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SDSU Inks Deal With Pharmaceutical Maker

San Diego State University recently signed its largest licensing agreement for an invention that it hopes will eventually translate into new lifesaving antibiotics.

SDSU said on Nov. 8 that it signed a $300,000 agreement with pharmaceutical maker Merck Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Merck of Whitehouse, N.J., for two new methods to try to accelerate the development of antibiotics.

The deal gives Merck exclusive use of the technology for four years with a renewable option. SDSU retains the two patents for the technology and ability to use it for its own research.

The brains behind the technology are SDSU researchers Judith Zyskind, who is the director of the SDSU BioScience Center, and R. Allyn Forsyth, a former SDSU graduate student who is now a Merck employee.

Zyskind pointed to the importance of the discovery by saying that the global spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens has resulted in more death from infectious diseases.

“These discoveries strengthen the arsenal against infectious diseases by hastening the arrival of the next generation of antibiotics,” she said.

Zyskind said that BioScience Center researchers will use the methods to investigate the emerging ties between infectious disease and heart disease, the nation’s No. 1 killer.

“Diseases such as athlerosclerosis and diabetes have been thought to result from lifestyle and genetic factors, but the latest information shows infectious diseases may be a significant risk factor,” Zyskind wrote in the SDSU statement. “That means developing new antibiotics could become more important for preventing disease in the future.”


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Funding Smallpox Vaccines:

The Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies recently announced that it has received a five-year, $4.8 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to try to identify new smallpox vaccines.

The contract is part of the NIH’s initiative to find vaccines, therapies and diagnostic tools against infectious diseases and bioterror agents.

Researcher Clemencia Pinilla, who will direct the contract at the Torrey Pines Institute, said the NIH money fills a gap of hard-to-get funding. Not only will scientists join forces in the research, but benefit others as the results are made public on a free database accessible to the worldwide scientific community.

Smallpox is a highly virulent and infectious disease in humans caused by variola virus.

A vaccine to protect against the deadly disease exists, but scientists know little about the regions that are activated after vaccination.

Pinilla’s group hopes to unravel part of the puzzle.


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Pill Against Smallpox:

Meanwhile, a small, privately held San Diego-based biotechnology firm, Chimerix Inc., raised $11 million in a third private financing round to pursue its efforts to develop a pill to prevent and treat smallpox infection.

New investor Frazier Healthcare Ventures of Seattle led the round. Its general partner, Robert Overell, will join Chimerix’s board of directors, Chimerix said Nov. 4.

Sanderling Ventures and Asset Management contributed to the financing round.

George Painter, the president and chief executive officer of Chimerix, said the firm will use the money to advance its lead product, CMX001, toward clinical trials.

The financing will augment a $36.1 million NIH grant previously awarded to Chimerix to pursue its smallpox work.

Chimerix also has peripheral programs in HIV, viral hepatitis and other preclinical programs.


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Digirad Reports Net Income Growth:

Digirad Corp., which sells imaging devices to detect heart problems, reported a higher third quarter net income of $386,000, up from $47,000 in the same quarter in 2003.

This marks the second consecutive quarter of profitability for the Poway-based firm.

Third quarter revenue jumped 23 percent to $17.2 million from $14 million in the year-earlier quarter amid rising sales of gamma cameras, accessories and maintenance contract revenues, Digirad said Nov. 1.

“The continuing market demand for our products and services is evidenced by our strong third quarter revenue growth over the third quarter of 2003,” said David Sheehan, the president and CEO of Digirad.

Last month’s launch of Digirad’s newest device, a triple-head gamma camera, was significant.

The camera can perform a seven-minute stress acquisition test, and thus, allow doctors to see more patients a day, wrote Timothy J. Lee, an analyst with Merrill Lynch, in his October report on Digirad.

Lee maintains a “buy rating” on Digirad’s stock, with a 12-month price objective of $15.

Digirad expanded its sales force during the quarter to 32 representatives and is on track to have 35 to 40 reps by year-end, Sheehan said.

As of Sept. 30, Digirad had $57.8 million in cash.

Digirad reaffirmed its earlier guidance to report $67 million to $70 million in revenue for 2004 and net income of $200,000 to $500,000, or 1 cent to 3 cents a share.

The firm expects quarterly results and growth rates to fluctuate based on seasonality stemming from physician vacations, holidays and inclement weather.


Contact Marion Webb at mwebb@sdbj.com or call her at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 3108.

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