The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 21

The News Journal, Wilmington, Del. -fife Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000 B7 INSIDE: Rumors of trouble knock Dow Jones industrial average: Wednesday: 11, 55 1.10 Rite Aid stock for a loop Class 3,850.02 Change NASDAQ BIO 1,432.25 RUSSELL 2000 490.04 EURO 1.0310 JAPANESE Have a news tip for Business? Call 324-2876 or e-mail njfcncwspurnal.com For questions about coverage in this section, call Assistant Business Editor Trif Alatzas at 324-2856 or Public Editor John Sweeney at 324-2906 105.79 60LD(H0ELITRADE INC.) 283.70 OJO 30 YEAR T-BOND (ytd.) 6.71 t0.04 NYSE, AM EX, Nasdaq and mutual fund reports B8-1 0 -CD LI I Cephalon begins testing of cancer drugs Prostate cancer facts Mainly afflicts men over age 65 Business Roundup HEALTH CA It's the second most common malignancy in American men, after skin cancer About 90,000 men a year die from prostate cancer worldwide An estimated National BEALTTY FOR SALE: an online pharmacy partially backed by Rite Aid agreed to buy closely held Beauty.com for I Tumors of the prostate are targeted By SETH AGULNICK Staff reporter A local drug company announced the start of clinical trials Wednesday for a new class of compounds that have shown promise in fighting prostate cancer. Cephalon based in West Chester, has been Cancer Society. About 90,000 men die from prostate cancer worldwide each year.

The prostate, one of the male sex glands, is located just below the bladder. It makes a substance that becomes part of the fluid that contains sperm. Prostate cancer usually is treated with surgery, radiation, hormone therapy or some combination. When the tumor is detected early and hasn't spread, chances are good for long-term survival. "Those methods are fairly reliable for early stage See PROSTATE B10 working on the compounds known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors since 1994.

The company signed an agreement last month with the German drug firm Schwarz Pharma AG to develop and market the treatment in Europe. That agreement sets the stage for Phase II clinical trials to start in the next few months in Europe. Those studies will be separate from the ones started this week in the United States, where Cephalon has an alliance to develop the drugs with TAP Holdings Inc. The drugs being tested could be useful as a first-line treatment and for cancers that don't respond to combinations of surgery, radiation and hormone therapy. "Phase II trials will specifically determine whether the inhibitors reduce the growth of prostate cancers," said Dr.

John Farah, Cephalon's senior director of business development. The clinical trials will take at least two years. If the results are promising, the studies likely would be followed by about three more years of testing before Cephalon could submit an application to government regulators to market the drug. Prostate cancer, which mainly afflicts men over age 65, is one of the most common types of cancers. An estimated 180,000 men in the United States are diagnosed with the disease each year, according to the American 180,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year It affects one in eight American men about $42.3 million in stock to expand its market share in the cosmetics industry.

which sells prescription drugs, toiletries and mass-market beauty products on the Internet, will exchange about 1.3 million shares for Beauty.com. The value of the transaction is based on closing price Tuesday. DISNEY CHIEF FOLLOWS HIS STAR: Joe Roth, the Disney movie chief who mar Source: American CancerK The News Journal shaled the studio to box-office dominance for half a decade said Wednesday he was auit ting to form an independent KIM 1 RDSIPQS lilm com- pany. He will be replaced as Disney studio chairman by Peter Schneider, who has worked for i the company Joe Roth since 1985 and served as studio president under Koth lor the last year. The change is effective Mon U.S.

proposal reportedly laid out in secret meeting -TF 71 7 day. Roth said he wanted to be his own boss after nearly six years overseeing Disney's film business and a previous stint 1 i 11 as head ot 20th Century ox studios. Si. CEO BOOKS: Chief Executive Jonathan Bulkeley resigned Wednesday, just a week after 4 mt, kr 1 it I I 'If I i. LJ the online retailer reported that its fourth-quarter sales more than tripled from a year ago.

The New York-based com pany named Barnes Noble Inc. Vice Chairman Steve Rig- gio as acting CEO, and said it expected to name a new per son to its helm soon. Riggio created Barnes Noble orig inal Internet strategy and The News JoumaWENNIFER CORBETT Julie P. and Charles M. Cawley receive the 49th Josiah Marvel Cup, the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce's highest honor, as Sen.

