In Brief: Warner-Lambert/BASF

Warner-Lambert/BASF: Will jointly research, develop and market a new class of drugs that inhibit the interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme under a March 16 agreement. ICE generates the active form of the cytokine interleukin-1 beta, which is a mediator in early stages of inflammation and is thought to be involved in other neurodegenerative diseases, W-L says. Disease targets include rheumatoid arthritis, septic shock and Alzheimer's. BASF scientists have mapped the three-dimensional structure of ICE, and Parke-Davis scientists have cloned the ICE gene from rats. The two companies are equal owners of any resulting products or technologies, which would be marketed worldwide by BASF's Knoll AG and Parke-Davis...