North American Vaccine

BELTSVILLE -- BioChem Pharma Inc. said it is dropping plans to sell its 4.25 million shares in North American Vaccine Inc.North American Vaccine said it is withdrawing at BioChem Pharma's request a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the sale of the shares.BioChem Pharma, a Laval, Quebec-based maker of vaccines, diagnostic equipment and drugs, owns a total of 10.9 million, or 38 percent of North American Vaccine's shares. The Beltsville company develops vaccines for childhood diseases.

An article published Nov. 19 about Baxter International Inc.'s agreement to purchase North American Vaccine Inc. of Columbia stated that North American Vaccine's chief executive officer, Randal Chase, would receive a bonus as a result of the sale. The article failed to note that under his compensation plan, Chase is entitled to a bonus only if North American Vaccine is sold for at least $20 a share. North American is being sold for $7 a share; therefore, a bonus for Chase is not guaranteed.

Sharon Mates, the ousted president of Columbia-based North American Vaccine Inc., sued the company and its two largest shareholders yesterday, charging in her complaint that they conspired to have her fired because they wanted to gain a greater stake in the company at a low price and then sell it.In her suit, Mates seeks a court order ruling that she was improperly fired and unspecified punitive damages. Mates, a member of the company's board, also wants the court to enjoin the company from completing a recent $25 million private-placement financing agreement and from holding board meetings without her.Daniel Abdun-Nabi, North American Vaccine's general counsel, said yesterday that the company would fight the suit.

CLARIFICATIONAn article published Nov. 19 about Baxter International Inc.'s agreement to purchase North American Vaccine Inc. of Columbia stated that North American Vaccine's chief executive officer, Randal Chase, would receive a bonus as a result of the sale. The article failed to note that under his compensation plan, Chase is entitled to a bonus only if North American Vaccine is sold for at least $20 a share. North American is being sold for $7 a share; therefore, a bonus for Chase is not guaranteed.

North American Vaccine, a Beltsville biotechnology company, said yesterday it has a definitive agreement to buy a manufacturing building from Cephalon, Inc. for $25 million.The facility will give North American critically needed space to expand its vaccine production.The space is needed because North American is beginning the commercial production of a whooping cough vaccine for European markets. The company is seeking the approval of the Food and Drug Administration to sell the vaccine in the United States.

An article published Nov. 19 about Baxter International Inc.'s agreement to purchase North American Vaccine Inc. of Columbia stated that North American Vaccine's chief executive officer, Randal Chase, would receive a bonus as a result of the sale. The article failed to note that under his compensation plan, Chase is entitled to a bonus only if North American Vaccine is sold for at least $20 a share. North American is being sold for $7 a share; therefore, a bonus for Chase is not guaranteed.

Officials at the National Institutes of Health said yesterday that a new whooping cough vaccine made by North American Vaccine Inc. of Beltsville appears to be safe.The results take the company one step closer to being able to market the product."We think this is an enormous improvement," said Dr. Charles Lowe, associate director for special projects at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.The federal government is interested in finding a substitute for the vaccine now used to fight pertussis, a highly infectious childhood disease also known as whooping cough.

CLARIFICATIONAn article published Nov. 19 about Baxter International Inc.'s agreement to purchase North American Vaccine Inc. of Columbia stated that North American Vaccine's chief executive officer, Randal Chase, would receive a bonus as a result of the sale. The article failed to note that under his compensation plan, Chase is entitled to a bonus only if North American Vaccine is sold for at least $20 a share. North American is being sold for $7 a share; therefore, a bonus for Chase is not guaranteed.

Financially struggling North American Vaccine acknowledged yesterday that it is in talks with another company interested in purchasing all or part of the Columbia-based company. Tom Newberry, director of investor relations for North American Vaccine, declined to identify the suitor. "The only thing I can say is these are more than preliminary discussions," Newberry said. He said North American was in discussions with one potential buyer but had multiple discussions under way to license out experimental vaccines on which the company has been working or to form alliances for co-developing and co-marketing vaccines in the company's pipeline.

Beltsville-based North American Vaccine Inc. said yesterday that its net loss grew to $43.8 million, or $1.39 per share, for the year ended Dec. 31, 1997, from a net loss of $19.5 million, or 63 cents a share, the previous year.For the fourth quarter, the vaccine developer reported a net loss of $13.1 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $199,000, or 1 cent a share, posted for the corresponding period a year earlier.The company attributed the 120 percent increase in the 1997 loss in part to increased operating expenses, which jumped 48 percent to $49.9 million, compared with $33.1 million in 1996.