Joe Biden (left) and presidential candidate George W. Bush look on at the Riverfront Arts Center, Wilmington. MBNA's top couple honored Charles and Julie Cawley lauded as Delaware's 'social entrepreneurs' courts for years. The Justice Department, which last month disclosed that it had hired as its adviser a financial consulting firm, Greenhill Co. LLC of New York, believes that lesser sanctions such as prohibiting the company from abusing its influence or publishing its wholesale prices would be inadequate to rein in Microsoft.

The Justice Department would not publicly discuss its plans. It wasn't immediately clear exactly how the government envisions the restructuring of one of America's most successful companies, with $19.7 billion in sales this year alone. The 19 state attorneys general, who hired their own advisers separately from Justice, are deciding whether to endorse Justice's breakup proposal but are leaning in favor of it, sources said. At least one state has cautioned that a breakup could be unduly disruptive to consumers, who rely on Windows as a de facto standard to run their software applications and their PCs. Critics warn that competing versions of Windows could lead to software that doesn't run on some versions or some computers.

Breaking up Microsoft into smaller companies would be "stupid, because it just creates confusion in the marketplace," said Michael Cusumano, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has written about Microsoft's battle with the former Netscape Communications Corp. "The breakup sounds like a mess to me." The government expects to formally present the breakup plan next week when it meets privately again in Chicago with Posner, the mediator. By TED BRIDIS Associated Press WASHINGTON Government lawyers in the Microsoft antitrust case want to break the software giant into three parts, arguing that lesser sanctions would be inadequate, people close to the discussions confirmed Wednesday. If U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson were to agree to such a dramatic solution, a mandated breakup of Bill Gates' Seattle-based empire would carry enormous implications for the way consumers buy and use software for their computers.

Jackson handed down a blistering ruling Nov. 5 that Microsoft is a monopoly that stifled competition and hurt consumers, agreeing with nearly all of the government's allegations. Justice Department lawyers laid out their proposal favoring to break Microsoft into three parts during a secret meeting last week in Washington with representatives of 19 states, people close to the case said. The states are also suing the company over alleged antitrust violations. Those close to the discussions spoke on condition of anonymity, concerned they might anger U.S.

Circuit Judge Richard Posner, the federal mediator in Chicago holding ongoing settlement talks. But they indicated little progress has been made so far in those discussions. The government's endorsement of a breakup could encourage Microsoft to seek a lesser sanction during settlement talks. But it could also stymie negotiations and encourage Microsoft to battle the case through America's last year's Marvel Cup recipient. "Their charity crosses every race, religion and income," Giannone said.

"Julie is a very caring and loving person, a woman full of compassion. Charles really has a heart." Their donations have helped the Ministry establish a home for people with AIDS, create affordable senior housing and open a dental office for the poor, among other projects. "Charles once said to me, 'What's your new adventure Named after the Chamber's first president, the Marvel Cup is given annually to the people who make the biggest contribution to the state's business climate and to the community. Together, the Cawleys have donated millions of dol lars to causes around PelaneMaAn 1 heir charity crosses turn MBNA into one every race, religion this 1 said, We need an AIDS He asked me how much I needed and then he gave me a quarter of a million dollars," Giannone said. In 1997, MBNA started its Delaware of the state's biggest benefactors, chamber executives said.

"They've made a difference in the lives of many people who are in need," said out By SETH AGULNICK Staff reporter The president of MBNA Corp. and his wife were honored Wednesday night for their financial support and leadership of numerous community service groups. Charles M. and Julie Cawley were awarded the 49th Josiah Marvel Cup, the highest honor offered by the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. "I want to congratulate Charlie and Julie for not only being entrepreneurs, but for being social entrepreneurs as well," George W.

Bush told the business group. The chamber, an active lobbying force in Delaware, recruited the GOP presidential candidate, landing the dinner a record turnout. "If you accept us as representatives of all the people at MBNA, then we happily accept this award," Cawley said as he stood with his wife at the Riverfront Arts Center in Wilmington. and income. Brother Ronald Giannone Scholars Foundation, pledging $30 million for educational grants and scholarships.

