Applied Genetics News articles from December 1998

Applied Genetics News archives from December 1998

BIOPROCESSING: Genentech Builds Largest Biotech Plant.
December 1, 1998... Genentech (1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080; Tel: 650/225- 1000, Fax: 650/225-8326) recently dedicated the world's largest factory for the manufacture of biotechnology products, a 310,000 sq. ft. facility (Vacaville, CA) expected to...

GENE THERAPY: Therapies for Hemophilia Advance.
December 1, 1998... Two types of hemophilia are being addressed by gene therapy. Transkaryotic Therapies (TT, 195 Albany St., Cambridge, MA 02139; Tel: 617/349-0200, Fax: 617/491-7903) has begun the first clinical trial evaluating gene therapy for hemophilia A....

p53 Gene Therapy Studies Reported.
December 1, 1998... Schering-Plough Research Institute, the research arm of Schering- Plough Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (One Giralda Farms, Madison, NJ 07940; Tel: 973/822-7000, Fax: 973/822-7082) reported interim results from ongoing Phase I clinical studies of its...

Mitokor, Pfizer Work on Mitochondria R&D.
December 1, 1998... Mitokor, Inc. (11494 Sorrento Valley Rd., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 760/793-7800, Fax: 760/741-3737, Website: www.mitokor.com) will work with Pfizer (235 East 42nd St., New York, NY,10017; Tel: 212/573-2323, Fax: 212/573-7851, Website:...

GENOMICS: Pharmacogenomics Sparks Collaboration.
December 1, 1998... Pharmacogenomics is the relatively new field concerned with assessing the effects of drugs on gene expression. Such studies are expected to play a large role in the selection of drug candidates in the future. The field's potential has been...

Myriad, Monsanto Team Up.
December 1, 1998... Myriad Genetics, Inc. (320 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108; Tel: 801/584-3600, Fax: 801/584-3640) and Monsanto have entered into a collaboration in which the latter will use Myriad's ProNet technology to discover and develop new...

High Bone Mass Genes Located.
December 1, 1998... Researchers from Creighton University's Osteoporosis Research Center, working in collaboration with Genome Therapeutics Corp. (100 Beaver St., Waltham, MA 02154; Tel: 781/398-2300, Fax: 781/398-9535) have narrowed the search for the high bone...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Marine Biotechnology Center Established.
December 1, 1998... A new facility, called the Marine Bioproducts Engineering Research Center (MarBEC), is being established in Hawaii, funded by the National Science Foundation, UC Berkeley, the University of Hawaii, and industry. Industrial founders include...

Oravax, Peptide in Merger.
December 1, 1998... Oravax, Inc. (38 Sydney St., Cambridge, MA 02139; Tel: 617/494- 1339, Fax: 617/494-1741, Website: www.orvax.com) and Peptide Therapeutics, Ltd. (322 Cambridge Science Park, Cambridge, CB4 4WG, U.K.; Website: www.peptide.co.uk, Email:...

Deal on Cystic Fibrosis Therapy.
December 1, 1998... Targeted Genetics Corp. (TGC, 1100 Olive Way, Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98101; Tel: 206/623-7612, Fax: 206/223-0288) and Medeva PLC (10 Saint James's St., London SW1A 1EF; Tel: 071 839-3888, Fax: 071 930-1514) have announced the formation of a...

Ventana Acquires Diagnostic Tests.
December 1, 1998... Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (3865 N. Business Center Dr., Tucson, AZ 85705; Tel: 520/887-2155, Fax: 520/887-2558) today announced the acquisition for $5.5 million in cash of Oncor, Inc.'s (209 Perry Pkwy., Gaithersburg, MD 20877; Tel:...

CELL THERAPY: Xenotransplants to Treat Parkinson's.
December 1, 1998... Scientists from Alexion Pharmaceutical (25 Science Park, Suite 360, New Haven, CT 06511; Tel: 203/776-1790, Fax: 203/776-2089) and Harvard Medical School have used transplanted transgenic pig neurons to restore brain function in a rat model of...

Patent on Adipocyte Stem Cells Issued.
December 1, 1998... Osiris Therapeutics, Inc. (Baltimore, MD) announced that they have been issued U.S. Patent No. 5,827,740, claiming a composition comprising human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) that can be induced to differentiate into adipocytes (fat cells)....

Cow/Human Embryonic Stem Cells Produced.
December 1, 1998... Advanced Cell Technology (ACT, Worcester, MA) has developed a method for producing primitive human embryonic stem cells through nuclear transfer techniques. A human somatic cell was fused with a bovine egg cell from which the nucleus has been...

BLOOD: Cord Blood Use Validated.
December 1, 1998... Umbilical cord blood cells may ultimately replace bone marrow transplants or peripheral blood stem cells as a means to replenish blood cells in patients receiving chemotherapy, according to a study published in the Nov. 26th issue of the New...

