Applied Genetics News articles from August 1999

Applied Genetics News archives from August 1999

BASIC SCIENCE: Transgenic Mice Develop Alzheimer's.
August 1, 1999... Transgenic experiments led by Bruce Lamb of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (Cleveland, OH) have resulted in the development of an engineered mouse line that exhibit the pathological characteristics of Alzheimer's disease. A...

Turning Good Cells Bad.
August 1, 1999... Robert Weinberg and colleagues at MIT's Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in a paper published in the July 29 issue of Nature, show how to make a good human cell cancerous in three defined steps. Cancer cells have previously been...

Human Stem Cells Mature in Rat Brain.
August 1, 1999... In a paper published in the July issue of Neuroscience, researchers from Harvard Medical School, Lund University (Sweden) and CytoTherapeutics, Inc. (Two Richmond Square, Providence, RI 02096; Tel: 401/272-3310, Fax: 401/272-3485), report that...

Hodgkin's Lymphoma Source Cell Discovered.
August 1, 1999... Using brute-force sequencing techniques, Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI, 9410 Key West Ave., Rockville, MD 20850; Tel: 301/309-8504, Fax: 301/309-8512), in collaboration with an international group of scientists, has identified the B-cell...

GENOMICS: Knock-out Yeast Library Created.
August 1, 1999... The Saccharomyces Genome Deletion Project, an international consortium led by Stanford University researchers, has created a library of 2,026 mutant yeast strains, each with a single gene deleted. Eventually, they hope to create 6,000 yeast...

Narcolepsy Gene Identified in Dogs.
August 1, 1999... Scientists led by Emmanuel Mignot, associate professor of psychiatry at Stanford University school of medicine, used positional cloning to identify a defective gene in dogs that causes narcolepsy. Dogs are one of the few species, aside from...

Anti-Angiogenic Proteins Discovered.
August 1, 1999... A collaboration between UCLA scientists and Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (HGSI, 9410 Key West Ave., Rockville, MD 20850; Tel: 301/309-8504, Fax: 301/309-8512) has resulted in the discovery of two new human proteins that inhibit the formation of...

Tree of Life Gets New Branches.
August 1, 1999... According to the Deep Green Phylogenetic Project, a consortium of 200 scientists from 12 countries, the plant kingdom actually consists of 4 different kingdoms. Their results, based on an analysis of 18S RNA and the chloroplast rbcL gene...

Gene Found for Tangier Disease.
August 1, 1999... Two different groups have independently identified the gene responsible for Tangier disease, a severe form of familial hypercholesteremia. One group was comprised of researchers from Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Inc., 500 Arcola...

Laser-Based PCR Patented.
August 1, 1999... Cell Robotics International, Inc. (2715 Broadbent Pkwy. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107; Tel: 505/343-1131, Fax: 505/344-8112) has announced an allowance by the U.S. patent office for a patent to perform polymerase chain reactions using infrared...

GENE THERAPY: Lentivirus Vectors with Safety Feature.
August 1, 1999... Cell Genesys, Inc. (342 Lakeside Dr., Foster City, CA 94404; Tel: 650/425-4400, Fax: 650/358-0803) has developed a third-generation lentiviral gene delivery system with improved safety for patients at risk of developing HIV infection. The new...

Universal Tumor Suppressor Licensed.
August 1, 1999... Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (301 Congress Ave., Suite 1850, Austin, TX 78701; Tel: 512/320-5010, Fax: 512/320-4166) has acquired a worldwide exclusive license for use of the "universal" tumor suppressor gene mda7 in gene therapy from Corixa...

CELL THERAPY: Spheramine Treats Primate Parkinson's.
August 1, 1999... Titan Pharmaceuticals (400 Oyster Point Blvd., Suite 505, South San Francisco, CA 94080; Tel: 415/244-4990, Fax: 415/244-4956) announced positive interim results after three months in a study in which its cell therapy, Spheramine, was used in...

Cord Blood Alliance Formed.
August 1, 1999... Cryo-Cell International, Inc. (3165 McMullen Booth Rd., Building B, Clearwater, FL 33761; Tel: 727/723-0333, Fax: 727/723-0444) has signed a 20 year exclusive agreement with Cancer Group Institute, LLC with an initial focus on informing...

ANTIBODIES: Antibody Protection Against Bio Weapons.
August 1, 1999... Abgenix, Inc. (7601 Dumbarton Circle, Fremont, CA 94555; Tel: 510/608- 6500, Fax: 510/608-6511) will collaborate with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRID, Fort Detrick, MD) to develop antibodies as...

Graft vs. Host Disease Trial.
August 1, 1999... MedImmune, Inc. (35 West Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD 20878; Tel: 301/417-0770, Fax: 301/527-4200, Website: www.medimmune.com) and BioTransplant, Inc.(Bldg. 75, Third Ave., Charlestown Navy Yard, Charlestown, MA 02120; Tel: 617/241-5200,...

VACCINES AND ANTI-INFECTIVES Edible Vaccines Win Patent.
August 1, 1999... ProdiGene, Inc. (101 Gateway Blvd., Suite 100, College Station, TX 77845; Tel: 409/690-8537, Fax: 409/690-952, Website: www.prodigene.com) has received a patent covering vaccines produced in genetically engineered plants for hepatitis and...

