* Calgene Inc., of Davis, Calif., has begun the first planting of itsgenetically engineered canola plants in southern Georgia. Thecanolas, or rapeseeds, are modified with a thioesterase gene from aCalifornia Bay tree to produce laurate, a material used in makingpersonal care products, such as soap.* Transkaryotic Therapies Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., entered into aresearch collaboration with the University of Freiburg MedicalCenter in Germany to evaluate non-viral gene therapy treatments forcancer. Phase I clinical studies of gene therapy with interleukin 2 arebeing conducted for late-stage kidney cancer and malignantmelanoma.* BASF Bioresearch Corp., of Worcester, Mass., signed an agreementto produce Phase III clinical and commercial supplies of Neutralasefor Montreal-based IBEX Technologies Inc., which is developing thedrug for heparin neutralization following bypass surgery. IBEX saidit intends to file an investigational new drug application to beginclinical trials in 1995.* GenPharm International Inc.'s European subsidiary producedhuman collagen in the milk of transgenic mice, and advancementtoward the Mountain View, Calif. company's goal of producing theprotein in dairy cattle. Also, Collagen Corp., of Palo Alto, Calif.,invested a further $1.6 million in GenPharm.* Phoenix International Life Sciences Inc., of Montreal filed for aninitial public offering in Canada of 8.5 million shares at $5 per share.The offering for the contract research organization is expected toclose Nov. 14.* Biomune Systems Inc., of Salt Lake City, announced successfulpreliminary results of its Immuno-C product for cryptosporidiosis ina 41-person Phase I study.* Aprogenex Inc., of Houston, signed an exclusive agreement withCellmark Diagnostics, a business unit of Zeneca Group, for thedistribution of the GenSite prenatal genetic testing assay in Europe.* Immunomedics Inc., of Morris Plains, N.J., said that further pilotclinical trials of its nuclear imaging agent had a diagnostic accuracyrate of 85.7 percent in AIDS patients when diagnosing Pneumocystisinfection in the lungs.* Oncor Inc. and Oncormed Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., entered intoan agreement with the California Medical Research Institute of SanFrancisco to complete evaluation of the BRUSH1 gene and define itspossible link to BRCA2, a gene linked to hereditary breast cancer.* Agracetus Inc., of Middleton, Wisc., was awarded a $2 million,four-year grant from the U.S. Army to develop a DNA-based vaccineagainst AIDS using its Accell gene gun technology. The W.R. Grace& Co. subsidiary also entered into a collaborative research anddevelopment agreement with the Army to pursue a genetic vaccinefor malaria.

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