Applied Genetics News articles from April 1999

Applied Genetics News archives from April 1999

GENE THERAPY: Vector Transfers Genes to Bone Marrow.(Cell Genesys, Inc's lentivirus vectors)(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Cell Genesys, Inc. (342 Lakeside Dr., Foster City, CA 94404; Tel: 650/425-4400, Fax: 650/358-0803), in collaboration with scientists from Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Markey Cancer Center of the University of Kentucky, has...

Guided Catheter Gene Delivery.(Biosense using a Biosense guided catheter to deliver a RPR's FGF1 gene therapy product)(Technology Information)
April 1, 1999... Biosense, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (One Johnson & Johnson Plaza, New Brunswick, NJ 08933; Tel: 732/524-0400, Fax: 732/214- 0332), will collaborate with RPR Gencell, a division of Rhone Poulenc Rorer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (500 Arcola...

GeneMedicine Wins SBIR Grants.(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... GeneMedicine, Inc. (8301 New Trails Dr., The Woodlands, TX; Tel: 281/364-1150, Fax: 281/361-0858, Website: gmed.com) was awarded two small business innovation research (SBIR) grants totaling $790,691 by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)...

Cystic Fibrosis Trial Looks Promising.(Targeted Genetics Corp's testing of tgAAV-CF, the company's gene therapy product)(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Targeted Genetics Corp. (1100 Olive Way, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98101; Tel: 206/623-7612, Fax: 206/223-0288) has announced positive findings from a phase I/II clinical trial of tgAAV-CF, the company's gene therapy product for the treatment of...

Gene Transfer Makes Hearts Beat Stronger.(Technology Information)
April 1, 1999... In an article published in the current issue of the journal Circulation by Collateral Therapeutics (9360 Towne Centre Dr., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 619/824-6500, Fax: 619/824-6563), founder H. Kirk Hammond supports the viability of gene...

tPA Gene Therapy Clears Clots.(Stanford researchers' novel method for delivering tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to blocked leg arteries)(Technology Information)
April 1, 1999... Stanford researchers (Contact: Ruthan Richter; Tel: 650/723-6912, Email: richter1@stanford.edu) have devised a novel method for delivering tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to blocked leg arteries, restoring blood flow to the damaged vessels....

GENOMICS: Diet-Induced Obesity Gene Cloned.(Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Stanford University research first gene that suppresses diet-induced obesity)(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Researchers from Millennium Pharmaceuticals (640 Memorial Dr., Cambridge, MA 02139; Tel: 617/679-7000, Fax: 617/374-9379) and Stanford University (Contact: Kristin Weidenbach, 650/723-0272, Email: kristin.weidenbach@stanford.edu) have...

Type 2 Diabetes Mutation Identified.(John P. Robarts Research Institute)(Technology Information)
April 1, 1999... Researchers from the John P. Robarts Research Institute (London, Ontario) have discovered a genetic mutation that correlates with increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes in a northern Canadian aboriginal group, the Oji-Cree people. The...

MTHFR Gene Linked to Atherosclerosis.(Variagenics, Inc has acquired exclusive rights to the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes)(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Variagenics, Inc. (Cambridge, MA; Contact: Fred Ledley; Tel: 617/588-5300) has acquired exclusive rights to the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes from McGill University (Montreal, Canada)....

Coagulation Factor Wins U.S. Approval.(Novo Nordisk wins FDA approval to market NovoSeven coagulation factor)(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Novo Nordisk (Novo Alle DK-2880, Bagsvaerd, Denmark; Tel: 212/867- 0123, Fax: 212/867-0298, Website: www.novo.dk) has received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to market NovoSeven coagulation factor VIIa (recombinant) for the...

BIOMANUFACTURING Pharming to Build Milk Drug Plant.(Pharming Group NV wins a EUR$2.7 million grant from the government of Flanders to expand Pharming's facilities in Geel, Belgium)(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Pharming Group NV (Leiden, The Netherlands, PHAR) has been awarded a EUR$2.7 million grant from the government of Flanders to expand Pharming's facilities in Geel, Belgium, including a plant for the purification of biopharmaceuticals produced...

FibroGen and Zeneca Scale-Up Collagen.(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... FibroGen, Inc., (South San Francisco, CA; Tel: 650/886-7362, Website: www.fibrogen.com, Email: info@fibrogen.com) a privately- held biotechnology company, and its subsidiary FibroGen Europe, Ltd. are collaborating with Zeneca LifeScience...

