A unique patent for bacterial production of taxol is about to beissued to Escagenetics Corp.

The San Carlos, Calif., company (ASE:ESN) announced Fridaythat it received notice of allowance of a basic patent for theproduction of taxanes, which include the compound taxol.

The patent covers the use of a bacteria to infect a Taxus plantand induce formation of a cellular mass, called galls on theplant. Escagenetics' executive vice president, William Koenig,told BioWorld that these cellular masses are tumors that growrapidly and produce taxol at a faster rate than the taxus plantdoes. The galls can be harvested from the tree repeatedlywithout killing it and provide an endless supply of taxol.

Escagenetics' subsidiary, Phytopharmaceuticals Inc., is workingwith Enzon Inc. to develop a new taxol derivative that isobtained by attaching polyethylene glycol (PEG) to taxol thathas been extracted from plant cell cultures. -- Brenda Sandburg

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