Biotech Week articles from December 2001

Biotech Week archives from December 2001

Enteric-Coated Didanosine Linked To Milder Gastrointestinal Effects.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A delayed-release version of the antiretroviral drug didanosine (ddI) is much easier on patients than the standard form of the drug, researchers in...

Inflammatory Marker Associates With Diabetes In Elderly.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - After looking for serum indicators associated with the risk for diabetes in senior citizens, a Georgia-based research team has decided the inflammatory marker...

Possible Neurohematopoietic Stem Cell Population Found.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in California have identified a population of cells that can act as both neural and hematopoietic stem cells. "It was recently reported that...

Lactoferrin Fights Off Cell-Associated Hepatitis.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - A recombinant form of the human breast milk protein lactoferrin can combat phagocytic liver cells sensitized to produce hepatitis. Thus far, lactoferrin...

Premier Databases To Support FDA Drug Safety Surveillance.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- To improve its knowledge about the use and effects of new drugs once they have reached the market, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will tap into the most extensive hospital database in the...

Immunomedics Licenses Labeling Technology For Clot Imaging Agent.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immunomedics, Inc., (IMMU) has licensed its proprietary method of directly labeling antibodies with technetium-99m (Tc-99m) to AGEN Biomedical, Ltd., of Australia for nonexclusive worldwide use with its...

AGY Therapeutics Establishes Scientific Advisory Board.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AGY Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company, has established a scientific advisory board (SAB) comprising some of the world's leading neuroscience and molecular biology experts, including a...

Antex Completes Department of Defense Vaccine Grant.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antex Biologics, Inc., announced it has completed work funded by a U.S. Army small business innovation research (SBIR) grant on the development of an oral microbead vaccine to protect U.S. troops...

Bio-Rad Test Selected For Nationwide Screening Program.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will use the Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., bovine spongiform encephalopathy tests in a large-scale screening program. Japan will test all cattle destined for...

NPS Pharmaceuticals Earns Milestone For Development Of ALX-0646.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (NPSP) has earned a $1 million milestone payment from Forest Laboratories as a result of the achievement of certain events related to Forest's preclinical work with ALX-0646...

Gemin X Reports In Vivo Efficacy of Viral Death Protein in Cancer.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gemin X Biotechnologies, Inc., has announced that their novel E4orf4 viral death protein was shown to selectively induce apoptosis in several types of cancer cells in vitro and significantly retard...

Gary Hooper Named Vice President Of Business Development For Bioproducts.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gary Hooper has been appointed vice president, business development for bioproducts at Genencor International, Inc. (GCOR). In his role, Hooper will guide the company's business strategy for the...

Software Program Receives FDA Approval As Device To Aid Conception.
December 5, 2001... 2001 DEC 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Toni Weschler, MPH, fertility expert and author, and Ovusoft, LLC, have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of TCOYF Fertility Planning Software. TCOYF is the first FDA-approved...

Drug Terminates Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia With Fewer Side Effects.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CV Therapeutics, Inc., announced the presentation of results from a retrospective analysis comparing the proarrhythmic effects of adenosine and CVT-510, a selective A1 adenosine receptor agonist. ...

Antisense Therapy May Enhance Effects Of Chemotherapy.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antisense therapy shows promise in attacking two types of breast cancer and can enhance the effects of standard chemotherapy, according to a study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and...

Phase III Study of Tifacogin In Severe Sepsis Fails To Reduce Mortality.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation has announced the results of its Phase III trial, OPTIMIST, for the evaluation of tifacogin in severe sepsis. The results from the trial indicate that tifacogin did not meet the...

Overlooked Chaperone Protein Strongly Immunogenic.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Europe say that the mycobacterial chaperone protein Cpn 60.1 may be more potent that the better-known Cpn 60.2. "Much attention has focused...

EcoNail Technology Holds Potential For Revolutionizing Treatment.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- EcoNail, an investigational, lacquer-based topical antifungal treatment incorporating MacroChem Corporation's SEPA technology, shows sixfold greater nail penetration by an antifungal drug than an...

Pexelizumab To Be Tested In Phase III Trial.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., confirmed that it is preparing to initiate a Phase III clinical trial of pexelizumab in approximately 3000 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery...

Grant Will Further Testing Of Orally Administered Interferon-(alpha).
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Amarillo Biosciences, Inc., (AMAR) has announced that its orally administered interferon-(alpha) will be tested as a treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) under an Advanced Technology...

CEP-1347 Increased Success Of Brain Cell Transplantation In Animal Models.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cephalon, Inc., announced that studies conducted by its development partner, H. Lundbeck A/S, demonstrate that CEP-1347 improves the survival of transplanted dopamine neurons in a preclinical model of...

Topical Antimicrobial Formula Tests Highly Effective Against Spore Bacteria.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- First Scientific, Inc., announced that it has successfully completed an initial round of testing against spore-forming bacteria that are similar to Bacillus anthracis, the cause of the acute and often...