ANTIBODIES: Patent Awarded for "Abtides".(Cytogen Corp's proprietary human antigen)(Product Information)
April 1, 1999... Cytogen Corp. (600 College Rd. East, CN 5308, Princeton, NJ 08540; Tel: 609/750-8200, Fax: 609/452-2975, Website: www.cytogen.com) has been awarded U.S. Patent 5,885,577 titled "Antigen Binding Peptides (abtides) Form Peptide Libraries." The...

EGF Receptor MAb in Phase III Trials.(ImClone Systems, Inc's C225 monoclonal antibody)(Product Information)
April 1, 1999... After a successful meeting with the FDA, ImClone Systems, Inc. (180 Varick St., New York, NY 10014; Tel: 212/645-1405, Fax: 212/645-2054, Website: www.imclone.com) will initiate a phase III clinical trial to treat patients with advanced...

ABX-EGF Eradicates Tumors.(Abgenix, Inc's human monoclonal antibody)(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... Abgenix, Inc. (7601 Dumbarton Circle, Fremont, CA 94555; Tel: 510/608-6500, Fax: 510/608-6511) has published a report in Cancer Research [59(6)] on preclinical results of studies that employed its human monoclonal antibody, ABX-EGF, against...

Zenapax Effective Against Acute GvH.(Protein Design Labs's Zenapax)(Product Information)
April 1, 1999... Protein Design Labs (34801 Campus Dr., Fremont, CA 94555; Tel: 510/574-1400) has released results of a phase II trial of Zenapax (daclizumab) for the treatment of patients with acute graft versus host (GvH) disease. Zenapax is a humanized...

EPIcyte Awarded Plantibodies Grants.(Company Business and Marketing)
April 1, 1999... EPIcyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (San Diego) has been awarded two phase I SBIR awards from the NIH and a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) research grant from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. All three grants revolve...

Anti-CD40 Ligand Combats Lupus.(Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp.'s IDEC-131)(Product Information)
April 1, 1999... Idec Pharmaceuticals Corp.'s (11011 Torreyana Rd., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 619/550-8500, Fax: 619/550-8750) IDEC-131 targets the CD40 ligand (a.k.a. gp39 or CD154) transiently expressed on activated T cells. The CD40 ligand molecules...

VACCINES: Corixa Patents Her-2/Neu Therapy.(Corixa Corp's microsphere-encapsulated Her- 2/neu peptide vaccines)(Technology Information)
April 1, 1999... Corixa Corp. (1124 Columbia St., Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98104; Tel: 206/754-5711, Fax: 206/ 54-5715, Website: www.corixa.com) has been issued U.S. Patent 5,876,712 covering methods for ex vivo immunization of patients with tumors that bear...

Jet Injection of DNA Vaccines.(Powderject Pharmaceuticals' PowderJectjet injection system)(Product Information)
April 1, 1999... Powderject Pharmaceuticals (Oxford, England) and its subsidiary PowderJect Vaccines, Inc.(Madison, WI) recently completed a human clinical trial using its PowderJectjet injection system to deliver a DNA based vaccine, while another trial is...

Fast-Track for Pneumococcal Vaccine.
April 1, 1999... Wyeth Lederle Vaccines' investigational seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in children has been given the designation for "fast- track" development by the FDA. Wyeth Lederle is a...

Vaccine Prevents Animal Infertility.
April 1, 1999... Preclinical studies by Antex Biologics, Inc. (300 Professional Dr., Gaithersburg, MD 20879; Tel: 301/590-0129, Fax: 301/590-0731) showed that its chlamydia vaccine generated a cellular and humoral immune response in animals and protected...

Melanoma Vaccine Trials Begin.
April 1, 1999... Genzyme Molecular Oncology (One Mountain Rd., Framingham, MA 01701-9322; Tel: 508/271-2627, Fax: 508/271-2604) has initiated a phase I/II clinical trial to assess the safety, efficacy, and potency of a cancer vaccine for melanoma. The vaccine...

Leishmania Protein Functions as Adjuvant.
April 1, 1999... Corixa Corp. (1124 Columbia St., Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98104; Tel: 206/754-5711, Fax: 206/ 54-5715, Website: www.corixa.com) has been issued three patents covering Corixa's proprietary vaccine adjuvant protein known as Leishmania elongation...

