The Wyeth-Ayerst division of American Home Products Corp. inAugust will terminate its collaborative agreement with Genta Inc. foran antisense treatment of an infectious disease. Genta said TuesdayWyeth-Ayerst plans to pursue nearer-term projects.The three-year research, development and licensing agreement wasentered into in August 1992. Wyeth-Ayerst exercised its option to endit after two years, Howard Sampson, chief financial officer of Genta,told BioWorld."We're committed to funding our technology platforms, and our plan isto continue moving forward with our antisense programs even with theWyeth termination," Sampson said. "We're reviewing all ouralternatives, which would include looking at another partner."Terms of the deal and the specific target area never were released.Genta, of San Diego, said its contract revenues for 1994 are expected todecrease by about $700,000.Thomas Adams, Genta's chairman and CEO, said Genta achievedscientific research goals established by the collaboration, but Wyeth-Ayerst decided to focus on nearer-term projects. "Genta's goal," hesaid, "is to bring certain products to market near term which wouldpermit funding of longer term research expenditures required by ourAnticode program," which describes products based on research inantisense and triple strand areas. "Therefore, we feel the Wyeth-Ayersttermination will have little impact on our overall business."Under the agreement, Wyeth-Ayerst, of Philadelphia, was to receiveexclusive worldwide marketing rights to resulting products and anoption to license certain related therapeutics. Genta was to get researchfunding, royalties and milestone payments. _ Jim Shrine

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