BioWorld International articles from September 2001

BioWorld International archives from September 2001

Singapore plans extensive biotech facilities investment.(Biopolis development)
September 26, 2001... SYDNEY, Australia -- The government of Singapore is expected to spend S$300 million (US$130 million) on biotechnology and biomedical facilities as part of a major science park it is planning to build on reclaimed land outside the city. The...

European Commissioners call for leadership on GMO issue. (European Union Roundup).(genetically modified organisms)
September 26, 2001... BRUSSELS, Belgium -- At an informal meeting of European Union agriculture ministers here last week, two European commissioners repeated the Commission's call for "political leadership" on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Franz...

Unrelated gene can successfully treat muscular dystrophy model.
September 26, 2001... LONDON -- While many attempts at gene therapy involve replacing a defective gene with a similar but healthy one, researchers in Switzerland have shown that a completely different gene may work just as well -- so long as it has the same effect....

EuroProteome raises EUR9.5M to fund work in cancer proteins.
September 26, 2001... BORNHEIM, Germany -- EuroProteome AG completed its second financing round, raising EUR9.5 million (US$8.77 million). With the proceeds, Hennigsdorf, Germany-based proteome research specialist EuroProteome plans to fuel the growth of staff...

ReNeuron signs second deal, says production snags continue.(ReNeuron Holdings PLC signs contract for stem cell usage)
September 26, 2001... LONDON -- ReNeuron Holdings plc said it signed a second agreement with a U.S. company, to use its neural stem cells as a tool for drug discovery, and it said it has not solved the production problems with its cell lines that have held back the...

Acambis PLC. (Other News To Note).(reports progress in vaccine trials)
September 26, 2001... * Acambis plc, of Cambridge, UK, announced advances in three projects last week with success in a Phase II trial of its vaccine against Japanese encephalitis (JE), the selection of a candidate against West Nile encephalitis, and rapid progress...

Australian Federal Parliamentary. (Other News To Note).(committee allows stem cell harvesting from left over in vitro fertilization embryos)
September 26, 2001... * An Australian Federal Parliamentary committee has declared that Australian scientists should be allowed to use stem cells harvested from embryos left over from in vitro fertilization procedures. But the committee also recommended a three-year...

Biovector Therapeutics reworks business to focus on delivery.
September 26, 2001... PARIS -- Biovector Therapeutics has completed a strategic restructuring under new management with the aim of focusing on its core business of developing innovative drug delivery systems. It brings to an end nearly two years of upheaval at...

Autogen patents 30 genes linked to diabetes, obesity.
September 26, 2001... SYDNEY, Australia -- Autogen Ltd. said it patented 30 genes identified with diabetes and obesity and is systematically investigating them for possible treatment leads for those diseases. The Melbourne-based company said the research, done...

MPB Cologne opposes patent covering antibody production.(EP 497 904 "plantibody patent")
September 26, 2001... BORNHEIM, Germany -- MPB Cologne GmbH filed opposition to the "plantibody patent" (EP 497 904) at the European Patent Office. The patent family covers production of glycosylated antibodies in plants. "We consider this platform a public...

Sciona granted UK patent covering 2,500 gene variants.
September 26, 2001... LONDON -- Sciona Ltd. has been granted a UK patent for its gene profiling system for detecting variants in 2,500 genes, which it claims are responsible for how individuals respond to drugs. The 2,500 single nucleotide polymorphisms...

Cambridge Antibody Technology PLC and MorphoSys AG. (Other News To Note).(no progress in patent suit)
September 26, 2001... * Cambridge Antibody Technology plc and MorphoSys AG are seeing their patent battle wind on, with CAT last week filing a further suit against MorphoSys in Washington D.C., alleging infringement of two of its patents. This followed the issuing...

GeneScan Europe AG. (Other News To Note).(reduces sales expectations)
September 26, 2001... * GeneScan Europe AG, of Freiburg, Germany, reduced its sales expectations for 2001 from EUR25 million to EUR19 million. According to preliminary calculations for 2001, GeneScan's sales revenues will rise by approximately 60 percent compared to...

InterCell Biomedical Research and Development AG. (Other News To Note).(receives license for infectious disease vaccines)
September 26, 2001... * InterCell biomedical research and Development AG, of Vienna, Austria, licensed from the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, which is funded by the UK government, an antigen discovery technology for the development of vaccines...

MediGene AG. (Other News To Note).(given patent for use of bacterial artificial chromosomes)
September 26, 2001... * MediGene AG, of Martinsried, Germany, was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,277,621, which broadly covers the use of bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs)for generating recombinant viruses for research and therapeutic purposes. BACs may help in...

Oxford GlycoSciences PLC. (Other News To Note).(announces progress in Phase III trial of OGT 918 for Gaucher disease treatment)
September 26, 2001... * Oxford GlycoSciences plc, of Abingdon, UK, announced further data in the long-term follow-up in a Phase III trial of OGT 918 in the treatment of Gaucher disease. The data, covering 18 patients who continued taking OGT 918 at the end of first...

PPL Therapeutics PLC. (Other News To Note).(issues shares and searches for replacement for Managing Director Ron James)
September 26, 2001... * PPL Therapeutics plc, of Edinburgh, UK, finally announced its rights issue to raise 30 million [pounds sterling] (US$44 million) after delays caused by the effects of the terrorist attacks in New York. The company also said it is looking for...

Prolifix Ltd. (Other News To Note).(and Imperial College in London awarded grant for antifungal research)
September 26, 2001... * Prolifix Ltd., of Abingdon, UK, and academic partner Imperial College, London, were awarded a 308,000 [pounds sterling] (US$452,700) grant for the discovery of novel antifungals. In the two-year project, scientists at Imperial College will...

Protagen AG. (Other News To Note).(has collaboration with Proteome Systems Ltd.)
September 26, 2001... * Protagen AG, of Bochum, Germany, and Proteome Systems Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, entered a collaboration involving exchange of expertise in the area of analysis of post-translational modifications of proteins. The companies also expect...

Schering AG. (Other News To Note).(signs agreement with BioLeads GmbH)
September 26, 2001... * Schering AG, of Berlin, signed a research and license agreement with Heidelberg, Germany-based bioLeads GmbH related to potential drug compounds derived from microbial strains. BioLeads plans to provide pre-purified subfractions from...

SR Pharma PLC. (Other News To Note).(AVAC asthma immunotherapeutic safety trial receives positive results)
September 26, 2001... * SR Pharma plc, of London, announced positive results in a Phase I safety trial of its asthma immunotherapeutic AVAC, saying there were no major adverse effects. AVAC was administered as nasal drops and subjects continued to take their usual...

Wilex AG. (Other News To Note).(begins study of WX-UK1 anti-metastatic drug)
September 26, 2001... * Wilex AG, of Munich, Germany, started a Phase I study with its anti-metastatic drug candidate WX-UK1, a small-molecule inhibitor of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) known to play a critical role in tumor metastasis. Ongoing...

Vernalis shares fall on word of possible lead-drug fallout.(Vernalis Group PLC)
September 26, 2001... LONDON -- Shares in Vernalis Group plc fell by 46 percent last week after it said financial prospects are "heavily dependent on a successful outcome" of the FDA's review of its lead product, frovatriptan. If either this approval, or the...