Amgen to aid Praecis drug testing
CAMBRIDGE – Praecis Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced that Amgen Inc. will provide the company with $100 million to support its development of a drug to treat prostate cancer. The drug, called Abarelix, is being tested in a Phase III clinical trial, the company said. Amgen, the world’s biggest biotechnology company, is based in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Under the terms of the agreement Amgen will have marketing rights for the drug in North America and Asia. Two years ago Praecis sold negotiating rights in Europe, South America and the Middle East to Synthelabo SA , the third largest pharmaceutical company in France.
Harvard Vanguard doctors seek new patients
BOSTON – Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, which claims 292,000 patients in Eastern Massachusetts has announced its plan to broaden its patient base beyond Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Vanguard, with 500 physicians, previously was part of Harvard Pilgrim. In 1997, Vanguard went independent but still signed an exclusive contract with Harvard. Starting Jan. 1, 2000, the group will be able to sign contracts with other HMOs.
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Chip maker seeks to raise $40 million
FRAMINGHAM – Maker Communications, Inc., producers of semiconductors for communications system equipment, is seeking federal approval to raise about $40 million through an initial public offering. In its petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Maker did not disclose how many shares it would sell. Its chips are designed to process data, voice and video signals in broadband networks, including the Internet. What distinguishes Maker chips is that they can be reprogrammed through changing software. According to Bloomberg News, Maker had a net loss of $3.75 million last year, an improvement over the previous year when it reported losses of $3.9 million. Revenues rose from $1.77 million in 1997 to $7.69 last year.
Stock exchange chief to replace retiring CEO
WALTHAM – Richard F. Syron, chief executive of the American Stock Exchange, will replace George N. Hatsopoulos June 1 as chief executive of Themo Electron Corp. Hatsopoulos, 72, is retiring after 43 years as head of the company. He will remain as chairman of the board. The instruments and equipment company is restructuring after a recent decline in profits, Wall Street analysts have been advised. Thermo Electron was founded in 1956 by Hatsopoulos. He and his brother John developed the company, which had $3.9 billion in revenue last year. John Hatsopoulos, 64, retired in January as president and remains as vice chairman. The current president, Arvin Smith, will remain with the company in an advisory role.
Omnia to be sold for $429 million
MARLBOROUGH – A company that has yet to sell a product, Omnia Communications Inc., is selling itself to Ciena Corp. of Maryland for $429 million, the value that both companies place on the technology Omnia has devised to manage Internet and voice data traffic. Omnia and its 75 employees will remain in Marlborough, according to the Boston Globe. Ciena makes equipment that puts large amounts of data onto fiber-optic communications lines. In its two years of existence, Omnia has developed a product that combines multiple voice circuits and Internet connections for transmission over high-capacity fiber optic lines.
Boston Scientific gets FDA approval
NATICK – Boston Scientific Corp. has received Food and Drug Administration approval for the sale and distribution of a device called a stent for which the company has exclusive worldwide selling rights. The device made by Medinol Ltd. of Tel Aviv, Israel called the “Nir on Ranger” is designed to be used in the treatment of coronary artery disease. Boston Scientific announced that it has begun shipping various sized versions of the device.
Fish company fined for worker’s death
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined the Atlantic Coast Fisheries Co., a New Bedford fish processing company, $115,500 for allegedly ignoring safeguards that could have prevented the death of a worker killed while cleaning a large blender. Antonio Ajqui, 40, was crushed to death in July when the power to a large ribbon blender he was cleaning at the company was accidentally switched on. OSHA said the penalty is not an attempt to put a price on human life.
The company also faces a civil wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the Ajqui family. OSHA requires that the power source of a machine be physically “locked out,” or disabled, before workers clean or service the machine. Atlantic Coast Fisheries had no such system, OSHA said. According to the agency, it wasn’t the first time the company was punished for safety violations. Atlantic Coast Fisheries was fined $5,000 by OSHA in 1993 for 13 “serious violations.” OSHA officials said the company was not ensuring three of the plant’s machines had devices to keep them idle while under maintenance. Atlantic Coast Fisheries, which has 225 employees at its New Bedford plant, also was cited by OSHA in 1989 for four serious violations and fined $1,200 that year.
