GENEMEDICINE GIVES CORANGE OPTION IN CANCER AREA

GeneMedicine Inc. received a $2.1 million payment from CorangeInternational Ltd. in exchange for giving Corange an exclusiveoption to collaborate on certain cancer drugs.

Corange, parent company of Boehringer Mannheim, can exercise itsoption until June 30. Last April GeneMedicine collaborated withSyntex Corp., of Palo Alto, Calif., to develop drugs for inflammatorydiseases.

The alliance with Syntex involves each company contributing half tothe research and development costs, and sharing potential profits,said GeneMedicine's Angela Goodwin, an investorrelations/corporate communications associate. She told BioWorld thecompany wants to structure a collaboration with Corange and othersin similar manners.

GeneMedicine, of The Woodlands, Texas, is developing "genemedicines" based on gene expression systems and synthetic genedelivery systems that combine to control the location, level andduration of gene expression within the body. Goodwin said thecompany targeted the cancer area as a candidate for a researchprogram, and began the initial stages of the program.

She said GeneMedicine, with the Corange payment, has about $23million in cash and equivalents, enough to take it into the thirdquarter of 1996.

In a separate matter, the Biotechnology Investment Group LLC, ofStamford, Conn., acquired 974,771 shares and 24,291 warrants ofGeneMedicine that were owned by the Edward Blech Trust, andpledged to a bank to cover loans, Goodwin said. She said DavidBlech, through the Blech Family Trust, still owns 464,000 shares, orabout 4 percent, of GeneMedicine stock. _ Jim Shrine