Rorer to Invest in IRC AIDS Research
Immune Response Corp., the San Diego biotechnology company set up by Jonas Salk in 1986 to develop AIDS vaccines and treatments, has received a $15-million vote of confidence from a major U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Rorer Group of Ft. Washington, Pa., said Thursday that it will buy 20% of IRC stock for $10 million and invest another $5 million in a joint venture between IRC and Rorer to research, develop and market AIDS-related products in the United States and Canada.
Rorer, which reported sales of $929 million in 1987, said in a prepared statement that the agreement with IRC gives it “an opportunity to forge a link with a company that is on the leading edge of immune research. Our partnership covers the development and commercialization of all AIDS-related products developed by IRC.”
IRC was founded to pursue and commercialize immune technology developed by Salk, discoverer of the polio vaccine, and Dr. Dennis Carlo, formerly vice president of research and development at Hybritech of San Diego. Carlo, who previously was director of bacterial vaccines and immunology at Merck & Co., joined IRC in May, 1987, as chief operating and scientific officer.
In an interview, Carlo said IRC’s core technology is covered by a patent he and Salk applied for last year. Carlo declined to describe the technology because the patent has not yet been approved, but he said a therapeutic product derived from it is now in clinical studies and was first injected into AIDS patients last November.
IRC employees now total 13 and will grow to 50 over the next year, he said. IRC president is James Glavin, formerly president of Genetic Systems of Seattle.
Raised $2.75 Million
Before the $15-million investment by Rorer, IRC had raised $2.75 million from investors and investment firms including Cable Howse & Ragen of Seattle and D. H. Blair of New York.
Last week, Colgate-Palmolive also invested in a “significant equity position” in IRC, but Carlo would not say how much. Colgate-Palmolive’s investment is strictly a stock purchase and does not entitle it to rights to IRC products or technology.
Rorer has other links to San Diego biotechnology through Monoclate, an anti-hemophilia blood factor that it markets. Monoclate was developed from a patent awarded to Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation researchers. Scripps licenses the patent to Rorer.