ANTI-INFECTIVES: Ribozymes in Trial to Treat HIV.
December 1, 1998... Ribozyme Pharmaceuticals (2950 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301; Tel: 303/449-6500, Fax: 303/449-6995), Chiron (4560 Horton St., Emeryville, CA 94608; Tel: 510/655-8730, Fax: 510/665-9910), the City of Hope National Medical Center, and...

Siga Pharmaceuticals Reach Goals.
December 1, 1998... Siga Pharmaceuticals (420 Lexington Ave., New York, NY 10170; Tel: 212/672-9100, Fax: 212/697-3130, Website: www.siga.com, Email: schein@siga.com) reports several recent accomplishments. The company has a research collaboration with the U.S....

Flu Drug Better When Inhaled.
December 1, 1998... Relenza is a drug for treating flu which is being rendered in an inhalable form. Supported by Glaxo-Wellcome, Inc. (Landsdowne House, Berkeley Sq., London, W1X 6BQ, U.K.; and 5 Moore Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 28224; Tel: 919/248-2100,...

HORMONES, GROWTH FACTORS Thyrogen Given FDA Clearance.
December 1, 1998... Genzyme General (One Kendall Sq., Cambridge, MA 02139; Tel: 617/252- 7500, Fax: 617/494-6561) announced on Dec. 1 that the FDA has granted marketing approval for Thyrogen (thyrotropin alpha) for use in diagnostic screening of patients treated...

Enbrel Approved for Arthritis.
December 1, 1998... The FDA approved Enbrel (etanercept), a new drug from Immunex (51 University St., Seattle, WA 98101; Tel: 206/587-0430, Fax: 206/587- 0606), for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The drug will be marketed jointly by Immunex and...

IL-4 Fusion Protein Fights Brain Cancer.
December 1, 1998... Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (10555 Science Center Dr., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 619/658-7600, Fax: 619/658-7602) recently announced the results of a Phase I study in which a toxin/IL-4 fusion protein called NBI-3001 was used against brain...

ANTIBODIES: Medarex Monoclonal Technology Licensed.
December 1, 1998... Novartis Pharma AG has obtained global rights to Medarex's (Annandale, NJ; Tel: 917/713-6001) HuMab-Mouse technology. Novartis may use the technology throughout the Novartis organization for an unlimited number of targets for up to 10 years....

ENZYMES: United Therapeutics Licenses Elastase Inhibitor.
December 1, 1998... United Therapeutics (68 T.W. Alexander Dr., Research Triangle Park, NC 27709; Tel: 919/485-8350, Fax: 919/485-8352, Website: www.unitedtherapeutics.com, Email: tbongartz@unitedtherapeutics.com) will license Cortech Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s...

AGBIOTECH: More Criticism of Biotech Products.
December 1, 1998... Three trade groups have opined that genetically altered food products-two representing growers and the other representing grain exporters-have, or have the potential, to become trade issues. Farm For Profit (4345 Hwy. 21, Embarrass, MN 55732;...

Novartis, DuPont in Genomic Alliances.
December 1, 1998... The Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute (NADI) has joined forces with the University of California at Berkeley. A 5-year research agreement, valued at $25 million, will allow Novartis rights to negotiate licenses to the patentable...

Gene Surgery Cloning Combo.
December 1, 1998... Roslin Bio-Med (Midlothian, Scotland) and Kimeragen (Newtown, PA) have announced an alliance to develop precise methods for the genetic modification of livestock. The collaboration will be directed toward the ovine PRP gene, involved in...

Monsanto Wins Bt Patent Lawsuit.
December 1, 1998... On November 9th, a Delaware jury determined that Monsanto (800 North Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63167; Tel: 314/694-1000, Fax: 314/694- 7625) and Dekalb Genetics (Dekalb, IL) had not infringed a patent (U.S. Patent 5,595,733) held by...

UC Berkeley in Deal with Novartis.
December 1, 1998... The Novartis Agricultural Discovery Institute (NADI, La Jolla, CA) announced a $25 million, 5-year research agreement with the University of California at Berkeley. NADI will have rights to negotiate licenses to the patentable discoveries...

Gala Design Makes Transgenic Cows.
December 1, 1998... Researchers at Gala Design (Sauk City, WI) reported a novel method for producing transgenic cattle in the November 24th issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Genes were inserted into unfertilized oocytes using a...

Merger Creates Aventis CropScience.
December 1, 1998... The merger of life science giants Hoechst AG and Rhone Poulenc SA will result in a combination of their agricultural subsidiaries. AgrEvo and Rhone Poulenc-Agro will combine their assets to form a new entity, to be called Aventis CropScience....

CALENDAR.
December 1, 1998... January 14-15, 1999 Lab Chips and Microarrays for Biotechnical Applications, Zurich Switzerland. Contact: Cambridge Healthtech Institute; Tel: 617/630-1300, Fax: 617/630-1325, Email: chi@healthtech.com January 20, 1999 BIOCOM/San Diego State...