.

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