New Hepatitis Virus Found.
August 1, 1999... DiaSorin, Inc. (1990 Industrial Blvd., PO Box 285, Stillwater, MN; Tel: 651/439-9710, 800/328-1482, Fax: 651/779-7847, Website: www.diasorin.com), the medical systems division of American Standards Companies, Inc. (ASD) has reported the...

Infant Vaccination for Rotavirus Suspended.
August 1, 1999... On July 15, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics announced that all vaccination of infants with the RotaShield rotavirus vaccine manufactured by Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals (555 E. Lancaster Rd., St....

Oral Cholera Vaccine Launched.
August 1, 1999... SBL Vaccin, a subsidiary of Active Biotech (Lund, Sweden; Tel: 46-46- 19-20-00; Contact: Sven Andreasson, president) has received a $2 million order, its first, for its new oral Cholera Vaccine SBL, which has been recommended by the World...

ENZYMES: Diversa to Develop Industrial Enzymes.
August 1, 1999... Rhone-Poulenc Animal Nutrition (RPAN, Lyon, France), a subsidiary of Rhone-Poulenc SA (25 Quai Paul Doumer, 92408 Courbevoie Cedex, France; Tel: 212/815-2190) and Diversa Corp. (10665 Sorrento Valley Rd., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel:...

Synthetic Mimetics of Superoxide Dismutase.
August 1, 1999... Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Incara Pharmaceuticals Corp. (3200 East Hwy. 54, Suite 300, PO Box 1428, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709; Tel: 919/558-8688, Fax: 919/558-8686), has received a notice of allowance of a U.S. patent for...

Angiozyme in Clinical Trials.
August 1, 1999... Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (RPI, 2950 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301; Tel 303/449-6500, Fax: 303/449-6995) and Chiron Corp. (4560 Horton St., Emeryville, CA 94608; Tel: 510/655-8730, Fax: 510/665-9910, Website: www.chiron.com) have...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Biotech's on an Acquisition Binge.
August 1, 1999... Consolidation of biotechnology industry accelerated in the last month with a spate of mergers and acquisitions announced. The largest deal belonged to Johnson & Johnson (One Johnson & Johnson Plaza New Brunswick, NJ 08933; Tel: 732/524-0400,...

Drug Target Alliance Formed.
August 1, 1999... Celera Genomics, Inc. (45 West Gude Dr., Rockville, MD 20850; Tel: 240/453-3000, Fax: 240/453-3900, Website: www.celera.com), a PE Corp. business, has entered into a three year gene discovery agreement with Rhone-Poulenc Rorer (500 Arcola Rd.,...

Soluble Complement Receptor Licensed.
August 1, 1999... Novartis Pharma AG (PO Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland; Tel: +41 61 324 2476, Fax: 41 61 324-3300, Website: www.novartis.com) has exercised its option to license TP10, a complement inhibitor developed by Avant Immunotherapeutics (119 Fourth...

AG-BIO: Chimeraplasty Works in Plants.
August 1, 1999... Two articles in the July issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences report results on the potential agricultural applications of chimeraplasty, a gene-tailoring technique developed by Kimeragen, Inc. (300 Pheasant Run,...

Functional Genomics Company Established.
August 1, 1999... Agritope, Inc. (Portland, OR) and Rhone Poulenc Agro (Lyon, France), a division of Rhone-Poulenc SA (25 Quai Paul Doumer, 92408 Courbevoie Cedex, France; Tel: 212/815-2190), have formed a 50:50 joint venture called Agrinomics, LLC to commence...

From Oncology to Agriculture.
August 1, 1999... Genzyme Molecular Oncology (One Mountain Rd., Framingham, MA 01701- 9322; Tel: 508/271-2627, Fax: 508/271-2604) has entered into several agreements that extend the application of its serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) technology to...

No to GM Baby-Food.
August 1, 1999... In response to consumer concerns and Greenpeace pressure, baby food maker Gerber products will eliminate genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans from its products. In June, Greenpeace reported the presence of transgenic DNA in Gerber's...

Herbicide Resistant Corn for Argentina.
August 1, 1999... American Cyanamid Co. (1 Campus Dr., Parsipanny, N.J. 07054-4404; Tel: 973/683-2000) and Argentina's Nidera Seeds will collaborate to develop high performance herbicide tolerant corn hybrids. With 8.25 million acres planted, corn is one of...

Apoptosis Plant Protection Program.
August 1, 1999... Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (11085 N. Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037; Tel: 619/623-1330) has initiated a research program to investigate the use of non-plant genes to modulate the cell death pathways of plants to protect them against...

CALENDAR.
August 1, 1999... September 13-14, Advances in Anti-Viral Drugs and Anti-Virus Vaccine Technologies, London, U.K. Contact: SMI Conferences, No 1 Concordia Wharf, Mill St., London SE1, U.K.; Tel; 0171/2522222, Fax: 0171/2522272 September 29-October 1,...