MEDICAL BRIEFS

Changes to governance of research ethics management recommended

Canada's two-year-old Tri-Council Policy Statement on ethics is about to undergo significant changes in its governance if recommendations made in a recent report are adopted. The report - Governance of the Ethical Process for Research Involving Human Subjects - Final Report - will be the subject of discussions later this month. Conducted by the Centre on Governance at the Univ of Ottawa, the report contends that the current governance process for managing research ethics does not meet the standards required for the task. It says the current structure is complex, its administration lacks coordination and the Tri-Council Policy Statement has not permeated the consciousness of researchers. It recommends the current Tri-Council Advisory Group be re-named the Tri-Council Ethics Panel, and that an Appeals Panel be created. The current Working Group staff would be transformed into the Tri-Council Secretariat to support the work of the ethics and appeals panels. The National Council on Ethics in Human Research commissioned the study. It was supported by the Medical Research Council, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons....

Cangene Corp consolidating shares as it seeks Nasdaq listing

Cangene Corp is seeking regulatory approval to conduct a reverse split and consolidate its outstanding common shares on a three for one basis as a first step towards seeking a Nasdaq listing. The subsidiary of Apotex Biotechnology Holdings will retain its Toronto Stock Exchange listing but hopes a Nasdaq listing will increase its exposure to US capital investors and capital markets. The reverse split is subject to a special meeting of shareholders. Cangene is one of Canada's largest and most profitable biotechnology firms, focused on producing plasma-derived and recombinant therapeutic proteins and contract manufacturing. Its main operations are in Winnipeg and Mississauga....

Micrologix completes $40-million financing

Vancouver-based Micrologix Biotech Inc has completed a $40-million special warrant financing, with proceeds primarily being directed towards latter-stage clinical development of its lead drug candidate for prevention of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections. The drug - MBI 226 - will enter Phase III trials in Q3 2000. Also receiving new funding will be Phase II trials of drugs to treat acne and Staphylococcus aureus hospital-related infections. The 4 million special warrants were issued March 20 and will be converted to common shares next week....

AEterna raises $10 million for lead compound development

AEterna Laboratories Inc has entered a "bought deal" financing with a syndicate of underwriters for gross proceeds of $10 million. The syndicate will receive approximately 755,000 shares priced at $13.25 per share, with an option to purchase an additional 113,200 shares. The Quebec City-based firm will use the proceeds to pursue its clinical development program with the aim of achieving early market entry of its lead compound, an angiogenesis inhibitor being developed for oncology, dermatology and ophthalmology. In other news, AEterna has been approved to list its subordinate voting shares on the Nasdaq National Market, beginning May 10. The firm has been listed on both the Montreal and Toronto stock exchanges since 1995. The move will allow AEterna to better access US capital markets and broaden its investor base....

Biomira Inc increases R&D outlays

Increased clinical trial activity pushed R&D expenditures by Biomira Inc to $8.4 million in the quarter ending March 31, up from $5.1 million during the same period a year earlier. Its overall loss also increased significantly to $9.4 million, due primarily to the expansion of Phase III clinical trials for its Theratope vaccine, and Phase II trials for its BLP25 vaccine. The Edmonton-based firm's cash position remains strong, however, as a result of a share issue last quarter which raised $43.5 million....