The late bird gets the worm

The cat that got the canary last week was VimRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., which has spent almost nothing for a product that others spent millions to develop. VMRX will acquire the 20 percent of the Nexell Therapeutics Inc. joint subsidiary that it does not own from partner Baxter Healthcare Corp. in exchange for VMRX stock worth about $37 million.

The acquisition gives VMRX ownership of the Isolex stem cell separation system developed by Baxter. Isolex, in development for stem cell selection and tumor purging from bone marrow and peripheral blood, received an approvable letter from the FDA earlier this month and has no competition. Nexell, formed by VMRX and Baxter in 1997 when VMRX purchased Baxter's immunotherapy division, hopes to launch Isolex by mid-year...