North American Vaccine Inc. said yesterday that an unidentified suitor has made a bid for the financially struggling Columbia biotechnology company.North American also disclosed that the potential buyer guaranteed a $5 million revolving bank credit line that was critical to its meeting $2 million in bond interest payments due yesterday. The remaining credit can be used to fund operations.Spokesman Thomas Newberry said North American would not identify the bidder. He said the company is in exclusive negotiations with the possible buyer, though the proposal is not binding on either side yet.The company's announcement yesterday made it clear that the suitor is not BioChem Pharma Inc., a Canadian pharmaceutical company that is its largest shareholder.

North American Vaccine Inc. said yesterday that British health authorities would buy up to $65 million of the company's experimental meningitis vaccine next year for a planned mass immunization. The one-year contract is contingent on the Columbia-based biotechnology company receiving marketing approval from Britain's Medicines Control Agency, its version of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "This is very positive news for the company," said biotechnology analyst Vandana K. Bapna of Offutt Securities in Hunt Valley.

Financially struggling North American Vaccine acknowledged yesterday that it is in talks with another company interested in purchasing all or part of the Columbia-based company. Tom Newberry, director of investor relations for North American Vaccine, declined to identify the suitor. "The only thing I can say is these are more than preliminary discussions," Newberry said. He said North American was in discussions with one potential buyer but had multiple discussions under way to license out experimental vaccines on which the company has been working or to form alliances for co-developing and co-marketing vaccines in the company's pipeline.

Cancer researcher says vessel inhibition will have adjunct roleM. 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.

As the new president and chief executive officer of North American Vaccine Inc., one of Randal Chase's toughest tasks may be convincing investors he can steer the company out of the quagmire it's been in for the past year. A pharmaceutical industry veteran who was brought in after longtime President Sharon Mates was fired in September, Chase has been moving to calm the waters at the Columbia-based vaccine developer and get employees refocused. Among his first acts after he arrived in November was to recommend that every employee be given stock option grants.

Sharon Mates, the ousted president of Columbia-based North American Vaccine Inc., sued the company and its two largest shareholders yesterday, charging in her complaint that they conspired to have her fired because they wanted to gain a greater stake in the company at a low price and then sell it.In her suit, Mates seeks a court order ruling that she was improperly fired and unspecified punitive damages. Mates, a member of the company's board, also wants the court to enjoin the company from completing a recent $25 million private-placement financing agreement and from holding board meetings without her.Daniel Abdun-Nabi, North American Vaccine's general counsel, said yesterday that the company would fight the suit.

North American Vaccine Inc. said yesterday that British health authorities would buy up to $65 million of the company's experimental meningitis vaccine next year for a planned mass immunization. The one-year contract is contingent on the Columbia-based biotechnology company receiving marketing approval from Britain's Medicines Control Agency, its version of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "This is very positive news for the company," said biotechnology analyst Vandana K. Bapna of Offutt Securities in Hunt Valley.

North American Vaccine Inc., a Beltsville-based biotechnology company, and a Danish pharmaceuticals company have received joint approval by regulators in Denmark to market a powerful new children's vaccine to guard against polio and other diseases.The approval marks the first time the new vaccine has been approved anywhere in the world, an industry analyst said.Specifically, the vaccine that the Danish National Board of Health approved is what is known as a combination vaccine for the prevention of diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough)

Beltsville-based North American Vaccine Inc. said yesterday that its net loss grew to $43.8 million, or $1.39 per share, for the year ended Dec. 31, 1997, from a net loss of $19.5 million, or 63 cents a share, the previous year.For the fourth quarter, the vaccine developer reported a net loss of $13.1 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $199,000, or 1 cent a share, posted for the corresponding period a year earlier.The company attributed the 120 percent increase in the 1997 loss in part to increased operating expenses, which jumped 48 percent to $49.9 million, compared with $33.1 million in 1996.

Shares in North American Vaccine Inc. tumbled more than 16 percent yesterday as word hit Wall Street that the Food and Drug Administration has requested more information about its whooping cough vaccine, Certiva.The stock closed at $18.56, down $3.62 a share.Neither the FDA nor the Beltsville-based company would disclose what information has been requested. But Dr. Sharon Mates, the company's chief executive officer, said the company wasn't asked to conduct additional costly and time-consuming human clinical trials to show that the drug is safe or effective.