Glycominds Completes $7.1 Million Private Placement.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Glycominds, Ltd., a biotechnology company pioneering new glycomics technologies for analyzing the interactions between complex carbohydrates (glycans) and proteins, has completed a $7.1 million private...

INGN 241 Gene Drug Selectively Induces Cancer Cell Death.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Introgen Therapeutics, Inc., announced the publication of a study describing bioinformatic and functional analyses of the mda-7 gene. Preclinical studies, related to INGN 241, Introgen's mda-7...

MediChem Reports Third Quarter Results.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MediChem Life Sciences, Inc., (MCLS) has reported its financial results for the third quarter and announced additional cost-saving measures that will significantly reduce its cash burn rate and bring...

Early Inflammatory Response Noted During Amyloid Deposition In Murine Model.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Neurochem, Inc., (NRM) presented new data early onset of inflammation as related to the amyloid deposition process in a transgenic mouse model for Alzheimer disease at the November 2001 31st Society...

NIH Grants Will Fund Research In Sonotherapy For Gene Therapy Applications.
December 12, 2001... 2001 DEC 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two U.S. National Institutes of Health-SBIR Phase II grants totaling $1.5 million have been awarded to PharmaSonics, Inc. The grants will enable continued development of the use of the company's...

Neonatal Vaccine Produces Antibody Response.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have found an HIV vaccine candidate that may protect newborn infants from vertical transmission of the virus. In a...

AIT-034 Restores Memory In Aged Animals.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- NeoTherapeutics, Inc., (NEOT) presented data at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, California, showing that its neurology compound AIT-034 restores memory in aged...

Synercid Effective Against Drug-Resistant Enterococcus.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States and Europe say that quinupristin/dalfopristin (Synercid, Aventis) can be used to treat patients with drug-resistant...

Activated Macrophage Cells Reduce Tumor Recurrence.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immuno-Designed Molecules, S.A. (IDM) confirmed that IDM-activated macrophage cells (MAK) have significantly reduced tumor recurrence in a Phase I/II clinical trial in superficial bladder cancer. ...

Radiofrequency Ablation Technology Effectively Relieves Pain.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- RITA Medical Systems, Inc., (RITA) of Mountain View, California, announced that preliminary results from an ongoing clinical study show that the its proprietary radiofrequency ablation technology...

Clinical Study Begins On Alternative To Traditional Procedure.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A clinical study measuring the efficacy of the VasClip, a tiny, locking clip that prevents the flow of sperm through the vas deferens, is under way. VMBC, LLC, the White Bear Lake, Minnesota,...

ABS Negotiates Anthrax And Smallpox Vaccine Agreement.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- American Biogenetic Sciences, Inc., (MABA, ABS) has negotiated a 10-year agreement with the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation covering human vaccines for anthrax, smallpox, botulism and...

Drug Study Suggests Tools That May Identify High-Risk Patients.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The recent publication of an important study showing that millions more people could benefit from cholesterol-lowering drugs than previously thought presents to pharmaceutical companies a suddenly...

Adenovector Safety Confirmed In Vitro and In Vivo.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Collateral Therapeutics, Inc., (CLTX) announced that preclinical in vitro and in vivo results reported in the December 2001 issue of Molecular Therapy showed that male reproductive cells (germ cells)...

Collaboration Aims For Tests To Detect vCJD And Mad Cow Disease.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gradipore (GDP) has entered into a development agreement with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) for the early detection of abnormal variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (vCJD) prions...

Promising Experimental Cancer Drug Opens New York Test Site.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- LifeTime Pharmaceuticals (LifeTime) and St. Vincent's Hospital, New York Medical College, announced the opening of a new Phase I/II clinical trial site in a continuing effort to test the promising...

Myriad Genetics Launches Predictive Medicine Business in Brazil.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Myriad Genetics, Inc., (MYGN) and Fleury Laboratories, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, have formed a collaboration to market Myriad's predictive medicine products throughout Brazil. Brazil, with a...

Arterial Stiffness Correlates With Atherosclerotic Build-Up.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A research team from Harbor-University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center reported a direct relationship between brachial artery elasticity, as measured by a noninvasive DynaPulse...

West Virginia Proteomics Center Signs Commercialization Agreement With Protea.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Protea Biosciences, Inc., has signed an agreement with the West Virginia University Research Corp. (WVURC) for the development and commercialization of discoveries made in the Core Proteomics...

Study Shows Pentostatin Is Useful As Part Of Less-Toxic Regimen.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SuperGen, Inc., (SUPG) announced that data from a study of its anticancer compound pentostatin (Nipent) shows that it is a major component of a novel, less-toxic regimen that also includes...

Third Wave Licenses Thousands Of Newly Discovered Gene Markers.
December 19, 2001... 2001 DEC 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Third Wave Technologies, Inc., (TWTI) has secured a worldwide license for research and clinical diagnostic applications to patents covering more than 3300 newly discovered genetic markers within...