Immunomedics Inc. on Tuesday said it has been issued U.S.patent No. 5,101,827 for methods of imaging normal organsand lymph nodes with a radioactively labelled antibody orantibody fragment in order to detect tumors or infectiouslesions.

Unlike imaging techniques that use antibodies targeted tospecific tumor, cancer or infected cells, the patented hybridomatechnique selects antibodies that target certain normal organsor tissue cells, said spokesman Joe Schepers. Once theseantibodies accrete in a normal organ or lymph node, a positiveimage can be taken in which missing areas or pathologicalconditions, such as obstruction, infection or neoplasia, show upas defects, or "cold spots."

The Warren, N.J., company (NASDAQ:IMMU) is not ready to givea date for clinical trials, Schepers told BioWorld. However, hesaid "the first indication we will probably look at is imagingbone marrow."

Dr. David Goldenberg, company chairman, said that in a positiveimage of a patient's bone marrow, cold spots could indicatecancer as a result of metastasis, or the spread of breast orprostate cancer to the marrow.

Immunomedics shares lost 13 cents to close at $10. -- KH

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