SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549
                                  -------------


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934



       Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 1, 1998



                                  CORTECH, INC.
               (Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)



                           Delaware 0-20726 84-0894091
                  (State or other jurisdiction (Commission File
                              Number) (IRS Employer
                                       of
                                 incorporation)
                               Identification No.)



                6850 N. Broadway, Suite G, Denver, Colorado 80221
                         (Address of principal executive
                               offices) (Zip Code)



        Registrant's telephone number, including area code (303) 650-1200



                                 Not Applicable
          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)









Item 5.  Other Events.

On September 1, 1998, the Registrant issued a press release  announcing that the
Registrant  had  retained  Joachim  von Roy, a director  of the  Company and the
former president of Bristol-Myers Squibb,  Europe, to establish a new company in
Germany  based on the  Registrant's  protease  inhibitor  technology.  The press
release  is  attached  hereto as  Exhibit  99.1 and  incorporated  herein in its
entirety by this reference.


Item 7.  Financial Statements, Pro Forma Financial Information and Exhibits.

(c)  Exhibits

Item       Exhibit

99.1        Press Release issued by the Registrant on September 1, 1998.




























                                                      * * * * *







                                    SIGNATURE


Pursuant to the  requirements  of the  Securities  and Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                                             CORTECH, INC.
                                             (Registrant)



September 1, 1998

                                              Diarmuid Boran,
                                              Chief Operating Officer and
                                              Acting Chief Financial Officer










Exhibit 99.1

                             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
            Diarmuid F. Boran                    John Cheronis, M.D., Ph.D.
            Chief Operating Officer              Cortech Founding Scientist
            Cortech, Inc.                        Cortech, Inc.
            (303) 657-7010                      (303) 657-7000


              CORTECH SEEKS TO ESTABLISH NEW COMPANY BASED ON ITS
                         PROTEASE INHIBITOR TECHNOLOGY

DENVER, Colo. -- August 31, 1998 -- Cortech,  Inc. (OTCBB: CRTQ), a Denver-based
biopharmaceutical  company, today announced that it has retained Mr. Joachim von
Roy (a former  president  of  Bristol-Myers  Squibb,  Europe,  and a new Cortech
Director)  to  establish a new company in Germany  based on  Cortech's  protease
inhibitor  technology  ("PSI  Technology").  It is Cortech's intent that the new
company  will  capitalize  on  Cortech's   relationships  with   interationally
recognized  protease  research  groups at the  University  of Munich and The Max
Planck  Institute.  Financing  of the new venture is expected to be derived from
European sources with minimal cash outlays from Cortech.

Mr. Bert  Fingerhut,  Chairman and acting CEO of Cortech,  said "We believe that
this venture is a great way for Cortech's shareholders to realize value from our
PSI Technology.  If we are  successful,  it will provide a mechanism for funding
the advancement of the Technology while allowing Cortech to retain a substantial
equity position in the new company."

Cortech's PSI  Technology  is based on a novel and  proprietary  chemistry  that
allows for inhibition of a broad array of serine and cysteine proteases believed
to be  important  in a number  of  conditions  including  pulmonary,  viral  and
vascular  diseases,  as well as cancer. All serine and cysteine proteases tested
have been inhibited by prototype compounds based on the technology. Furthermore,
compounds  synthesized  using this  Technology  have been shown to possess  good
potency,  oral bioavailablilty,  and metabolic stability.  Cortech believes that
these   attributes,   along  with  the   Technology's   flexibility   and  broad
applicability, make it a viable platform on which to base a new venture.

Neutrophil  elastase inhibitor  compounds  incorporating the PSI Technology were
developed as part of Cortech's  research  collaboration  with Ono Pharmaceutical
Co. Ltd.  Ono has  notified  Cortech that it has selected a compound for further
evaluation,  and indicated  that Ono would  further study the compound  prior to
considering  it for  advancement to full  development in its sales  territory of
Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China.  Cortech has retained all product rights outside
of Ono's sales territory.

Cortech is a  biopharmaceutical  company whose research and development  efforts
have focused primarily on bradykinin antagonists and protease inhibitors.  These
efforts  have  produced  a  technology   portfolio   which  may  have  potential
therapeutic  application across a broad range of medical  conditions.  Cortech's
strategy is to seek  collaborative  partners to conduct and fund future research
and  development on the  components of its  portfolio,  although there can be no
assurance that any particular agreement will be completed.  All on-site research
and development  activities have been  discontinued in an effort to preserve the
company's  financial  resources.  Cortech is, however,  funding focused research
activities  through   collaborative   arrangements  with  academic  and  medical
institutions.

This press release  contains  forward-looking  statements that involve risks and
uncertainties  and  actual  results  may  differ  materially.  These  statements
concern,  among  other  things,  the  future  prospect  for the PSI  Technology,
compounds  based  upon that  Technology  and the  ability  to create  and obtain
funding for the new venture. Statements concerning venture, if established,  are
subject to risks and  uncertainties  that could cause  actual  results to differ
from current projections.  These risk factors,  which include the risks inherent
in drug discovery and  development,  are identified in Cortech's  reports to the
Securities and Exchange Commission filed on forms 10-K and 10-Q.