Coulter Pharmaceutical Inc

Coulter Pharmaceutical Inc.'s Bexxar drug could be a breakthrough therapy for low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, said analysts whom the company briefed on late-stage clinical trials of the medication.

Imagine an anti-cancer drug that acts like a guided missile, seeking out a patient's malignant cells and then destroying them with microscopic radioactive warheads, while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Such an approach to battling cancer was first envisioned a quarter of a century ago with the discovery of a way to make large amounts of highly specific antibodies, natural substances that travel through the bloodstream and can seek out targets on the surface of tumors.

Imagine an anti-cancer drug that acts like a guided missile, seeking out a patient's malignant cells and then destroying them with microscopic radioactive warheads, while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Such an approach to battling cancer was first envisioned a quarter of a century ago with the discovery of a way to make large amounts of highly specific antibodies, natural substances that travel through the bloodstream and can seek out targets on the surface of tumors.

Coulter Pharmaceutical Inc.'s Bexxar drug could be a breakthrough therapy for low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, said analysts whom the company briefed on late-stage clinical trials of the medication.

Joseph Coulter, 71, a major manufacturer of medical analysis equipment and diagnostic instruments. With his brother Wallace, Coulter co-founded Coulter Corp. in a Chicago basement in 1952 and became president and chief executive officer. The company streamlined clinical diagnostics and medical research by producing the first commercial blood-cell counter and particle analyzer. The automated, electronic system replaced the previous tedious and unreliable method. A native of Poplar Bluff, Mo.

SmithKline Beecham, Britain's second-biggest drug maker, agreed to develop and market Coulter Pharmaceutical Inc.'s top experimental cancer drug. The alliance could be worth up to $132.5 million in payments and credits to Palo Alto, Calif.-based Coulter, a biotechnology start-up. The drug, called Bexxar, is in late-stage trials for treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the blood and lymph tissues that afflicts 270,000 people in the U.S. alone.

San Francisco-based First Nationwide Holdings Inc., the parent company of First Nationwide Bank, received approval from the Office of Thrift Supervision for its purchase of Los Angeles-based CalFed Bancorp Inc. First Nationwide announced plans in July to buy CalFed for $1.2 billion in cash. . . . South San Francisco-based Genentech Inc. said Robert A. Swanson, founder of the biotechnology company, will retire as chairman at the end of the month. . . .

Techniclone shares lost a quarter of their value Monday after the Tustin company said development of an experimental treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is likely to be delayed six to eight months. The company's stock fell $2 a share to $6.06 on the Nasdaq market.

The biotechnology industry will introduce a wave of new drugs next year and advance hundreds of experimental medicines through late-stage trials, adding momentum to a stock sector that was a top performer in 2000. More than 20 new drugs from industry giants including Amgen Inc. and Genentech Inc., and smaller companies such as Enzon Inc. and Coulter Pharmaceutical Inc., may boost enthusiasm for biotech shares overall, analysts said.