August 4, 2003

 

Local pharmaceutical firms progress drug trials as conference comes to town
By Dyke Hendrickson
Mass High Tech

CardioTech International Inc., based in Woburn, recently announced that it is selecting international distributors for its advanced hydrophilic wound dressing, which absorbs large quantities of wound exudates and provides protection to the wound without the need to remove the dressing for inspection.

The wound dressing received FDA clearance for marketing on May 31, 2002 as a Class I Exempt device.

The hydrophilic dressing will be marketed domestically by CardioTech’s subsidiary, Gish Biomedical.

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Cambridge, has announced the initiation of a Phase I study for its immunomodulatory drug candidate, MM-093, a recombinant version of human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP).

The double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase I study will take place at the Guy’s Drug Research Unit of Guy’s and St. Thomas Hospital in London.

The development of MM-093 will be focused on autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis — areas in which published and proprietary pre-clinical data provide a compelling rationale for its use, company officials say.

Dyax Corp. of Cambridge and Debiopharm S.A. of Switzerland recently announced that they received European orphan drug designation for the Engineered Protein Inhibitor of Human Neutrophil Elastase, DX-890, for the treatment of cystic fibrosis.

European orphan drug designation is granted for products that are intended to treat life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting no more than five in 10,000 persons.

Orphan drug status of DX-890 in Europe can confer numerous benefits to its development, including clinical protocol assistance and advice, reduced registration fees when filing for product approval and, on marketing authorization, marketing exclusivity for a period of up to 10 years, officials say.

Medwave Inc., based in Danvers, recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to perform a clinical study at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz.

The study will compare the Medwave Vasotrac Monitor to an invasive arterial catheter with patients undergoing various surgical procedures.

The goal of the study is to determine if the use of the Vasotrac in specific surgical patients will allow for the elimination of the invasive arterial catheter as a monitoring tool.

Drug Discovery Technology 2003 is one of Boston’s largest life sciences conferences of the year. It will take place Aug. 11-13 at the Hynes Convention Center. And a local nonprofit event, BiotechTuesday, will take place for attendees and nonattendees alike.

The eighth annual drug discovery conference is expected to draw close to 6,000.

Keynote addresses are scheduled to be delivered by Mark McClellan, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Gov. Mitt Romney.

A special industry award will be given to Craig Mello, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and a pioneer in RNA interference (RNAi).

A networking event in conjunction with the national conference will be hosted by organizers of Biotech Tuesday on Tuesday, Aug. 12, at the Kings nightclub in Boston. The venue is located at 10 Scotia St., which is close to the Hynes.

BiotechTuesday is a monthly networking event for the New England biotech community.

Organizer Peter Kolchinsky says that those involved in the life sciences are encouraged to attend. He said there will be complimentary beverages and appetizers (while they last) and light activities such as billiards.

Those interested in attending can register online at www.biotechtuesday.com.