Applied Genetics News articles from June 1999

Applied Genetics News archives from June 1999

BIOMANUFACTURING: Antigenics Opens Cancer Vaccine Plant.
June 1, 1999... Antigenics LLC (630 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10111; Tel: 212/332-4774, Fax 212/332-4778; Website: antigenics.com) has opened a new center in Woburn, Massachusetts, for the manufacture of autologous protein vaccines for cancer treatment. The...

Genencor Buys Enzyme Plant.
June 1, 1999... Genencor Intl. (4 Cambridge Pl., 1870 Winton Rd., Rochester, NY 14618; Tel: 716/256-5200, Fax: 716/244-9988; Website: genencor.com) has assumed majority ownership of a manufacturing, sales, and warehouse facility in Wuxi, China. The facility is...

GENE THERAPY: Introgen Advances p53 for Cancer.
June 1, 1999... Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. (301 Congress Ave., Suite 1850, Austin, TX 78701; Tel: 512/320-5010, Fax: 512/320-4166; Website: introgen.com) reported on clinical trials of its adenoviral-p53 gene therapy for cancer at the 35th Annual Meeting of...

Heart Angiogenesis Patent Awarded.
June 1, 1999... Boston Scientific (1 Boston Scientific Pl., Natick, MA 01760-1537; Tel: 500/650-8000; Website: bsci.com) has been issued U.S. Patent B1- 5,661,133, titled "Collateral Blood Vessel Formation by Injection of a DNA Sequence Encoding an Angiogenic...

Promising Trial Data for Leuvectin.
June 1, 1999... Vical, Inc. (9373 Towne Centre Dr., Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121-3027; Tel: 619/453-9900, Fax: 619/453-5885) presented preliminary results from a Phase II trial of its interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene therapy product, Leuvectin, for the treatment of...

Orthopedic Therapies to Be Developed.
June 1, 1999... Selective Genetics (Tel: 619/625-0100, Fax: 619/625-0050; Website: selectivegenetics.com) has formed an alliance with Biomet (Airport Industrial Park, P. O. Box 587, Warsaw, IN 46581-0587; Tel: 219/267- 6639, Fax: 219/267-8137; Website:...

GENOMICS: Lexicon Knocks Out Mice for Cephalon.
June 1, 1999... Lexicon Genetics, Inc. (4000 Research Forest Dr., The Woodlands, TX 77381; Tel: 281/364-0100, Tel: 800/578-1972, Fax: 281/364-0155; Website: lexgen.com) has entered into a multi-year research agreement with Cephalon, Inc. (CEPH) for the rapid...

Hyseq Identifies IL-1 Family Member.
June 1, 1999... Hyseq, Inc. (670 Almanor Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086; Tel: 408/524-8100; Website: hyseq.com) has identified a new gene related to Interleukin- 1, the second member of that family the company has found within a year. The new gene, called IL-1Hy2,...

Rat Genome Maps Completed.
June 1, 1999... CuraGen Corp. (555 Long Wharf Dr., 11th Fl., New Haven, CT 06511; Tel: 203/401-3330, Fax: 203/401-3331; Website: curagen.com), in collaboration with the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other...

Bone Mass Gene Discovered.
June 1, 1999... Seattle-based scientists from Chiroscience R & D, the drug development arm of Chiroscience plc (Cambridge Science Park, Cambridge, CB4 4WE U.K.; Tel: +44(0)-1223-420-430, Fax: +44(0)-1223- 420-440; Website: chiroscience.com), have discovered a...

PKD1 Polypeptide and Gene Patented.
June 1, 1999... U.S. Patent 5,891,628, titled "Identification of Polycystic Kidney Disease Gene, Diagnosis and Treatment" has been issued to Millenium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (640 Memorial Dr., Cambridge, MA 02139; Tel: 617/679-7000, Fax: 617/374-9379) and...

