y MedClone Inc., of Los Angeles, expects to begin a Phase II clinicaltrial in September with its vaccine, MAb3E10, for the treatment ofnephritis associated with systematic lupus erythematosus. The trial,involving 40 lupus patients, will be conducted at the Centre HospitalierUniversitaire Vaudois in Switzerland, and will attempt to determine ifrepetitive treatments with MAb3E10 can prevent disease flares inpatients with no diagnosed disease activity.y Cortech Inc., of Denver, filed an investigational new drug applicationwith the FDA to begin trials with its small synthetic molecule, CE-1037, for treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as adult respiratorydistress syndrome, cystic fibrosis and emphysema. Cortech also hascompleted a royalty buyout for CE-1037 from the Research Foundationof the State University of New York.y Oncor Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., received a $720,000 Phase II SmallBusiness Innovation Research grant from the National Institutes ofHealth for molecular analysis of human chromosomes. The companysaid the funds will be used to develop genetic probes to help detectchromosome rearrangements associated with genetic diseases.y Agis Pharmaceuticals, of Houston, now calls itself SENNES DrugInnovations Inc. The company said the new name reflects its focus oncell senescence genes and their applications for growth regulation,cancer and other proliferative disorders.y Sequana Therapeutics, of La Jolla, Calif., is teaming up with theUniversity of Bristol, in England, to identify genes associated withulcerative colitis, also known as inflammatory bowel disease.

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