Applied Genetics News articles from April 2000

Applied Genetics News archives from April 2000

CONFERENCE REPORT Record Attendance at BIO 2000.
April 1, 2000... The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) held its annual international meeting and exhibition, BIO 2000, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston from March 26-March 30, 2000. This year's conference almost doubled in size from the...

BASIC SCIENCE: Bitter Taste Receptors Identified.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Researchers from the laboratory of Howard Hughes investigator Charles Zuker at the University of California, San Diego and the laboratory of Nicholas Ryba at National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) as well as Luxin Feng...

Methylation Facilitates Tumor Progression.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... DNA methylation is normally a means used by cells to turn off the expression of genes that are needed. Inappropriate methylation has been now been found to facilitate cancer progression. The research was led by Christopher Plass, assistant...

GENOMICS: Human Genome Sequencing Completed.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Celera Genomics (761 Main Ave., Norwalk, CT 06859; Tel: 203/762-1000, Fax: 203/762-6000) has completed the sequencing phase of an individual human genome, several years ahead of the publicly funded Human Genome Project. The company will now...

Genetic Mutations Linked to Epilepsy.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2435; Tel: 734/764-2220, Fax: 734/615-2169, Website: www.med.umich.edu) scientists have found that mutations in a sodium channel gene may the cause of one or more types of inherited epilepsy. Their...

Correlating SNPs with Breast Cancer.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Celera Genomics (761 Main Ave., Norwalk, CT 06859; Tel: 203/762-1000, Fax: 203/762-6000) and City of Hope Cancer Center have entered a collaboration to investigate associations of genetic polymorphisms with breast cancer. Celera retains the...

Genetics and Genomics Channel on WebMD.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Healtheon/WebMD Corp. (400 The Lenox Bldg., 3399 Peachtree Rd., Atlanta, GA 30326; Tel: 404/479-7600, Fax: 404/479-7651, Website: www.www.webmd.com) and Kiva Genetics (2375 Garcia Ave, Mountain View, CA 94043; Tel: 650/210-3500, Website:...

Interleukin-1 Variations Increase Risk of Restenosis.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Individuals with specific variations in the interleukin-1 (IL-1) genes have an 81% increased risk of requiring retreatment after angioplasty procedures, according to a research study conducted by Albert Schomig and Adnan Kastrati in Munich and...

Olfactory Receptor Genes Identified.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Olfactory receptors are expressed in neurons of the olfactory epithelium and allow humans to detect and distinguish between smells. DigiScents, Inc. (Oakland, CA, Website: www.digiscents.com) and Clontech Laboratories, Inc. (1020 E. Meadow...

GENE THERAPY: DNA Editing Patent Granted.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Enzo Biochem, Inc. (60 Executive Blvd., Farmingdale, NY 11735; Tel: 516/755- 5500, Fax: 516/755-5569) has been granted a U.S. Patent 5,958,681 for a method of nucleic acid sequence editing. The patent claims a method and materials suitable for...

FGF-4 Helps Fix Damaged Hearts.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... A placebo-controlled preclinical study led by the H. Kirk Hammond, chief scientist of Collateral Therapeutics (9360 Towne Center Dr., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 619/824-6500, Fax: 619/ 824-6563), and M. Dan McKirnan, associate director of...

BIOMANUFACTURING: Peptides Harvested from Culture Medium.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Unigene Laboratories, Inc. (110 Little Falls Rd, Fairfield, NJ 07004-2913; Tel: 973/882-0860, Fax: 973/227-6088, Website: www.unigene.com) has received a notice of allowance--or its U.S. patent application--describing its enhanced production...

CLONING: Pigs Cloned for the First Time.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... he frch 5, 2000 was the birthday of five little pigs, all healthy, the first ever born as a result of nuclear transfer (cloning) using adult cells. PPL Therapeutics, Inc. (Roslin, Scotland EH25 9PP U.K.; Tel: 44 131 440 4777, Midlothian; Fax:...

Some Pigs Are More Equal Than Others.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Pigs are being engineered to be more and more like people. BioTransplant, Inc. (Building 75, Third Ave., Charlestown Navy Yard, Charlestown, MA 02120; Tel: 617/241-5200, Fax: 617/241-8780) and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have been...

CELL THERAPY: Replicating Bone Forming Cells.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. (24 Frank Lloyd Wright Dr., PO Box 376, Ann Arbor, MI 48106; Tel: 313/930-5555, Fax: 313/665-0485) has initiated a program to develop its cell production technology and AastromReplicell system in the treatment of bone...