But Burris said it's more than the going Chamber President John Burris. Charles Cawley, 59, and Julie Cawley, 58, have given more than $5 million to the Ministry of Caring, one of the most active advocates for the poor in Delaware. The founder of the Ministry of Caring, Brother Ronald Giannone, was money the Cawleys provide. In return for financially supporting groups that serve the needy, the Cawleys have asked eventually founded in 1997. HIGH FLIERS MAY TIE KNOT: Boeing is in talks to acquire the satellite-making business of Hughes Electronics according to an unconfirmed report Wednesday.

Boeing would pay $4 billion for the operations, according to Dow Jones Newswires, citing unidentified sources familiar with the deal. Spokesmen for Boeing and Hughes would not comment. The deal would make Boeing a nant player in the commercial satellite industry, which is now led by Hughes with about 40 percent of the market. OIL REBOUNDING: Crude oil prices forged an additional 2 percent higher Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, extending this week's strong rally and wiping out losses from a six-day sell-off at the start of the new year. Keeping the momentum going was news that Saudi Arabia's and Venezuela's oil ministers will meet in Amsterdam today more evidence of continuing unity among top producers who have driven prices higher.

WINTER WHEAT BEATS A RETREAT: Farmers planted less than 43 million acres of winter wheat last fall, the smallest amount since 1972, as producers trying to cope with depressed grain prices continue switching to more lucrative crops, the government said Wednesday. Plantings of winter wheat Eire down 1 percent from last season's crop and 8 percent below 1998, according to surveys by the Agriculture Department. About three-fourths of the wheat produced in the United States is a winter variety, planted in the fall and harvested in the spring. Wheat plantings started dropping after Congress enacted the 1996 Freedom to Farm law, which ended production controls and let farmers start switching between crops without losing subsidies. Compiled from staff, Associated Press and Bloomberg News reports.

for good, efficient management of See CHAMBER B10 Blue chips gain as Web stocks falter Radical concept By EILEEN GLANTON Associated Press NF.W YORK Blue-chip indus trial stocks again stole the spotlight frnm flashier technology shares Wednesday, pushing higher as investors shied away from liie slumping Internet sector. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 40.02 to close at 11,551.10. The rw it cimp PTound late in the ses l--Jl II ular session, the Associated Press reported that government lawyers involved in Microsoft's antitrust case want the company to break itself into three parts to dilute its competitive advantage. With technology stocks slipping, investors again sought relative bargains in the industrial and consumer goods sectors. After lagging behind the high-flying Nasdaq in the second half of 1999, the Dow Jones industrials have outstripped other market measures so far this year.

On Wednesday, Merck rose 1716 to 747i6, and McDonald's rose l3i to 423i. General Motors was the Dow's strongest component, rising 37i6 to 7638 amid reports that Boeing will buy GM's Hughes Electronics satellite manufacturing operations. Boeing edfyd up 3i; to 43'i6. Wall Street said late Tuesday it earned 19 cents per share in the fourth quarter, above Wall Street's prediction of 15 cents per share. but company otticials warned in a conference call that Yahool's strong revenue growth is not sustainable.

Several Wall Street analysts stepped in to defend the stock, but investors sold shares nonetheless. America Online fell 378 to 60'8 as investors continued to fret about the company's growth potential once it merges with Time Warner. AOL shares have fallen 19 percent since the company announced its bold move to acquire the more traditional media company. Microsoft fell 39ie to 105'3i6. Just before the close of Wall Street's reg sion and failed to top Monday's clos ing record or Broader stock indicators were lower.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 71 17 to 3,850.02, and the Standard Poor's 500 fell 6.31 to 1,432.25. Vq hnn' oA a decline in Internet stocks. Shares of the Internet search APCARLOS OSORrO The Ford Equator is displayed Wednesday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit The concept vehicle is seen as a competitor for the Hummer H2 concept truck unveiled by General Motors. J- 1 engine fell 391316 to 3579ifi a day a ft or thp rnmoanv nosted a better- than-expecd profit report. Yahoo!.