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Biotech / Medical : Somatogen (SMTG) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RCMac who wrote (439)	3/31/1998 9:46:00 PM
From: Mark Chavez	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 442

>Baxter and its clinical investigators are studying the data to >better understand why there was a difference in mortality between the >patient groups. They are assessing the impact of many factors, >including the combined results of the trial's design and protocol, >the timing of the administration of HemAssist(R)(DCLHb) and other >medical treatments, the wide range of patient injuries and the >severity of patient injuries in the two patient groups. Heard the rumor (thought it was the European trials though), sorry to see that it's true. Explains the acquisition of Somatogen, why buy if your product is sailing along in clinical trials. Potential lawyer's field day if the trials were nonconsentual. There is a lot of published scientific literature (nitric oxide binding, heme toxicities, endotoxin-Hb interactions, neural toxicities, compromised oxygen delivery) applicable since the U.S. Army was making the same hemoglobin derivative and provided it to academic researchers. References are easily found on PubMed or Internet Grateful Med, abstracts free of charge. Super, super internet sites for the science community. Very important to understand that hemoglobin outside the red blood cell behaves very differently. Whether Somatogen can genetically engineer out the toxicities is an open question, one can say that the first generation rHB1.1 does have the nitric oxide binding problem and is not likely a feasible product. At any rate, since I heard about this news on the grape vine well before Baxter's acquisition of Somatogen, it may be safe to assume that the failed clinical trial was a factor in negotiations. M.