Preventing Bone Marrow Transplant Relapse.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... At the recent European bone marrow transplant meeting (Innsbruck, Austria) Eligix, Inc. (20 Hampden St., Roxbury, MA 02119; Tel: 617/989-0990, Fax: 617/989-0404) reported the results of the phase I/II study showing that selective depletion of...

Dermagraft Stimulates Angiogenesis in Hearts.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Advanced Tissue Sciences, Inc., (10933 North Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037-1005; Tel: 619/450-5730, Fax: 619/455-6455) in conjunction with researchers from the University of Arizona, showed that Dermagraft, a living artificial skin...

ANTIBODIES: Anti-Angiogenic Therapy Reduces Tumors.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... ImClone Systems, Inc.(180 Varick St., New York, NY 10014 ; Tel: 212/645-1405, Fax: 212/645-2054, Website: www.imclone.com) released preclinical data on its anti-VEGFr monoclonal antibody. The company's monoclonal antibody targets a receptor of...

Anti-Properdin Antibody Reduces Inflammation.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Gliatech, Inc. (23420 Commerce Park Rd., Cleveland, OH 44122; Tel: 216/831-3200, Fax: 216/831-4220) scientists have obtained data showing that an anti-properdin monoclonal antibody (MoAb) is effective at reducing inflammation in a rabbit model...

VACCINES AND ANTI-INFECTIVES Melanoma Vaccine Found Effective.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... At the 91st annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, ImClone Systems, Inc. (180 Varick St., New York, NY 10014; Tel: 212/645-1405, Fax: 212/645-2054, Website: www.imclone.com) released positive preclinical data on its...

Papilloma Vaccine to Be Developed.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Schering AG (13342 Berlin, Germany; Tel: 30-468-1111, Fax: 30-468-15305, Website: www.schering.de) and MediGene AG (Lochhamer Str. 11, Munchen (Munich) 821; Tel: 089-895-00033) have formed an alliance to develop and commercialize MediGene's...

Telomerase Used as Cancer Vaccine.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Researchers from the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Cancer Center are investigating the use of telomerase as a universal cancer vaccine. Telomerase, an enzyme that maintains normal chromosome length during cell replication, is possibly...

New Drug Target for Antibiotics.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Antex Pharma, Inc., a subsidiary of Antex Biologics, Inc. (300 Professional Dr., Gaithersburg, MD 20879; Tel: 301/590-0129, Fax: 301/590-0731) in collaboration with the Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) Toronto, Canada, has explored the use of...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Human Genome Sciences Gets into Peptides.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI, 9410 Key West Ave., Rockville, MD 20850; Tel: 301/309-8504, Fax: 301/309-8512) looks to get in the business of peptide drugs in a big way. The company has entered a 10 year agreement with Dyax Corp. (625...

Novalon Acquired by Karo Bio.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Karo Bio AB (Huddinge, Sweden; Tel: + 46 8 608 60 20) is acquiring the American biotechnology company Novalon Pharmaceutical Corp. (Durham, NC) through a non- cash issue. Novalon shareholders will own 20% of Karo after the acquisition. ...

HORMONES AND CYTOKINES Alternative Protein Export Pathway.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Scientists at Ciblex Corp. (11025 Roselle St., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 619/546-7848, Fax: 619/546-7596, Website: www.ciblex.com) have identified a protein sequence that permits fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) to exit cancer cells and...

Causing Genetic Anxiety in Mice.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... In three articles published in the April 2000 issue of the journal Nature Genetics, three independent groups of researchers report that Crhr2 (corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor-2), which is found in pituitary gland tissue and in other...

AG-BIO: New Mode of Crop Protection Offered.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... EDEN Bioscience (11816 N. Creek Pkwy., Bothell, WA 98011; Tel: 425/806-7300) has introduced Messenger, billed as an effective and environmentally sound tool for plant disease management; plant growth enhancement; and insect, mite, and nematode...

Rice Genome Mapped.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... Researchers at the University of Washington directed by Leroy Hood and George Mahiras, under the sponsorship of Monsanto Co. (800 North Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167; Tel: 314/694-1000, Fax: 314/694-7625, Website: www.monsanto.com),...

CALENDAR.
April 1, 2000... June 12-13, Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery and Development Conference, Princeton, NJ. Contact: Strategic Research Institute; Tel: 212/967-0095 X251, Email: jliong@srinstitute.com . July 17-21, New Gene Discovery, Innsbruck, Austria. Contact:...

Link Between Heart Disease, Infection.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2000... The pravastatin or atorvastatin evaluation and infection therapy (PROVE IT) trial will compare the effects of Pravachol versus Lipitor in reducing the risk of heart attacks and other cardiac events. pmddition, the trial will examine the role...