T. Maritima Sequence Creates Quandary.
June 1, 1999... The Institute for Genetic Research (TIGR, 9712 Medical Center Dr., Rockville, MD 20850; Tel: 301/838-0200, Fax: 301/838-0208; Website: tigr.org) has completed the genome sequence of Thermotoga maritima, a hyperthermic bacteria originally...

TNF Pathway Member Discovered.
June 1, 1999... Rigel, Inc. (South San Francisco; Tel: 650/624-1100; Website: www.rigel.com) has identified a new gene, RIP-3, that can activate apoptosis, as well as NF-kB, a transcription factor that regulates many genes involved in inflammatory responses....

CELL THERAPY: Bone Marrow Gives Rise to Liver Cells.
June 1, 1999... Through a series of transplant experiments, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Pittsburgh, PA) have demonstrated that stem cells from the bone marrow give rise to fully functional liver cells. The study is published in...

Dendritic Cells Delay Cancer Progression.
June 1, 1999... Results of Phase II trials of APC8015, a dendritic cell therapy from Dendreon Corp. (291 N. Bernardo Ave., Mountain View, CA, Tel: 415/964- 6744, Fax: 415/964-7023; Website: dendreon.com) indicate positive responses in patients with advanced...

ANTIBODIES: Second Phase III Trial Initiated.
June 1, 1999... The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has allowed ImClone Systems Inc. (180 Varick St., New York, NY 10014; Tel: 212/645-1405, Fax: 212/645- 2054; Website: imclone.com) to initiate a second Phase III pivotal trial of C225, its lead therapeutic,...

Antibody-Targeted Chemotherapy.
June 1, 1999... Scientists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Ctr. (1100 Fairview Ave. N., P.O. Box 19024, Seattle, WA 98109-1024; Tel: 206/667- 2896; Website: fhcrc.org) presented data on Phase II trials of an antibody-targeted chemotherapy drug to...

Anti-IgE Suppresses Allergy Symptoms.
June 1, 1999... Anti-IgE, a therapy being developed by Genentech, Inc. (1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080; Tel: 650/225-1000, Fax: 650/225-8326; Website: gene.com) and Novartis (P.O. Box, CH-4002, Basel, Switzerland; Tel: +41 61 324 2476, Fax: 41 61...

BLA Slated for LeuTech.
June 1, 1999... After a meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Palatin Technologies, Inc. (214 Carnegie Ctr., Ste. 100, Princeton, NJ 08540; Tel: 609/520-1911; Website: palatin.com) announced that it will file a Biological License...

Rare Antibodies Collected by SeraCare.
June 1, 1999... SeraCare, Inc. (1925 Century Park E., Suite 1970, Los Angeles, CA 90067; Tel: 310/772-7777) is expanding the specialty antibody collection programs at its Western States Group division. Bill Consedine has been appointed as National Donor...

BTI-322 Reduces Organ Rejection.
June 1, 1999... MedImmune, Inc. (35 W. Watkins Mill Rd., Gaithersburg, MD 20878; Tel: 301/417-0770, Fax: 301/527-4200; Website: medimmune.com) and Biotransplant, Inc. (Bldg. 75, Third Ave., Charlestown Navy Yard, Charlestown, MA 02120; Tel: 617/241-5200, Fax:...

VACCINES AND ANTI-INFECTIVES Vaccination Treats Stomach Ulcers.
June 1, 1999... In a May 21 Science article, researchers from Chiron Corp. (4560 Horton St., Emeryville, CA 94608; Tel: 510/655-8730, Fax: 510/665-9910; Website: chiron.com) reported that vaccination is a promising means of eradicating Helicobacter pylori, an...

NIH Will Test Strep Vaccine.
June 1, 1999... The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) has filed an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a group A streptococcus vaccine developed by ID Biomedical Corp. (1510-800...

Epimmune Scores $2.25 Million Grant.
June 1, 1999... Epimmune, Inc. (Tel: 619/860-2513; Website: epimmune.com), a majority- owned subsidiary of Cytel Corp. (9393 Towne Centre Dr., San Diego, CA 92121; Tel: 619/450-7100, Fax: 619/ 552-8801), has been awarded a 5- year, $2.25 million contract from...

