Briefcase

Issue of Nov. 29, 2005

By: George Spohr
AccuMed to fill Trenton warehouse
   LAWRENCE — AccuMed Inc., a manufacturer and developer of over-the-counter pharmaceutical tablets, powders, liquids and edible breath-strip products, has acquired additional storage and manufacturing space with financing assistance from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and Sun National Bank.
   The EDA made a $350,000 loan at 3-percent fixed interest for five years to Princely LLC, a real estate holding company established to acquire and manage a 125,000-square-foot warehouse at Prince Street in Trenton.
   AccuMed, which was founded in 1996, will occupy the property.
Area grocer offers home delivery
   Residents of Princeton, Cranbury and Hillsborough will be able to order groceries online now that Stop & Shop and Peapod LLC have opened two new distribution centers in New Jersey, including one in Somerset.
   Delivery of groceries begins today in some areas, and will be available through most of Central Jersey in early 2006. Residents in these communities can visit www.stopandshop.com to shop for groceries online, and groceries are delivered as soon as the next day after an order is placed.
   Stop & Shop and Peapod, its online-delivery subsidiary, are owned by Royal Ahold of the Netherlands. It operates more than 1,300 supermarkets in the U.S. and around the world with annual revenues of $49 billion.
X-Cell completes trial enrollment
   SOUTH BRUNSWICK — X-Cell Medical Inc. has completed enrollment to its multinational clinical trial to study the safety and effectiveness of the ETHOS I Coronary Stent System.
   ETHOS I stents are coated with slow-release and moderate-release formulations of 17-estradiol, an approved and safe drug used in hormone replacement therapy and other indications.
   An overview of the potential cardioprotective and safety benefits of using estradiol to reduce restenosis in human coronary arteries and the ETHOS I study design was presented at the 2005 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutic symposium by Alexandre Abizaid, a physician at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, and Martin Leon, a physician at Columbia University Medical Center.
   The company said it is on track to present the full results from this study in mid-2006.
Verizon expands local network
   WEST WINDSOR — Verizon Wireless has expanded its network here with a new cell site aimed at improved reception along North Mill and South Mill roads and the surrounding area.
   The expansion is part of the company’s multi-billion dollar network investment each year — the company invests more than $1 billion every 90 days — to stay ahead of the growing demand for its voice and data services.
   In the Philadelphia region, which includes Mercer County, the company has invested more than $150 million in network expansion and enhancements so far this year.
Deadline near for young leaders
   The Mercer County Regional Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations through Thursday for the inaugural year of its "Young Business Leaders Council."
   The purpose of the council is "to provide a forum in which future business leaders have the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills, network with colleagues and participate in competitive projects that have an impact on them professionally, while at the same time impacting the chamber of commerce and business community," said Donald J. Loff, the chamber’s chairman.
   For more information or to nominate a young business leader, visit the chamber’s Web site at www.mercerchamber.com.
Sarnoff has voltage breakthrough
   WEST WINDSOR — Sarnoff Corp. has unveiled the SVD2000, a mobile system capable of sensing hazardous stray voltage from a moving vehicle.
   The new system consists of a sensor array with proprietary electronics and software that can quickly check street level objects including manhole covers, utility boxes and lamp poles for stray voltage, even in the presence of overhead power lines.
   Stray voltage, which is caused by electricity leaking from utility lines into exposed objects, has injured and killed pedestrians and pets in urban centers around the globe. By making manual screening more efficient, the system lets utilities greatly accelerate their inspection schedules.
GPC Biotech begins trial
   PLAINSBORO — GPC Biotech has received clearance from the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut to initiate human clinical testing in Germany with the 1D09C3 anticancer monoclonal antibody.
   The PEI is the German national agency responsible for regulating biological and blood products. The study is an open label, Phase 1 trial evaluating 1D09C3 in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell tumors who have failed prior standard therapy, and is using a different dosing regimen from the Phase 1 study currently underway in Switzerland and Italy.
   The goal of the trial is to determine the safety and tolerability of the antibody in patients and to recommend a dose and schedule for subsequent Phase 2 studies. This second Phase 1 study is being conducted at the University Hospital of Cologne under the direction of Michael Hallek, director of the Department of Internal Medicine.