Cancer researcher says vessel inhibition will have adjunct role
M. Judah Folkman, the Harvard University researcher whose findings are the basis for EntreMed Inc.'s experimental anti-cancer drugs, told a meeting of cancer experts yesterday that he believes his approach of targeting tumors' ability to set up a blood supply may some day be used in combination with radiation and other cancer therapies.
Folkman made his remarks at the American Association for Cancer Research's annual meeting in Philadelphia. About 1,000 attended Folkman's speech.
Rockville-based EntreMed shares closed yesterday at $26.50, up $1.75.
The two anti-cancer drugs that EntreMed is developing have not been tested in humans yet. Results in mice studies showed promise for the approach. Genentech Inc. and Bayer AG have similar drugs in advanced human testing.
Hughes Network Systems plans Internet satellites
A local subsidiary of California-based Hughes Electronic Corp. is planning to develop Spaceway, a network of satellites for speedy Internet service.
Hughes Network Systems will develop the first phase of Spaceway at a cost of $1.4 billion. The company will add 500 employees to its offices in Germantown, Gaithersburg and Rockville by the end of the year.
Spaceway plans to launch three satellites in geosynchronous orbits over North America and have them up and running by 2002. The next year, the project is to go global with more satellites and a $4 billion budget.
North American Vaccine to seek U.K. vaccine sales
North American Vaccine Inc. said yesterday that it anticipates a fourth-quarter filing for approval to market its meningitis vaccine in the United Kingdom.
Chief Executive Officer Randal Chase said the company had moved up its time frame for seeking U.K. approval because of "several promising meetings with regulatory and public health authorities."
The Columbia company, which has one childhood vaccine on the market in the United States and some European countries, said its vaccine for group C meningitis would be aimed at preventing Britain's leading cause of death among children. The company said U.K. health statistics show that between 35 percent and 45 percent of the 1,000 childhood cases of the infectious disease per year are caused by group C meningitis. About half the college-age students who contract the disease have the group C strain, North American Vaccine said.
NYSE, Instinet hold talks on trading Nasdaq securities
The New York Stock Exchange is in talks to form a joint venture with Reuters Group PLC's Instinet Corp. and three other electronic networks to trade securities listed on the Nasdaq stock market, NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso said yesterday.
Grasso said he expects an agreement in the next few months that would make it possible for institutional investors such as Fidelity Investments and the Vanguard Group to use the Big Board as "a platform" to buy and sell non-NYSE stocks, such as Nasdaq-listed Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp., on the networks.
An alliance with electronic networks would heighten competition between the Big Board -- the world's largest stock market -- and the National Association of Securities Dealers, which operates the NYSE's biggest U.S. rivals, Nasdaq and the American Stock Exchange. The NYSE and NASD have been exploring alliances with overseas exchanges, expanded trading hours, and other steps to better attract trading and company listings.
Cable operator Adelphia to pay $1 billion for Harron
Cable television operator Adelphia Communications Corp. said yesterday that it agreed to buy Harron Communications Corp.'s cable systems for $1.17 billion, expanding Adelphia's coverage of New England and the Philadelphia area.
The deal is Adelphia's second major acquisition in five weeks. In early March, the company agreed to acquire Century Communications Corp. for $5.2 billion in stock and cash. With recently announced acquisitions, Adelphia said it will become the fourth-largest cable TV operator in the United States with about 5 million subscribers.
When the Harron deal closes, expected during the March 2000 quarter, Harron should have about 300,000 basic subscribers in New England, Pennsylvania and Michigan, the companies said.
Justice Department OKs Lucent, Ascend merger
Lucent Technologies Inc. and Ascend Communications Inc. said yesterday that they have received antitrust clearance for their proposed merger from the U.S. Department of Justice.
On April 9, the European Commission approved the merger of the telecommunications networking systems firms.
When the deal was announced in January, Lucent's acquisition of Ascend was valued at $20 billion. Lucent's stock price has rallied since then, giving the deal a higher value. The merger is expected to be completed in the quarter ending June 30, pending approval by Ascend shareowners.
GM to spend $400 million on Texas truck, SUV plant
General Motors Corp. said yesterday that it will spend $400 million to expand an Arlington, Texas, factory that builds the pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles that consumers want in ever-increasing numbers.
The Texas plant had faced an uncertain future after next year. Now it will operate well into the next century.
The plant's employment could rise to 2,500 blue-collar workers from 2,000, GM said. Two years ago, the factory was converted from car production, with an initial loss of 1,200 jobs.
CBS to buy Dallas affiliate, stakes in 2 Internet firms
CBS Corp. said yesterday that it would buy a local television affiliate in Dallas, the nation's No. 7 market, and acquire stakes in two Internet companies in return for content, branding and promotion.
CBS is acquiring KTVT-TV, its Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate, from Nashville entertainment group Gaylord Entertainment Co., for $485 million in stock. The deal pushes CBS' ownership of affiliate stations up to 34 percent, 1 percentage point shy of the maximum allowed by the Federal Communications Commission, from 32 percent.
Regarding CBS' latest moves into the Internet, the company said it would receive a 35 percent stake in hollywood.com, a Web site providing movie and entertainment information, and a 50 percent stake in storeRunner.com, an online shopping mall offering products selected from other Web sites. In return, CBS will provide content, the CBS brand name and promotion.
ABC's lockout of 2,400 was legal, NLRB rules
Walt Disney Co.'s ABC Inc. broadcasting unit acted legally when it locked out more than 2,400 workers from their jobs, triggering an almost 11-week labor dispute, the National Labor Relations Board ruled yesterday.
The board denied an appeal from the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians regarding its Nov. 2 strike and the subsequent lockout. The union had asked that ABC's actions be ruled illegal.
The NLRB said ABC acted lawfully when it demanded that the union give the company advance notice of any future strike or actions that would disrupt operations. ABC technicians, engineers and writers represented by NABET were locked out of their jobs after staging a 24-hour strike to protest changes in health care insurance. ABC called off the lockout Jan. 15.
Price of unleaded gas rises 2.2 to $1.14
The national retail price for unleaded gasoline jumped 2.2 cents in the past week to an average $1.14 a gallon, the U.S. Department of Energy said yesterday.
Based on its survey of 800 stations, the department said gasoline has risen by almost 16 cents a gallon in the past four weeks and the current price is 11 cents higher than a year ago.
Pub Date: 4/13/99