Kodak to Provide Funds for Testing ICN’s Virazole

ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Eastman Kodak Co. has agreed to provide $2 million in funding for the first phase of clinical trials of ICN’s Virazole drug for the treatment of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Kodak, which owns a 5% stake in the Costa Mesa-based pharmaceutical maker, agreed last year to a joint venture for testing of the anti-viral drug, which was developed in 1970. The two companies expect to spend about $45 million during the next six years for the development of drugs for treatment of viral diseases and cancer and to retard the aging process.

Eight university research centers, including Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, will participate in the Virazole tests for AIDS, which will involve administering the drug to pre-AIDS patients, or those who have been infected by the virus but who have not developed the disease.