Subject: Japan's Meiji Milk Claims AIDS Research Discovery
Date: Published: 10/16/91 (37 lines)
Source:  Wall Street Journal.  Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc. 

    Technology:
    Japan's Meiji Milk Claims
    AIDS Research Discovery

    TOKYO -- The stock of Japan's second-largest dairy food
 producer rose after the company said it discovered a
 substance that kills AIDS-infected cells in the test tube.
    According to the Associated Press, Meiji Milk Products Co. 
 didn't release details.  The company said only that the
 substance it is testing is made from hemin, a crystalline
 salt extracted from human blood.
    Joel Scheiman, an analyst at Kleinwort Benson
 International Inc., said no one knows how significant the
 claim is, especially because there hasn't yet been any
 testing on animals.  "There could be a world of difference
 between what's in the test tube and what's for real," he
 said.  He added that at this stage, anything that's effective
 at killing AIDS cells is also "extremely toxic."
    The next step for Meiji would be to carry out clinical
 tests, which could take a couple of years, he said.
    Although many substances have killed the AIDS virus in
 test tubes, they have proved unworkable as a treatment for
 humans.
    Meiji Milk shares rose on the Tokyo Stock Exchange 77
 cents a share, to $6.94, a gain of nearly 13%.
    The company began developing pharmaceuticals as an
 extension of its successful business of producing powdered
 milk for infants.  It has 5,800 employees, and had revenue of
 $3.4 billion in the fiscal year that ended March 31.

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