Drug company buys antibody firm.
A small company that has been the leader in developing medical diagnostic tests using monoclonal antibodies This is a list of monoclonal antibodies, antibodies which are clones of a single parent cell. When used as medications, the generic names end in -mab (see "Nomenclature of monoclonal antibodies"). has been purchased by a major drug company, Eli Lilly Eli Lilly can refer to: - Eli Lilly and Company, a global pharmaceutical company
- Colonel Eli Lilly (1839-1898), founder of Eli Lilly and Company
- Eli Lilly (industrialist) (1885-1977), former president of Eli Lilly and Company
and Co. of Indianapolis, for more than $300 million. Hybritech, Inc., a San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. firm that is one of the most financially successful of the specialized biotechnology companies, produces and markets diagnostic tests for a variety of conditions including colon and prostate cancer prostate cancer, cancer originating in the prostate gland. Prostate cancer is the leading malignancy in men in the United States and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death in men. , infertility, allergies and pregnancy (SN: 5/7/83, p. 296). The company is also exploring the use of monoclonal antibodies in therepy against infectious diseases. The acquisition, still subject to Hybritech stockholder approval, moves Lilly into the rapidly growing diagnostic business and bolsters its research efforts toward using monoclonal antibodies to treat certain cancers. Monoclonal antibodies are very pure antibodies that bind to a single specific target.
Hybritech recently received a setback when its broad patent on a monoclonal antibody monoclonal antibody, an antibody that is mass produced in the laboratory from a single clone and that recognizes only one antigen. Monoclonal antibodies are typically made by fusing a normally short-lived, antibody-producing B cell (see immunity) to a fast-growing method, widely used in making diagnostic and medical monitoring tests, was ruled to be invalid by a federal district court in San Francisco. Hybritech announced that it plans to appeal that decision.
COPYRIGHT 1985 Science Service, Inc.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1985, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
|
|
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion