Applied Genetics News articles from October 1998

Applied Genetics News archives from October 1998

BIOPROCESSING First Bioprocess Award to Merck.
October 1, 1998... Merck Research Laboratories (West Point, PA) a division of Merck & Co., Inc. (1 Merck Dr., Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889-0100; Tel: 908/423- 1000, Fax: 908/243-1987), has received the first Industrial Bioprocess Award conferred by the American...

Hemoglobin Boosts Erythromycin.
October 1, 1998... The production of the antibiotic, erythromycin by an industrial strain of Saccharopolyspora erythraea was increased 70% by chromosomally integrating the hemoglobin gene of Vitreoscilla bacteria. This feat was achieved by James Bailey and...

GENOMICS: Microfluidics Finds Genetics Application.
October 1, 1998... Orchid Biocomputer (c/o Sarnoff Research Ctr., 201 Washington Ave., Princeton, NJ 08540; Tel: 609/734-2548) has acquired Molecular Tool (Baltimore, MD), a subsidiary of GeneScreen (2600 Stemmons Pkwy., Dallas, TX 75207; Tel: 214/631-8152). ...

Teaming Up for Prefab Microarrays.
October 1, 1998... Molecular Dynamics (880 E. Arques Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086; Tel: 408/737-3000) and Clontech Laboratories (4030 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, CA 94303-4607; Tel: 415/424-8222, Fax: 415/424-1064) seek to jointly develop and market specially prepared...

Myriad Goes After p16 Tumor Suppressor.
October 1, 1998... Myriad Genetics (390 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108; Tel: 801/582-3400) has patented the p16 tumor suppressor gene (also known as MTS1). The frequency of this gene's mutation in tumors is rivaled only by p53, a perhaps better known tumor...

HORMONES, GROWTH FACTORS IL-4 Fusion Toxin Regresses Brain Tumor.
October 1, 1998... Neurocrine Biosciences (3050 Science Park Rd., San Diego, CA 92121- 1102; Tel: 619/454-3803) notes the preclinical evidence produced by FDA and NIH researchers that show the company's interleukin-4 (IL-4) fusion toxin to be effective against a...

TNF Receptor Receives Approval.
October 1, 1998... Immunex (51 University St., Seattle, WA 98101; Tel: 206/587-043, Fax: 206/587-0606) has received FDA approval of its "Enbrel," a drug consisting of the TNF (tumor necrosis factor) receptor protein itself. The product treats rheumatoid...

ANTIBODIES: Breast Cancer MAB Wins FDA Approval.
October 1, 1998... Following an internal committee recommendation, the FDA has approved the "Herceptin" (trastuzumab) monoclonal antibody of Genentech (1 DNA Way, S. San Francisco, CA 94080-4990; Tel: 415/225-1000, Fax: 415/225-6000) for the treatment of breast...

FDA Approves Anti-TNF.
October 1, 1998... Centocor (200 Great Valley Pkwy., Malvern, PA 19355-1307; Tel: 610/651-6000) received approval from the Food & Drug Administration of its monoclonal antibody active against tumor necrosis factor- alpha (TNF-a), for treatment of Crohn's disease....

Cytogen Bleeds Red Ink.
October 1, 1998... The management of Cytogen (600 College Rd. E., Princeton Forrestal Center, Princeton, NJ 08540; Tel: 609/987-8200, Fax: 609/452-2975) announced a restructuring plan toward the continued reduction of operating expenses and increased focus on its...

Medarex, FibroGen Target Connective Tissue Factor.
October 1, 1998... Medarex (1545 Route 22 E., Annandale, NJ 08801-0953; Tel: 908/713- 6005, Fax: 908/713-6002) and FibroGen (260 Littlefield Ave., S. San Francisco, CA 94080; Tel: 415/829-7362, Fax: 415/635-1512) are pooling efforts to come up with an antibody...

Anergen Picks Up Histocompatibility Peptide.
October 1, 1998... Anergen (301 Penobscot Dr., Redwood City, CA 94063; Tel: 415/361-8901) has licensed from Sunol Molecular Corp. rights to single chain, recombinant forms of major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) molecules, coupled with an...

Antinuclear Antibodies May Treat Cancer.
October 1, 1998... Procyon BioPharma (1200 Wonderland Rd. S., London, Ontario N6L 1A8, Canada; Tel: 519/652-3758, Fax: 519/652-3818) received U.S. Patent 5,780,033, broadly covering the production and use of the company's non-pathogenic antinuclear autoantibodies...

ENZYMES: Industrial Enzymes to Top $1.8 Billion.
October 1, 1998... Global sales of enzymes for industrial use totaled $1,498.0 million in 1997 and will finish out 1998 at $1,557.0 million, according to a new study released by Business Communications Co., Inc. (BCC, Norwalk, CT). Global sales are projected to...

Team Takes on Polysaccharide Disease.
October 1, 1998... BioMarin Pharmaceutical (11 Pimental Ct., Novato, CA 94949; Tel: 415/382-6653), through a joint venture, gets the help of Genzyme General (1 Kendall Sq., Cambridge, MA 02139-1562; Tel: 617/252-7500, Fax: 617/252-7600) to develop and...

Vertex Finds Role for Caspase-9.
October 1, 1998... Scientists at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (130 Waverly St., Cambridge, MA 02139-4242; Tel: 617/577-6000, Fax: 617/577-6880) and Yale University (New Haven, CT) have evidence that caspase-9 may play a role in the apoptotic death of nerve cells, based...

AGBIOTECH: Belgian Startup Pursues Plant Genomics.
October 1, 1998... CropDesign NV (Ghent, Flanders, Belgium; Tel: 32/9/241-5713, Fax: 32/9/241-5656, Email: h.vanmellaert@planetinternet.be) has completed a $5 million round of venture capital financing, co-led by GIMV (Investment Co. Flanders, Belgium) and Atlas...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Biotech in a State of Transition.
October 1, 1998... Burrill & Co. (San Francisco, CA; Tel: 415/743-3160; Website: www.burrillandco.com), in a new annual report, "Biotech 98: Tools, Techniques, and Transition," reports that the biotechnology industry is experiencing a time of major transition....

Genentech Has an OK Year.
October 1, 1998... Genentech reported its financial results for 1997. It had total revenues of $1,016.7 million, up 5% from revenues of $968.7 million in the previous year. According to the company, this growth came from all revenue areas, but primarily from...

Dow Makes a Strategic Commitment.
October 1, 1998... As a matter of strategy, Dow Chemical Co. (2030 Willard Dow Ctr., Midland, MI 48674; Tel: 517/636-1000, Fax: 517/636-1830) intends to use biotechnology as a key platform to accelerate its growth. The company plans to put this strategy to use by...

AGN Stock Watch (As of 9 AM, October 1, 1998).
October 1, 1998... Rejoice! Biotechnology stocks appeared to have largely bounced back, after a disastrous time on Wall Street. Now companies can resume making financial plans for the fourth quarter and beyond. The strongest companies, in terms of product sales,...

CALENDAR.
October 1, 1998... November 2-4, Glycocompounds 98: The Road to Commercialization, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Contact: Intertech Conferences, 411 U.S. Rte. 1, Portland, ME 04105; Tel: 888/781-9800, Tel: 207/781-9800, Fax: 207/781-2150, Email: karenz@intertechusa.com....