* ID Biomedical Corp., of Vancouver, B.C., extended for ninemonths its collaborative research agreement with the New EnglandDeaconess Hospital, of Boston, dealing with the development of adirect HIV test using the company's Cycling Probe Technology.

* Hemosol Inc., of Toronto, began Phase I trials of Hemolink, thecompany's red blood cell substitute, at the L.A.B. PharmaceuticalLaboratories in Montreal. The safety study is expected to last sixmonths and will involve 36 healthy volunteers.

* Targeted Genetics Corp., of Seattle, received a $100,000 Phase ISmall Business Innovation Grant from the National Institutes ofHealth. The company said it will use the funds for manufacturingadeno-associated virus vectors for cystic fibrosis studies.

* Abaxis Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., filed for approval with the FDAto market its 12-test General Health Panel Rotor for use with thecompany's Piccolo portable blood analyzer.

* T Cell Sciences Inc., of Needham, Mass., and U.K.-basedSmithKline Beecham plc ended an agreement giving SmithKline theoption of developing and marketing T Cell Sciences' injectablesoluble complement receptor type 1 (sCR1) outside North America.No financial obligations were involved in the collaboration. T CellSciences has worldwide rights to sCR1, also called TP10, which is inPhase 1 trials for respiratory distress syndrome.

* Calgene Inc., of Davis, Calif., and New York-based Pfizer Inc.'sFood Science Group entered a research collaboration to producefood ingredients based on Calgene's genetic engineering of plants.

* BioSepra Inc. and its subsidiary, Sepracor Inc., both ofMarlborough, Mass., filed a federal lawsuit accusing Cambridge,Mass.-based PerSeptive Biosystems Inc. of unfair competition. Thesuit is a response to PerSeptive's patent infringement litigationinvolving its perfusion chromatography and BioSepra's HyperDchromatography. PerSeptive first filed a patent infringement lawsuitin 1993 against BioSepra, Sepracor and Sweden-based PharmaciaAB.

* Pharmos Corp., of New York, sold $1.27 million in convertibledebentures in a private placement to investors, including a memberof its board of directors and an institutional shareholder. Thedebentures are convertible to common shares based on Pharmos'stock price over 30 days. The conversion price will not be less than50 cents per share nor more than 70 cents.

* Alkermes Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., began patient enrollment in aPhase II trial of its RMP-7 compound in conjunction with thechemotherapeutic drug, carboplatin, to treat brain tumors. RMP-7 isdesigned to be used as an adjunct to other drugs by enabling them topenetrate the blood-brain and blood-ocular barriers.

* CytRx Corp., of Atlanta, said its corporate partner, BurroughsWellcome Co., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., began Phase I trialsof RheothRx injection as an adjunct to the chemotherapeutic agent,Alkeran, in treatment of advanced ovarian cancer. RheothRx isexpected to enhance the effect of Alkeran, whose generic name ismelphalan, by improving tumor blood flow and exposure to the anti-cancer drug.

* Genta Jago Inc., a joint venture of San Diego-based Genta Inc. andSwitzerland-based Jagotec AG, filed an investigational new drugapplication with the FDA to begin clinical trials of its Geomatrixcontrolled drug release technology with AZT to treat HIV and AIDS.

* Receptagen Ltd., of Seattle, Wash., began clinical development ofits growth blocker drugs to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. Thecompany's drugs are monoclonal antibodies designed to depletecancer cells of vitamin B12, which is involved in cell growth.

* Xoma Corp., of Berkeley, Calif., entered into a collaboration withIsrael-based Peptor Ltd. to develop anti-fungal peptides derived fromXoma's bacterial permeability increasing protein.

* Gensia Inc., of San Diego, signed a distribution agreement withArmour Pharmaceutical Co., a subsidiary of Collegeville, Pa.-basedRhone-Poulenc Rorer Inc., to sell generic pentamidine isethionate inthe U.S. Gensia will market the drug under the name, Pentacarinat. Itis used to treat pneumonia due to pneumocystis carinii bacteria.

* Neurogen Corp., of Branford, Conn., said Phase I trials of itsdopamine D4 antagonist, NGD 94-1, showed the drug was safe andwell tolerated. NGD 94-1 is being tested as a treatment forpsychoses, including schizophrenia. The company also said it hasdeveloped another compound, a neuropeptide Y antagonist, to treatobesity and bulimia.

* Martek Biosciences Corp., of Columbia, Md., and NeuromedicaInc., of Cambridge, Mass., signed a manufacturing agreement inwhich Martek will supply at least 50 percent of Neuromedica'sDoprexin in the U.S. Doprexin is being developed as a treatment fortardive dyskinesia.

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