HORMONES: Repligen Acquires Autism Treatment.
April 1, 1999... Repligen Corp. (117 Fourth Ave., Needham, MA 02494; Tel: 781/449- 9560, Fax: 781/453-0048) has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to patent applications from Victoria Beck and the Autism Research Institute for the use of secretin, a natural...

Amgen to Sell GnRH Antagonist.
April 1, 1999... Amgen (One Amgen Center Dr., Thousand Oaks, CA 91320; Tel: 805/447-1000, Fax: 805/447-1010, Website: www.amgen.com) and Praecis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Cambridge, MA, Contact: Susan Schumacher, 617/587-2921) will collaborate on the...

Vaccination Equivalent to Surgical Castration.
April 1, 1999... In an ongoing phase I/II clinical trial in patients with advanced prostate cancer, a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH ) vaccine made by Apthon Corp. (444 Brickell Ave., Miami, FL; Tel: 305/374- 7338, Fax: 305/374-7615, Website:...

ENZYMES: Hercules, Kairos Make Pact.
April 1, 1999... Hercules, Inc. (Hercules Plaza, 1313 North Market St., Wilmington, DE 19894; Tel: 302/594-5000, Fax: 302/594-5400, Website: www.herc.com. Contact: Bill Drury; Tel: 302/594-5800, Email: wdrury@herc.com) and Kairos Scientific (3350 Scott Blvd.,...

Transgenic Plants Develop Enzymes.
April 1, 1999... ProdiGene, Inc. (College Station, TX) and Genencor International, Inc. have expanded their collaboration to develop enzyme products utilizing transgenic plants. Under an existing agreement announced in 1997, Genencor had the option of...

More New Clot Busters.
April 1, 1999... The 48th Annual Scientific Section of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans heard reports on clinical trials of three new clot-busting drugs: lanoteplase--being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb (345 Park Ave., New York, NY 10154;...

AGBIOTECH: Pioneer Receives Gene Gun Patent.
April 1, 1999... Pioneer Hi-bred International, Inc. (800 Capital Sq., 400 Locust, Des Moines, IA 50309; Tel: 515/248-4800, Fax: 515/248-4999) has been issued U.S. Patent 5,886,244 covering a process for producing fertile and stably transformed corn plants....

DuPont Picks Up Pioneer.
April 1, 1999... DuPont (1007 Market St., Wilmington, DE 19898; Tel: 302/774-1000, Fax: 302/773-2631) and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (800 Capital Sq., 400 Locust, Des Moines, IA 50309; Tel: 515/248-4800, Fax: 515/248-4999) have signed a definitive...

Celera Genomics Makes Advances.
April 1, 1999... Celera Genomics (Website: www.celera.com), a subsidiary of Perkin Elmer (761 Main Ave., Norwalk, CT 06859; Tel: 203/762-1000, Fax: 203/762-6000, Website: www.perkin-elmer.com), recently announced two new developments regarding its agricultural...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Genzyme and Millennium Collaborate.
April 1, 1999... Genzyme Transgenics Corp. (Five Mountain Rd., Framingham, MA 01701; Tel: 508/620-9700, Fax: 508/872-9080) and Millennium Biotherapeutics (MBio), a majority-owned subsidiary of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (640 Memorial Dr., Cambridge, MA...

ImmuLogic Votes to Liquidate.
April 1, 1999... The latest casualty of attrition in the ranks of small biotechnology firms is ImmuLogic Pharmaceutical Corp. (610 Lincoln St., Waltham, MA 02154; Tel: 781/466-6000, Fax: 781/466-6010), whose board of directors recently voted to liquidate and...

BioStratum Gets $16 Million.
April 1, 1999... Karl Tryggvason, vice president of research and development, and co-founder of BioStratum, Inc. (2605 Meridian Pkwy., Suite 120, Durham, NC 27713; Tel: 919/572-6515, Fax: 919/544-5425, Email: info@biostratum.com) is directing a new $16 million...

CALENDAR.
April 1, 1999... April 20-22, 1999, 20th Annual Interphex, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, NY. Contact: Interphex '99, PO Box 561, Brookfield, IL 60513-0581; Tel: 888/334-8704 or 203/840-5648, Fax: 708/344-4444, Website:...