TB Vaccine Is Losing Genes.
June 1, 1999... The tuberculosis (TB) vaccine known as BCG is given to virtually every child in the developing world. "The good news is that it's safe," says Marcel M. Behr, first author of a paper about the vaccine in the May 28 issue of Science. "The bad...

Meningococcal Vaccine on Track.
June 1, 1999... North American Vaccine, Inc. (10150 Old Columbia Rd., Columbia, MD 21046; Tel: 410/309-7121; Website: nava.com) announced that the Public Health Laboratory Service of the United Kingdom has released the results of a comparative trial involving...

INDUSTRY NEWS: International Group Opposes Xenotransplants.
June 1, 1999... An international group of doctors, lawyers, and veterinarians will meet in London on June 10 to launch a steering committee for the purpose of obtaining a global ban on transplants of genetically modified pig organs and cells into humans. The...

Sales Tax Exemption for Biotech Firms.
June 1, 1999... Colorado Governor Bill Owens signed legislation recently that allows biotechnology companies in the state a refund for sales taxes paid on equipment for research and development. "The adoption of H.B. 1335 is the culmination of 3 years of...

No Insurance Discrimination.
June 1, 1999... Contrary to general concern, a recent study suggested that insurance companies do not discriminate based on genetic tests that show that a particular patient has a increased risk of developing cancer. Of 131 patients who had BRCA/12 testing...

Ag Woes Sink AHP Earnings.
June 1, 1999... Pharmaceutical and health care giant American Home Products (Five Giralda Farms, Madison, NJ 07940; Tel: 973/660-5000, Fax: 973/ 660- 5771; Website: ahp.com) pre-announced a shortfall in second quarter earnings because of reduced demand in its...

CYTOKINES: Apoptosis Inducer to Be Evaluated.
June 1, 1999... Immunex Corp. (51 University St., Seattle, WA 98101; Tel: 206/587-0430, Fax: 206/587-0606; Website: immunex.com) and Genentech, Inc. (1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080; Tel: 650/225-1000, Fax: 650/225- 8326; Website: gene.com) will join...

Enbrel Approved for Juveniles.
June 1, 1999... Enbrel (etanercept) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of moderate-to-severely active polyarticular juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) in patients that do not respond to other medicines. The drug was...

Chemokine Collaboration.
June 1, 1999... The Immune Response Corp. (IRC) (5935 Darwin Ct., Carlsbad, CA 92008; Tel: 760/431-7080, Fax: 760/431-8636; Website: imnr.com) has reached agreement on terms of a collaboration with the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and will...

AG BIOTECH: Growing Recombinant Products in Perennials.
June 1, 1999... Medicago (Quebec City, Canada; Email: arcandf@medicago.com) has licensed from BTG International, Inc. (2200 Renaissance Blvd., Gulph Mills, PA 19406; Tel: 610/278-1660) a plant transformation system that was developed at the U.S. Department of...

Crop Byproducts May Fight Disease.
June 1, 1999... A team of University of Illinois (Champagne, IL) scientists found that an ethanol extract of soybean molasses represses the ability of at least one dietary carcinogen to damage DNA. The active component of the extract, called phytochemical...

Agritope to Develop Plant Steroids.
June 1, 1999... Agritope, Inc. (8505 S.W. Creekside Pl., Beaverton OR 97008; Tel: 503/641-6115, Fax: 503/643-2781; Website: agritope.com) and the University Technologies International, Inc. (UTI), a technology commercialization company owned by the University...

CALENDAR.
June 1, 1999... July 13, 1999, Monoclonal Antibodies, London, U.K. Sponsored by Management Forum, Ltd. Contact: 48 Woodbridge Rd., Guildford, Surrey, GU14RJ U.K.; Tel: 01483/570099, Fax: 01483/536424. July 28-30, 1999, Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical...