Mixed Quarterly Results From The USA

Quarterly financial results to September 1994 from US pharmaceutical companies this week are mixed, with the majority of the results coming in from smaller companies.

- Affymax' increased revenues in the third quarter of 1994 resulted from a collaborative agreement with American Home Products, and $1 million milestone payments received from collaborative partners. Collaborative revenues also helped the company reduce its net loss. Affymax spent $10.2 million on R&D in the quarter, compared with $8 million a year earlier. The rise in spending was a result of higher facilities costs and increased efforts in its drug discovery and diagnostics projects.

- Biotechnology company Cellcor has posted a reduction in its net loss for the third quarter of 1994, compared with the year-earlier quarter. The reduction was brought about by company restructuring. By September 30, Cellcor had accrued 58 of the 180 patients it needs for its pivotal Phase III trials comparing survival between autolymphocyte therapy and alpha interferon in metastatic kidney cancer patients. Also during the third quarter the company was granted Orphan Drug designation for ALT in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma by the US Food and Drug Administration, and it began clinical collaboration with Organon Teknika/Biotech Research. They are jointly sponsoring a Phase I clinical trial where around 15 patients with advanced kidney cancer will receive OT/BRI's active specific immunotherapy followed by ALT (see also page 21).